Case History

Ad Campaign: Attractions, Not Distractions

Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau

The Chicago Convention & Tourism Bureau is the premier sales and marketing organization that promotes Chicago’s world-class assets to global leisure travel and convention business to ensure the economic vitality of the City and its member business community.

Challenge

Re-position Chicago as a leading business destination to compete with cities that have more money and momentum.

Strategy

  • Understand Chicago’s strengths and weaknesses by conducting research with key decision makers.
  • Create a campaign highlighting the areas where Chicago beats the competition — Las Vegas and Orlando — under the theme “Attractions. Not Distractions.”
  • Illustrate what makes Chicago a truly unique destination by showcasing Lake Michigan, Buckingham Fountain, the Magnificent Mile and Sue the Dinosaur.
  • Execute the campaign in a variety of impactful sizes and in all the key industry publications.

Results

By promoting Chicago as a unique destination, the “Attractions. Not Distractions” campaign helped draw more business and leisure travellers than ever before.

Following the campaign’s initial run, the city confirmed booking over 1,200 future business events, reaching an all-time high in hotel occupancy. Additionally, trade shows moving to Chicago showed a 10% increase in attendance.

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