Explore St. Louis Continues Tradition of Marketing Excellence

IMAGE: Members of the Explore St. Louis marketing team gather for a photo shortly after receiving the Marketing Campaign Award at the 2016 Missouri Tourism Awards Gala on Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2016.  The event was part of the annual Missouri Governor’s Conference on Tourism held this year in Independence, Mo. (pictured left to right) Brian Hall, Chief Marketing Officer; Jennifer Hollenkamp, Director of Marketing; Renee Eichelberger, Director of Leisure Travel Sales; Kitty Ratcliffe, President and Patrick Remming, Marketing Research Manager.

For more information, contact:
Anthony Paraino at 314-922-0654
aparaino@explorestlouis.com, or
Kiara Bryant at 314-992-0614
kbryant@explorestlouis.com

For Immediate Release

EXPLORE ST. LOUIS CONTINUES TRADITION OF MARKETING EXCELLENCE
Missouri Division of Tourism Recognizes Explore St. Louis with Marketing Campaign Award

ST. LOUIS (Oct. 6, 2016) – If you live in the St. Louis region, you may not be aware of the great
lengths that are taken to attract visitors to your hometown. That job falls in the very capable hands of the Explore St. Louis team whose work helps bring more the 25 million visitors here each year for leisure, convention, meeting and business travel. When it comes to creating innovative marketing programs to help sell St. Louis, Explore St. Louis has a track record of winning both regional and
national awards, including receiving the Marketing Campaign Award this week at the 2016 Missouri Tourism Awards Gala.

“We are fortunate that one of our state’s largest destinations has such a strong tradition in creating unique and memorable marketing campaigns that help attract visitors to Missouri,” said Dan Lennon, director of the Missouri Division of Tourism. “This is the third time since 2009 that Explore St. Louis’ marketing team has received this honor.”
Explore St. Louis was recognized for their creative ‘St. Louis is the Stop for Nonstop Fun’
campaign (and its social media component entitled #FunnestFamily), which integrated the use of social media, broadcast and public relations channels. The award was presented to Explore St. Louis on Wednesday, Oct. 5, at the 2016 Missouri Governor’s Conference on Tourism held in Independence, Mo.

“Over the last few years we have established a clear positioning for St. Louis with a strong lineup of creative marketing that highlights our destination’s world-class attractions, restaurants, entertainment and affordable options that are ideal for families,” said Brian Hall, CMO for Explore St.Louis. “The Nonstop Fun/#FunnestFamily campaign delivered for us on many levels generating high levels on engagement on the #FunnestFamily Facebook page, over 84 million traditional media impressions and awareness levels of nearly 50 percent in each of the targeted markets. These efforts generated a record $270 of direct tourism expenditures for every $1 invested in marketing communications totaling an estimated $376 million in economic impact.”

To learn more about the campaign, view this video of the Explore St. Louis’ award winning campaign.

Explore St. Louis is the driving force behind St. Louis’ $5 billion convention and tourism industry, the official destination marketing organization of St. Louis City and County and operator of the America’s Center Convention Complex.
# # #

**For images of the campaign or the award presentation, please contact Anthony Paraino at 314-602-2229 or aparaino@explorestlouis.com.