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Greater Minneapolis
Convention & Visitors Association Launches New
Brand Positioning & Name New name borrows the city's
brand equity to enhance who the organization is and
what it sells MINNEAPOLIS, July 31
/PRNewswire/ -- The Greater Minneapolis Convention
& Visitors Association (GMCVA) today announced
its new name: Meet Minneapolis(TM), Official
Convention + Visitors Association. "With this name,
we strive to create an exciting, differentiating
position for the organization that clearly
communicates who we are and what we want our
customers to do -- meet Minneapolis," said Greg
Ortale, president and CEO of Meet
Minneapolis. The
renaming and repositioning was grounded in
extensive destination, meeting and tourism-related
research over the last several years. Research
found the previous name -- Greater Minneapolis
Convention & Visitors Association -- didn't
capture the fact that the association is a sales
and marketing organization or communicate what it
does for the general consumer. One interviewee
summed it up best when saying, "It sounds
bureaucratic -- like it's an extension of the city
government." The name was only relevant to meeting
planners, a group of clients that was already
familiar with the association and indicated they
would use its services regardless of its name. "It
was also a mouthful," said Karyn Gruenberg, vice
president of marketing for Meet Minneapolis. "We
had the longest name in the industry at 19
syllables. And very few people understood our
acronym -- GMCVA." Representative
of the Market's Personality The name
was designed to be an extension of the city's
soon-to-be launched re-branding initiative. "When
building the GMCVA's new brand, we leveraged the
attributes of Minneapolis to guide the name and
position of the organization," said Joe Cecere,
creative director at Little & Company, the
Minneapolis-based agency contracted for the
project. "Research showed us that the name should
be 80 percent Minneapolis and 20 percent
GMCVA." Reflecting
the personality of the market helps distinguish
Meet Minneapolis from other organizations of its
kind across the country. "However, while we wanted
the name to be inspirational, we didn't want to try
to be something we're not," said Ortale. "The name
is simple, smart and to the point. That's
Minneapolis." Key
attributes of Meet Minneapolis: --
Market smart --
Innovative --
Enthusiastic --
Collaborative Key
attributes of Minneapolis: --
Vibrancy --
Culture --
Social tolerance --
Quality of life --
Innovative business community --
Opportunity Groundwork
for the new name is based on the following
principles: --
Part of the organization's purpose is to welcome
and greet people.
"Research revealed that once people know
Minneapolis, they love the
city," said Gruenberg. "But they need to meet us
first. The name 'Meet
Minneapolis' communicates that purpose." Since
there are wide
misperceptions about the city, particularly that
there is nothing to
do here, "we must invite people to meet us and find
out all we have to
offer," she continued. --
The name is also a call to action. It asks
visitors and meeting
attendees to participate and have a relationship
with the organization
and the city. It also suggests the information
resources these groups
desire. --
It exudes the friendliness of the market. It's
welcoming and works
like a greeting one uses with friends. The name
uses everyday language
consistent with the personality of the city's
people -- friendly and
approachable. --
The word "meet" has multiple meanings and
applications. "To meet" can
be defined as a point where two or more things come
together; where
ideas merge, people connect and experiences
combine. Meet Minneapolis
communicates that part of the organization's core
business is about
booking meetings and
conventions. The Brand Building Process Arriving at the new name and
position was a result of in-depth research,
strategy and execution. Phase
1: Broad-reaching destination research -- In
2002 and 2003, Future Brand, a New York-based
international brand development company, conducted
a landmark research project. To understand key
audiences' perceptions of the Minneapolis-St. Paul
area, Future Brand interviewed 2,000 visitors,
meeting planners, local leaders, people who
recently relocated to the area and potential
relocators from across the country. Among extensive
findings, the research identified the area's key
brand opportunities and challenges. Phase 2:
Industry-specific research and application -- In
2004, the GMCVA called on Carlson Brand Enterprise
at the Carlson School of Management for assistance.
The group audited the organization's brand by
conducting a national survey of meeting planners,
personal interviews with internal audiences, a
benchmarking study of destination marketing
organizations and secondary research (journal and
trade publications). This phase resulted in a
suggested course of action. Phase 3:
Naming and positioning the organization -- In 2005,
Little & Company began using the research to
create the name and position. After defining a
strategic platform, it developed working names and
graphic approaches. Before finalizing the name,
logo and brand guidelines, Little & Company
tested possible names by conducting focus groups
with meeting planners in Washington, D.C., talking
with domestic and international visitors at the
Mall of America and presenting multiple names to
meeting attendees at the Minneapolis Convention
Center. Meet
Minneapolis logos are available at
http://www.meetminneapolis.com
. ABOUT MEET
MINNEAPOLIS: Meet Minneapolis is a private,
not-for-profit, member-based association. It
actively promotes the Minneapolis area as a venue
for conventions and meetings and markets the city
as a desirable tourist destination to bring a
positive economic impact to the greater Minneapolis
area. Available Topic Expert(s):
For information on the listed expert(s), click
appropriate link. Greg Ortale http://profnet.prnewswire.com/ud_public.jsp?userid=10023632 Karyn Grunberg http://profnet.prnewswire.com/ud_public.jsp?userid=10023635 SOURCE Meet
Minneapolis(TM), Official Convention + Visitors
Association
-0-
07/31/2006
/CONTACT: Laura McCarthy, marketing
communications director, +1-612-767-8028, or
lauram@meetminneapolis.com ; or Lee Henderson,
media relations specialist, +1-612-767-8042, or
lee@meetminneapolis.com , both of Meet
Minneapolis(TM), Official Convention + Visitors
Association / /Web site:
http://www.meetminneapolis.com / |
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