Tucson Visitors Bureau, the leader in destination marketing in Tucson and southern Arizona, teams with MMGY Global to re-brand region
At the end of last year, the Metropolitan Tucson Convention & Visitors Bureau issued a request for proposals to re-brand Tucson and southern Arizona as a prime visitor destination and enhance the region’s presence within the global tourism market.
A committee comprised of local tourism, sports, economic development and marketing industry professionals reviewed 16 proposals submitted by agencies from across the country, including several from Tucson and southern Arizona.
“Essentially, the selection committee worked with us to find a company that can help us define Tucson and Southern Arizona’s top tourism-related attributes and package and deliver those elements in a compelling manner to our targeted customers,” said Brent DeRaad, MTCVB president and CEO.
MMGY Global, an internationally recognized leader in destination marketing, was unanimously selected to be the MTCVB’s agency of choice to lead the creation of a comprehensive brand positioning strategy for the destination. MMGY Global will employ a branding process grounded in proprietary consumer research. Insights into the habits and preferences of potential visitors will then help shape a brand for the destination that not only distinguishes Tucson from its competitors, but also connects with and inspires its target audience.
“The findings from both the in-market and out-of-market research that MMGY has presented to our partners and community leaders are critical to us in creating a brand foundation and position statement for the region that is believable among our stakeholders,” said Allison Cooper, MTCVB vice president of marketing. “That is, the brand’s promise, essence, values and voice – can be clearly articulated and delivered in the visitor experience – and owned by all of us as a destination.”
The MTCVB is spending the first half of 2013 working with MMGY Global to incorporate consumer research and stakeholder input into a brand architecture for Tucson and Southern Arizona from which new advertising, positioning and messaging will be developed and incorporated into all aspects of the bureau’s marketing, promotion and sales programs. The extensive re-branding process will be completed in June, at which time the MTCVB will officially announce its name change to Visit Tucson and debut new marketing materials, including a new logo.
Regionalism and a unified voice for the destination have been recurring themes throughout the branding process.
“It is nice to see the collaboration,” said Rick Neter, director of marketing at Biosphere 2 and University of Arizona’s College of Science. “A lot of people are coming together with the goal of moving the community forward.”
Tourism in Tucson and southern Arizona is a $2.4 billion dollar industry. The habits of the American leisure traveler greatly contribute to tourism’s overall economic impact. In a subset of the 2013 Portrait of American Travelers, a national survey of more than 2,500 adults who have traveled within the last year, that tracks the emerging travel habits, preferences and intentions of American leisure travelers, MMGY Global revealed an in-depth look at the travel tendencies and influences of the American traveler as they pertain to the Tucson region.
“Tucson is the first destination to receive a subset analysis from this year’s study,” said Steve Cohen, MMGY Global vice president of insights. “MMGY is utilizing data from our 2013 Portrait of American Travelers to assist in crafting a new destination brand for the Tucson region, we are excited to provide this information for such a valued partner.”
Inspiring people to go places, MMGY Global helps travel companies grow revenue by motivating their customers, creating progressive marketing strategies based on research and applying the insights to measureable brand and channel marketing plans. Their portfolio includes The Beaches of Ft. Myers and Sanibel, Walt Disney Parks & Resorts, Mexico Tourist Board and the Colorado Tourism Office. The mission of the MTCVB is to drive and enhance the economic prosperity of Tucson and southern Arizona through tourism by promoting, selling and marketing the region for leisure, meetings, conventions, amateur sports and film production.
Tucson branding process to date:
September 2012
- MTCVB issues nationwide request for proposals to re-brand the region as a prime visitor destination.
October 2012
- Selection committee reviews 16 proposals from top marketing agencies across the country, including Tucson and southern Arizona
November 2012
- Proposals narrowed to five, agencies invited to Tucson to make final presentation to selection committee
December 2012
- Committee unanimously selects MMGY Global to lead the creation of a comprehensive brand strategy for the destination
January 2013
- MMGY Global is officially awarded the MTCVB contract
- MMGY Global returns to Tucson to conduct key stakeholder interviews and gather community input through town hall forums
- MMGY Global presents the process by which the research and brand will be developed to partners and stakeholders at the MTCVB Open House event
February 2013
- MMGY Global gathers research through focus groups comprised of potential visitors in Tucson’s key markets of Chicago and Denver
March 2013
April 2013
- MMGY Global presents to a group of MTCVB partners and stakeholders, a subset of the 2013 Portrait of American Travelers that specifically relates to Tucson and southern Arizona
- MMGY Global presents key findings from the interviews conducted in Chicago and Denver
- MMGY Global presents Brand Architecture, an overview of the process the agency has followed to develop a strong brand for Tucson
May 2013
June 2013
- MMGY Global and MTCVB will present the new brand, logo, marketing materials at the JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort on June 13
- MTCVB will officially become Visit Tucson
