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

Tucson has been named one of the Top 10 Spring Break Destinations for Families 2013 by Livability.com, a national website that highlights more than 500 of America’s best places to live and visit. 

The list is the second installment of an annual listing of America’s top spring break destinations and features communities that offer families a budget-conscious, amenities-rich vacation that can be enjoyed over the course of a few days. To narrow down the list, Livability.com editors looked at cities with plenty of parks, green spaces and outdoor recreation opportunities as well as family-friendly attractions, such as zoos, aquariums, amusement parks and museums.

Tucson was chosen because it offers families a host of activities for all age groups – both indoors and out – as well as a number of other travel amenities for families, such as hotels with pools, vacation deals and kid-friendly restaurants.  Read more here.

Top 10 Spring Break Destinations for Families 2013
1. Santa Cruz, CA
2. Tucson, AZ
3. Portland, OR
4. Omaha, NE
5. Indianapolis, IN
6. Birmingham, AL
7. Charlotte, NC
8. Tulsa, OK
9. Boise, ID
10. Cincinnati, OH

“Tim’s knowledge of the Tucson Region, his connections and relationships with key stakeholders and his experience in overseeing operations that include sales, marketing and PR as well as community affairs for several area attractions will be valuable assets to our organization,” said Allison Cooper, Vice President of Marketing for the MTCVB.

Vimmerstedt most recently served as the Director of Operations and Community Affairs for Pima Air & Space Museum. His extensive experience in tourism spans more than 20 years and includes roles within the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Old Tucson, Biosphere 2, Rawhide and the Agro Land and Cattle Company. He can be reached via email at tvimmerstedt@visittucson.org

The MTCVB, an accredited Destination Marketing Organization (DMO), is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the Tucson area as a convention, visitor and film production destination. Learn more at visittucson.org.

The findings from this public online survey will be incorporated into MMGY Global‘s research and will help shape the strongest identity and position statement for Tucson as a premiere destination for vacation and meetings.

Photo: MOCA Tucson

Peter Young: Capitalist Masterpieces, an exhibition of large-scale paintings by noted painter Peter Young opened last month at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in downtown Tucson.

Young, who emerged in New York in the 1960s and quickly rose to prominence on the global art scene, has lived in Bisbee since 1972. His paintings, which examine a range of experiments in abstract painting from the 1960s to today, can be seen in the permanent collections of the MoMA The Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Hirshhorn Museum, and many others.

MOCA Tucson will re-open from holiday hiatus on January 9. Normal hours are Wednesday-Sunday 12-5pm; admission is free on the first Sunday of every month. For more information, visit moca-tucson.org.

Travel the region with your Tucson Attractions Passport – an exclusive pocket savings guide to the best there is to see and do in Southern Arizona. Enjoy money-saving 2-for-1 offers plus other great discounts. Purchase here for only $18 or pick one up at the Tucson Visitor Center or one of several other distribution locations.

New this year – The ”Book of Fun” mobile app

Now you can purchase and download the Tucson Attractions Passport right to your Android or iPhone! Just go to your smartphone’s specific App Store/Marketplace and search for “Tucson Attractions Passport.” Or click here for quick links.

Download the Book of Fun for FREE and purchase the offers in-app, safely, via Paypal. Each Passport purchase includes all 52 fantastic offers and discounts which can be redeemed by visiting the attractions with app in-hand.

The Attractions Passport is made possible through a collaboration between the Metropolitan Tucson Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Southern Arizona Attractions Alliance, a nonprofit organization of regional attractions dedicated to cooperatively promote tourism and visitation in southern Arizona.

“These international visitors would spend an estimated $250 billion per year, creating jobs and spurring economic growth in communities across the country,” the White House press release cites. See the full release here.

MTCVB applauds these efforts to increase tourism nationally as we continue to partner with local and regional elected officials to increase the positive impacts of tourism in Tucson and Southern Arizona. Tourism contributes $2.6 billion annually in direct travel spending to our region. (AOT/Dean Runyan Associates 2010) Learn more about how tourism impacts our local economy.

Beginning Monday, May 7, listen-to-win on K-HIT 107.5 and KIIM 99.5 for our ‘Did You Know’ tourism spots with over $1500 in local tourism prizes!

On May 10, join tourism colleagues at the historic Hotel Congress for a special “Meet & See” featuring downtown businesses, food and hotel tours (easy access and plenty of parking). And on May 24 learn about the burgeoning Canadian visitor market from staff of the Arizona Office of Tourism, the Canada-Arizona Business Coalition and MTCVB.

See the list of prizes, and event registration information here.