Midsized Venues: Brands Aren't Just for Soda Pop

By Rachelle Crum -- Tradeshow Week, 7/18/2005

The Southwestern United States is tough turf for midsized trade-show cities and their venues.

As the region's larger cities have increasingly targeted smaller meetings and shows, midsized cities like Arlington, Texas, and Albuquerque, N.M., have rebranded their images to capture a bigger piece of the tradeshow pie.

Both cities' convention and visitors bureaus have developed marketing strategies to move themselves out of the shadows of their larger counterparts, to lure new shows and to hold onto existing business.

The Arlington Convention & Visitors Bureau introduced its "Fun Central Arlington, Texas" brand and culture in October 2002 to help differentiate itself, said Linda DiMario, bureau president and CEO. Situated between Dallas and Fort Worth, the area is home to the Texas Rangers' ballpark Ameriquest Field; amusement parks like Six Flags Over Texas and Hurricane Harbor; and the Arlington Convention Center, which offers 93,000 square feet of exhibit and meeting space.

When DiMario arrived at the bureau a mere 10 days before Sept. 11, she could see that the destination "was billing itself just as a law firm would."

There wasn't anything that created visual images in your mind," DiMario said, "or that struck any emotional chord."

The bureau's rebranding campaign was initiated with the support of the city and the Arlington community to "reflect what our clients and customers tell us we are. We own the fun in the metroplex," DiMario said. Arlington hotels and businesses supported the endeavor, she added, "because they knew we couldn't just do business as usual. We've done a good job bringing everyone on board, and that's helped immensely."

And not a moment too soon, DiMario said, because after the events of Sept. 11 and the recession that followed, the whole competitive landscape changed. Dallas and Fort Worth (convention centers) expanded, and Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center came in. She said: "The market was soft to begin with and all those facilities, as well as the hotels, are now fishing in our pond. They've all started going after smaller meetings. We needed to separate ourselves from the pack."

Over the past three years, the Fun Central brand has benefited the area substantially, DiMario noted. On a 1-to-5 scale, the brand weighs in at 3.8 in focus groups, and "We haven't lost any conventions to anybody," she said.

Also, the city's hotel occupancy tax collections increased by 19 percent in the last quarter of 2004 and by more than 11 percent in the first quarter of 2005.

Some hotels are still using the Fun Central brand, she added. "We have hotels that actually answer their phones, 'Wyndham Hotel Fun Central.' "

The Albuquerque Convention & Visitors Bureau introduced the "It's A Trip" brand in August 2001, after it "conducted a very intense marketing and advertising research project," said Tania Armenta, vice president of tourism and communications for the group.

The slogan (also the bureau's Web address, http://www.itsatrip.org) takes advantage of the city's location on Route 66 and its culture, and "hones in on what makes Albuquerque authentic," Armenta said. "It plays up the more quirky attributes of the city as well."

The bureau designed a print advertising campaign that would introduce aspects of its city with a comical twist. One reads, "Oh look, here comes the Margarita cart," even as it reminds the reader that the city also boasts the 600,000 sq. ft. SMG-managed Albuquerque Convention Center. Another ad reads: "At 6,000 ft. above sea level, attendance is assured to be high."

Linda Brown, vice president of convention sales and service for the bureau, said the rebranding has generally helped convention business, because it's given the group its own identity. "It's extremely catchy," Brown said. Plus, she joked, "people can't spell Albuquerque."