Convene - August 2015

‘RNC: WE’RE JUS T GE TTING S TARTED’ (CLEVELAND) convn.org/video-cleveland

Hosting a political convention isn’t a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but it is a once-in-every-four-years one, and Destination Cleveland is determined to get everything it can from the experience. Its powerfully direct video ties the

2016 Republican National Convention
(RNC), coming to Cleveland next July,
to the city’s ongoing revival — and, not
incidentally, plugs the $200 million in
direct spending that will result from
the RNC. “The goal of this video was
to showcase Cleveland’s rebirth fueled
by $3 billion in infrastructure develop-
ment, which is putting our city back
on the map as a leading meetings and
conventions destination,” said Colette
Jones, vice president of marketing for
Destination Cleveland. “We want meet-
ing planners to know that Cleveland’s
growing meetings industry doesn’t
stop at hosting the 2016 Republican
National Convention, and that our
city’s renaissance is just getting started.”

‘TACOS & COFFEE’ (SAVANNAH) convn.org/video-savannah

What are three things you don’t neces-
sarily think of together? Okay, prob-
ably lots of combinations — but “tacos,
coffee, and Savannah” is particularly
out there. Which is what makes Visit
Savannah’s video so much fun. Part of
#TrendingSavannah, a series of culi-
nary-themed videos, “Tacos & Coffee”
profiles Foxy Loxy Café, which serves …
“First, we wanted
to expand people’s
knowledge about
our culinary expe-
riences,” said Jer-
emy Harvey, vice
president of com-
munications and
marketing for Visit
Savannah. “ We’re
well known for our
awesome South-
ern and coastal
(seafood) cuisine,
so this video gave
us a chance to
highlight some
creative offerings outside of those
more well-known options. Second, we
were hoping to expand the experience
of a Savannah visit to outside the tradi-
tional ‘historic district’ boundary. Foxy
Loxy Café is in an area south of our his-
toric district’s southern border of For-
syth Park, in an area called the Starland
District, and we want visitors to extend
their visit by going off the beaten path
a bit. Third, we are looking to attract
Millennials and other younger demo-
graphic visitors, so this video focusing
on those regulars [at Foxy Loxy] and
coffee/tacos worked well to tell the
story of where locals who fit that demo-
graphic like to hang.”

‘CUCKOO CLOCK’ (PORTLAND, OREGON) convn.org/video-portland

How best to sum up the offbeat, inclusive vibe of Portland, Oregon? With a joyously insane video about a handmade, 24-foot tall, three-ton cuckoo clock that Travel Portland took on the road for a tourism campaign in Seattle and British Columbia — a campaign that also featured Sasquatch, a unicycle-riding bagpiper, a standup comic, and a singer backed by a mime. The video was “a way for us to share the creative process behind a project that grew to be a success story in the eyes of Portlanders and our partners alike,”