Courtesy Colorado Springs CVB
CVBs take new tactics
A changing marketplace has led convention bureaus to change their tactics.
In Carlisle, the CVB will be working with Giblin and the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center to refine its marketing to the military segment. In Branson, the CVB is planning its ninth annual Military Reunion Planners Conference, an idea that was hatched by its Branson Veterans Task Force, a longtime volunteer organization designed to bring more military personnel to the city.
Planners who attend the conference, Aug. 19-22, attend workshops and a marketplace where they meet with area salespeople, tour hotels and venues, and experience local foods and attractions.
Giblin and his staff attend major Vietnam War events, including the annual Vietnam veterans reunion in Kokomo, Ind., attended by almost 20,000 veterans. It is a time for the heritage and education center to collect soldiers’ stories, one of its missions, and for Giblin to tell soldiers about the new center, which is available for small gatherings.
Giblin also reaches out to American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars groups.
“That has been our best approach,” he said, “to get to the smaller units we want.”
In Colorado Springs, Colo., the Internet and the Reunion Friendly Network and Your Military Reunion Connection have helped the CVB make connections with Vietnam and Desert Storm groups, according to Chelsy Murphy, public relations director.
As younger generations of veterans have begun to reunite, planners have begun to use technology more and become better schooled in reunion planning. “Electronic sales information is requested more frequently, and responses via email are now the norm,” said Janice B. Putnam, marketing and sales manager for Mystic Country Connecticut.
