Marketing

NEW WEBSITES
Launched a new, improved and fully redesigned visitRaleigh.com and raleighsports.org for desktop and tablet browsing as well as a new site for visitors using their mobile phones. Attracted 1.5 million visits to the official tourism websites in 2012-2013.

PARTNER INFORMATION EXCHANGE LOGIN (PIXL)
Deployed the new PIXL partner relations tool to all of the Greater Raleigh CVB's local partners, allowing them to exchange information about their businesses/organizations directly with Bureau staff via a secure login. The PIXL tool enables near real-time updates from partners to visitRaleigh.com: it also facilitates electronic leads and referrals from the CVB/clients to area partners.

LIVE MUSIC VISITOR STRATEGY
Hosted a Music Maniac Summit in Jan. 2013, formed a CVB Live Music Advisory Committee in Apr. then activated a short-term leisure campaign around live music titled "Music Mania: A summer of wall-to-wall music in Greater Raleigh." The summer campaign is the first stage of a longer-term strategy to develop this area asset in terms of visitation.

CULTURAL PRESENTERS FORUM
Facilitated quarterly meetings of Wake County's Cultural Presenters Forum, which reached a one-year milestone in Nov. 2012. Laid plans for the participating organizations, CVB and other allies to promote Oct. 2013 as a month with "31 Days of Art."

PROMOTIONAL CALENDAR
Continued to plan tourism marketing activities and communications according to a month-by-month promotional calendar, with each month devoted to a destination I.D. and major event in the area. One highlight was Feb. 2013's promotion of the Krispy Kreme Challenge, at which the CVB held an official costume contest showcasing visitRaleigh.com to the race's 8,000 participants.

US OPEN HOUSING
Coordinated Greater Raleigh hotels in providing attendee housing availabilities for June 2014's Men's and Women's US Open Championships in Pinehurst. Updated visitor info about the overflow rooms available in Wake County is being promoted at visitRaleigh.com/USOpen to spectators.

NORTH CAROLINA BEER MONTH
Activated advertising, Internet marketing and public relations promoting Greater Raleigh's participation in the inaugural N.C. Beer Month proposed by the N.C. Division of Tourism, Film and Sports Development. The promotion wrapped deals, events and more reasons to visit around the area's then 11 (now 13) craft breweries.

NEW ROLES
Welcomed Derek Allman, Mary Brooks and Jessica Holt into new roles within the Marketing Department. All three have partner relations responsibilities, in addition to other marketing duties, in their new roles of senior marketing manager, assistant marketing manager and marketing coordinator, respectively.

OFFICIAL VISITORS GUIDES
Produced and distributed 180,000 printed Official Visitors Guides, in conjunction with GRCVB's Services Department, and offered the guide digitally at raleighvisitorsguide.com. The Destination Marketing Association of North Carolina (DMANC) has recognized the guide as among the best in the state.

ADVERTISING
Enacted a robust (pre-Recession level) advertising plan with leisure, meeting group and sports markets, resulting in brand impressions and customer conversions. Special, short-range plans created for the "Music Mania" campaign and for diyraleigh.com supplemented the Bureau's year-round plan. DMANC recognized the CVB's meeting group ad creative with a Gold Award for Best Print Advertising.