Successful Meetings - September 2008 - (Page 52) Convention > Where All That Glitters May Bring Gold Centers convention city, is to know what we are, but also what we are not,” says CVB chief Edwards. “We’re targeting groups we know will be an easy fit into our center and hotels, which in turn will make it easy for planners to host these events.” A perfect example is the World Burn Congress, an event hosted by the University of North Carolina’s own burn center and North Carolina’s state fire marshals. It’s medium sized, but will fill most of both the new Marriott and the Sheraton. And its 650 prospective attendees, many of whom are handicapped, appreciate what Raleigh has to offer. “It’s just a natural,” says Peterson, whose annual conference met last year in Vancouver, British Columbia. “On our first visit to Raleigh, both the Marriott and the convention center were literally holes in the ground, and we made our decision off models and diagrams. But the userfriendly aspect of the center, and the walkability of downtown Raleigh, are huge draws for us. “To watch all this build and grow has been spectacular.” People Are Infrastructure Too The community excitement surrounding Raleigh’s new convention center is being replicated in other destinations, whether they have a new convention center to boast of or not. Local convention bureaus are reaching out to their communities with training programs and “ambassador” promotional efforts to support group business. Spearheading many of these efforts is Mickey Tucson Schaefer, whose Tucson, AZ-based Mickey Schaefer & Associates helps cities do just that. “Keeping the meetings infrastructure of a destination up to date is important. But it’s only part of the effort. People are the part of the equation that makes or breaks the brand identity of a City sas Kan city,” Schaefer says. “So many don’t know about destination marketing. That branding is huge, and that’s why this is taking off. CVBs need to [carry] their branding down to the individual level.” Schaefer has created a program called Certified Tourism Ambassador (CTA) that trains and recognizes frontline employees—taxi drivers, restaurant staff, hotel front desk employees, police, airport workers, and so on—in better customer service, and about the power of representing their cities well. These people, in turn, develop their own networking efforts, associations, and social groups which help build pride and camaraderie, all in support of destination marketing and customer service. Cities such as Kansas City, Tucson, Milwaukee, and Baltimore are using Schaefer’s CTA ee uk Milwa program, and city convention bureaus are seeing that the road to success is a joint effort. That means soliciting the involvement of Baltimo re city hall, business, the hospitality industry, and everyday people. “The idea is to give our visitors a great experience,” says Tom Noonan, president and CEO of the Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association. “We’re teaching people to be ‘aggressively friendly’ about customer service.” Noonan hopes to put 1,000 of Baltimore’s frontline city employees through the CTA program by year’s end. Mickey Schaefer inspires service providers in convention cities PHOTO: DAVID MOODY PHOTOGRAPHY 52 successfulmeetings.com SEPTEMBER 2008 SUCCESSFUL MEETINGS http://successfulmeetings.com
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