Meeting News - March 23, 2009 - (Page 23)

Colby 70 Manhattan 70 Overland Park Topeka 335 35 Kansas City KANSAS commence a massive lobby renovation later this year, according to Savage, while the latter will soon have a new 284,780-sf performing arts center, which is scheduled to open in 2010, and—eventually, Hughes hopes—a new 1,000-room convention center hotel, for which Kansas City’s city council recently completed a feasibility study. According to Baltimore-based Cordish Company, the Power & Light District’s developer, more than 5.4 million guests have visited the area since its March 2008 grand opening. Ultimately, it expects the district to attract more than 8 million visitors per year. —Matt Alderton visual representation of an Internet search bar that’s meant to encourage potential visitors to actively explore Wichita. Besides using print ads as well as billboards and social media websites like Facebook and Twitter, the campaign also employs the “Search for Wichita Skeptics” promotion, Salina Great Bend 135 Lawrence Dodge City Wichita 35 whereby local residents can nominate out-oftown relatives and friends to receive an allexpenses-paid visit to Wichita. Concluded Rolfe, “By sharing the experiences of these ‘Wichita converts,’ we prove that the city truly is worth visiting.” I —MA With New Branding, CVB Urges First-Time Visitors to ‘Go Wichita’ Change to action-oriented name meant to lure skeptics In pursuit of first-time visitors, the Greater Wichita Convention and Visitors Bureau has changed its name to Go Wichita. The CVB has launched a branding and marketing campaign to match its new name, encouraging business and leisure travelers to do exactly that—to “go Wichita.” “Many people perhaps haven’t heard of Wichita,” said Go Wichita president and CEO John Rolfe. “We’re like any other second-tier, Midwestern city… people who’ve never been here are kind of skeptical because they don’t know anything about it. What this campaign allows us to do is promise people, ‘If you come to Wichita, we’ll show you a great time.’ ” Go Wichita has a new logo, which features a pushpin icon that, according to Rolfe, is symbolic of putting Wichita on the map as both a leisure and meetings destination. “Go Wichita speaks to the liveliness of the city and captures a positive, action-oriented feeling,” Rolfe said. Go Wichita’s new name is the result of research suggesting that meeting planners and attendees are indifferent to the city, mostly because they know nothing about it. To turn skeptics into believers, Go Wichita’s new marketing campaign features the theme “The city you’ve been searching for,” along with a www.meetingnews.com www.meetingnews.com PLAN YOUR NEXT MEETING OR CONVENTION IN A PLACE WHERE GRITTY ROCK AND ROLL SWAGGER MEETS GLITZY URBAN SWANK. WHERE FEEDING YOUR SOUL AND SATISFYING YOUR HUNGER FOR THE FINER THINGS IS NEVER MORE THAN A FEW MINUTES AWAY, BUT FAR FROM BEING A HASSLE. OUR COLORFUL PAST & BRILLIANT FUTURE. OUR DRAMATIC FLAIR & UNPRETENTIOUS AIR. OUR V I SI T OKC .C OM March 23, 2009 MeetingNews 23 September 8, 2008 MeetingNews 23 http://www.VISITOKC.COM http://www.meetingnews.com

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Meeting News - March 23, 2009 Contents What’s Up @ MeetingNews.com Meetings Mean Business As 'Meeting Matter' Marriott Unveils Promo Columbus, OH, Addresses Convention Hotel Issues People Making News Orlando Strives for Cost Transparency Is Biz-Class Air Travel Dead? Greenest Planner Awards Mid America Insider Report: Conference Centers Destination Insider: Mississippi Gulf Coast Las Vegas Destination Insider: Cleveland Ad Index Live from the Forum

Meeting News - March 23, 2009

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