During this time of transition for Visit Jacksonville, we thought it would be helpful to extend the Marketing Blog into an Interim President's Report addressing the topics and opportunities available for our partners.

Sales Update

The sales team has developed a renewed commitment to selling city-wide conventions under the leadership of Marcia Noon, Associate Director of Sales.  Marcia and Kim Ritten, Senior Director of Sales, along with other team members' support and assistance are reviewing our city-wide sales plan and updating the plan.  This new sales plan will be reviewed and discussed at the various committee meetings.  The hope is that selling more city-wide conventions will create compression for the area and result in more bookings not only for downtown but for the outlying areas as well.

SMG hired a new sales person to focus on selling the Prime Osborn Convention Center and other SMG managed assets.  SMG also has a new general manager for the Jacksonville area.  Visit Jacksonville will be working with SMG to develop a reception possibly at the Prime to welcome the new team members.  Stay tuned for more details.

The Cash for Contracts program was a huge success and is wrapped up.  The program awarded $350,000 in grant funds representing 58,470 room nights and an economic impact of $5.4 in room revenue alone.  This represents 52 hotels in all regions of the city.  We hope that Visit Jacksonville will be given the opportunity to offer a grant fund like this again in the future.  The Cash for Contracts was part of the TDC grant of $875,000 awarded to the organization last September to support the industry during this economic downturn.

Public Relations Update

The Communications team hosted the family travel writers FAM trip, Jacksonville from A to Z, to coincide with the reopening of the Riverside Arts Market this past weekend.  There were five writers in attendance.  Three of the writers are brought a child with them to get a true experience of a family vacation and one brought their mother for a multi-generational vacation experience. The group stayed at the Quality Suites Oceanfront in Jacksonville Beach with trips scheduled throughout the city including: Riverside Arts Market, Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens, MOSH, Kingsley Plantation, Hanna Park, Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens, Adventure Landing and others.  Two of the writers tweeted while they were in town (@TravelingGal and @ThemeParkMom) about their experiences during the trip and we expect more coverage in the following weeks/months.

For information on the itinerary and writers, visit www.visitjacksonville.com/familyfampartners.

Jacksonville was selected to attend the VISIT FLORIDA Toronto Media Mission and all three media receptions in New York (Consumer, Outdoor and GLBT).    The Communications team will be traveling for them in April.

Marketing Update

The new http://www.jaxeventcalendar.com/ launched providing visitors and locals with a great tool for researching and learning more about events taking place in our city.  The calendar is a feed from Jacksonville.com and includes the major events taking place annually.  This is especially a great tool for your front line staff to access when assisting visitors.  We encourage all partners to link to this site.

The spring marketing co-op's will close on Wednesday.  If you have an interest or questions, please contact Jacqueline Simard at jsimard@visitjacksonville.com. 

Also, make sure your business has the spring rack card available for guests.

Partner Update

Mark Your Calendars for Upcoming Events:

• o Wednesday, March 10, 4pm - 6pm on the Jacksonville Princess II for John Reyes Going Away Gathering
• o Tuesday, March 23, 8:30am registration; 9am-10am Program, Hilton Garden Inn Jacksonville/Ponte Vedra Beach - Visit Jacksonville for Breakfast - Maximizing the Multicultural Market
• o Wednesday, April 7, 8:30am registration; 9am-10am Partner Quick Connect/Partner Benefits Refresher; 10am - 11am Web Site User Overview - UNF University Center

Do you want a Visit Jacksonville consultation for maximizing your Partnership or tapping into a new market?  Call your Partner Development Team today to schedule an appointment!  Contact Sarah Gibson at 421-9166 or Kimberly Morgan at 421-9154.