In a major effort aimed at strengthening
Philadelphia’s positioning for global business attraction, the Philadelphia
Convention & Visitors Bureau (PHLCVB), the official tourism promotion
agency for the City of Philadelphia, has undertaken a marketing initiative
designed to promote a consistent message about Philadelphia as a modern
renaissance city, with open-source assets built around six stories that define
the destination.
Earlier this year, the PHLCVB engaged more than 200
diverse individuals over the course of six months in a series of focus groups,
work sessions and one-on-one interviews to determine the City’s global message.
Participants included residents, visitors and students, both domestically and
internationally. What emerged was six stories of Philadelphia as a modern
renaissance city that celebrates freedom and democracy; values innovation and
education; nurtures the creative spirit; appreciates outdoor life and sport and
possesses a vibrant street life; all in an accessible and friendly way.
Utilizing these six narratives, the PHLCVB has developed
a unique destination marketing venture – completely open-source assets for use
by corporate, government and non-profit partners, to be used in any promotional
efforts to sell Philadelphia to international visitors, convention planners, business
prospects, business recruits, group travel tours or prospective college
students. The elements of the six narratives, including supporting imagery,
facts and a graphic identifier for Philadelphia based on the shortcode ‘PHL’.
Research conducted by the PHLCVB showed that international audiences were very
receptive to the use of the shortcode PHL – which is the destination code for
the Philadelphia International Airport and Philadelphia’s 30th Street Amtrak
train station – as a symbol that conveys the modern sophistication of the City.
As an economic engine for Philadelphia, the PHLCVB
creates jobs and fuels the economy by bringing meetings, conventions and
travelers to Philadelphia. Through this collaborative initiative, the
organization seeks to improve the global perception of Philadelphia by
harnessing the collective voices of the City’s organizations for increased
economic development.
“Our goal is to enlist all organizations with a vested
interest in attracting business to our City and capturing our share of
international visitor spending, to help tell these stories about Philadelphia
and what we have to offer the world,” said PHLCVB President and CEO Jack
Ferguson. “International tourism to the U.S. is forecasted to grow 23 percent
by 2016 according to the U.S. Department of Commerce Office of Travel &
Tourism Industries. This is a critical time to increase investment in
Philadelphia’s global sales and marketing initiatives and to do it in a
coordinated and strategic fashion.”
“We can all be ambassadors for Philadelphia, and each one
of us can promote our City and tell our story,” said Mayor Michael A. Nutter.
“So imagine the momentum we can create if we communicate a consistent image of
Philadelphia to the world, not just to attract meetings and tourism, but to
enhance business attraction, student recruitment, talent acquisition or even to
bolster local pride.”
The impetus for the initiative was a 2011 Anholt City
Brand Index (CBI) study – funded by the PHLCVB in partnership with the Economy
League of Greater Philadelphia, Select Greater Philadelphia, Philadelphia
International Airport and the Pennsylvania Convention Center – which measures
the images and reputation of the world’s cities. The study looked at attributes
of the destination including its international status, attractiveness and
accessibility, quality of public amenities and accommodations, vibrancy of
neighborhoods, and potential for economic and educational opportunities. The
results of the study underscored Philadelphia’s great potential domestically
and internationally as a place to visit, study, work and do business. The
project was also informed by World Class Greater Philadelphia – an initiative
led by the Economy League to identify strategies for elevating Philadelphia as a
world-class region.
The innovative marketing enterprise has already seen the
support of several regional organizations, including the Philadelphia
Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC) and the City of Philadelphia’s
Commerce Department, who employed the shortcode PHL in the moniker of a new
venture StartupPHL which establishes Philadelphia as a city of choice for new
startups and entrepreneurs. The Philadelphia Airport, has also utilized some of
the open-source elements in recent discussions with international destinations
on increasing airlift to the City. Campus Philly, an organization that
encourages college students to study, explore, live and work in the Greater
Philadelphia region is another partner working with the PHLCVB along with the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and individual universities, to develop Edutour
PHL, a series of “edutourism” programs (the combination of education and
tourism) which draw from the new Philadelphia narrative and which will utilize
the open-source assets.
“As a PHLCVB board member and advisor on this project, I
am really impressed with the vision and inclusiveness in this process, and the
outcome, which will certainly help to shape Philadelphia’s image around the
world,” said Peter Intermaggio, the project’s advisor, senior vice president of
marketing communications at telecommunications powerhouse Comcast,
headquartered in Philadelphia.
In just ten years, Philadelphia’s ranking among U.S.
international destinations grew from 21st to 12th in 2011, a direct result of
the PHLCVB’s international consumer marketing campaign, and the addition of new
flights. International visitation has grown by 35 percent with Philadelphia
welcoming 613,000 international visitors last year. Philadelphia’s meetings and
convention industry – which generates more than a billion dollars in economic
impact annually and fills the majority of hotel room nights – is also heavily
impacted by international attendees. On average, 40% of Philadelphia convention
attendees and exhibitors come from outside the U.S.
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