In this section, you'll find the most important news from Ohio's tourism attractions and visitors bureaus.
Cincinnati USA Convention & Visitors Bureau Earns Accolades for Exemplary Work
6/1/2009
CONTACT:
Julie Calvert, Vice President, Marketing & Strategic Development
Cincinnati USA Convention & Visitors Bureau
JCalvert@CincyUSA.com
Office: (513) 632-5378
Mobile: (513) 910-6186
CINCINNATI, Ohio (June 1, 2009) – The Cincinnati USA Convention & Visitors Bureau has won three major awards in May 2009 for its marketing, public relations and customer service, adding to the momentum generated by new business wins, aggressive sales efforts, and progress and development downtown and throughout the region.
Each of the three accolades honor exemplary performance in marketing communications and client services.
The Cincinnati USA CVB was named Not For Profit Marketer of the Year by the Cincinnati Chapter of the American Marketing Association. The award is given annually to a marketing team that demonstrates overall excellence in marketing, from strategic planning and creative execution to delivering positive, business-building results.
The CVB’s award application outlined a three-year track record of success since the launch of the CVB’s Plan for More marketing campaign. Top of mind awareness of Cincinnati USA among national meeting planners has increased by 15 perecnt, sales numbers attained double-digit growth, and the economic impact brought to the region as a result of conventions and meetings has grown by 25 percent. Results were generated by a comprehensive campaign that included a national media plan, sales brochures, the revamped CincyUSA.com Web site, the More in 24 familiarization tour program, tradeshow promotions, direct mail and email campaigns, market segment brochures and other sales collateral.
The CVB marketing team is led by Julie Calvert, vice president of marketing, and includes Randie Adam, director of marketing; Ross Czarnik, marketing coordinator; Andrea McClain, marketing assistant; and Belinda Wunsch, membership manager.
The CVB’s Convention Services Team was awarded its 16th consecutive Pinnacle Award from Successful Meetings magazine. Chosen by meeting planners, the award recognizes organizations providing the highest level of service, and is often cited as a major consideration for choosing future host convention cities. The CVB’s award-winning services team is led by Sandy Clore, director of convention services, and includes Pamela Boeing, convention services manager and Wendy Garrett, housing coordinator.
The CVB won a Blacksmith Award from the Cincinnati Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America in May 2009. The CVB team earned top honors in the Interactive/Web category for the redesign of its web site at
www.CincyUSA.com. The CVB’s online presence was revamped to be a complete resource for the organization’s primary target audience: meeting planners. Site content now effectively addresses their specific needs, including detailed information about the Duke Energy Convention Center, easily accessible contact information and a comprehensive Planner Toolkit that describes all of Cincinnati USA’s key amenities.
Site traffic has spiked considerably since the relaunch and now averages more than 100,000 page views per month.
“The CVB takes great pride in the way we plan and carry out effective marketing programs to drive new meetings and visitors to Cincinnati USA,” said Dan Lincoln, president and chief executive officer of the Cincinnati USA Convention & Visitors Bureau. “We have strong commitments from the City of Cincinnati and Hamilton County that have enabled our team to launch powerful and memorable marketing and client services programs that have a lasting positive impact on our region. These accolades from our industry colleagues are a testament to the talent and passion of the entire CVB team.”
About the Cincinnati USA Convention & Visitors Bureau
The Cincinnati USA Convention & Visitors Bureau is an aggressive sales, marketing and service organization whose primary responsibility is to positively impact Hamilton County's and the City of Cincinnati's economy through convention, trade show and visitor expenditures. The travel and tourism industry traditionally has been a $3.4 billion industry in Cincinnati USA, employing 81,000 people in a variety of fields and, historically, bringing five million visitors to the region annually. To learn more about Cincinnati USA, visit
www.CincyUSA.com or call (800) 543-2613.
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