Changes abound with fresh opportunities for the VCB
To the editor:
The Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau is beginning the fall season with two major changes a new office and a new marketing partner.
Last week, we moved our headquarters to 2201 Second St., Suite 600, in the Fort Myers River District. The office is located at the corner of Second Street and Broadway across from the Lee County Administration building, and for visitors, there is two-hour free parking available along the street, in addition to a pay lot adjacent to the building. We are excited about the new environment and the opportunities it affords. For example, we will be able to broadcast Tourist Development Council meetings on the county’s government access cable channel. Though our location has changed, our phone number (338-3500) and fax number (334-1106) remain unchanged.
Also new for the VCB, we are launching a partnership with MMG Worldwide, a $100 million full-service global advertising and marketing firm that has specialized in travel marketing for 30 years. Its clients include Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Southwest Airlines, Hertz, Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, MGM Mirage and several state and local tourism bureaus, including Colorado, Montana, Kissimmee and the Outer Banks. MMG has offices in key markets around the country and will be opening an office on Dean Street in the Fort Myers River District.
A 10-member MMG creative team immersed itself in our destination recently during a weeklong tour of Lee County. The team met with hoteliers, attractions’ representatives and restaurant managers, while staying at a different property each night, to experience the gamut of local accommodations.
We look forward to working with MMG to move more deeply into emerging media fields and to integrate the destination’s brand into more mobile and digital arenas. We are also analyzing our cooperative program, and we intend to make revisions that will offer more flexibility and more digital opportunities to our partners.
MMG has conveyed to me that its team is impressed with our destination partners and especially with our joint commitment to sustainability. We are excited to put their experience to work and to continue to aggressively promote The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel.
Tamara Pigott
Lee VCB executive director