IACVB Is Dead, All Hail Destination Marketing Assn. Intl.
Staff -- Tradeshow Week, 8/1/2005
The votes are in, and it's official: The Intl. Assn. of Convention & Visitor Bureaus will become the Destination Marketing Assn. Intl. effective Aug. 2.
The association express-mailed voting packets to members June 1, giving them a month to return their ballots on a proposed association name change. Three-quarters of the membership participated in the vote, with 80 percent favoring the new name.
Leaders of IACVB's brand leadership campaign initiated the name-change effort last fall, citing a survey that showed lack of recognition for the terms "convention and visitors bureau" and "CVB" among 70 percent of those polled.
The new identity, part of a larger rebranding strategy, comes with the tagline, "Representing CVBs and Tourism Boards Worldwide," which differs from the initial proposal, "Representing Destination Marketing Organizations Worldwide."
The committee originally considered holding a vote on the name change at this year's annual meeting Aug. 3–6 at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego. Instead, the association opted for the mail-in vote, and will roll out the new name at the meeting.
Brad Jones, executive director of the Rochester (Minn.) Convention & Visitors Bureau said he, like most CVB executives, followed the name change closely and participated in the vote.
"We're happy with the outcome," Jones said. "The new name better defines who we are. Destination marketing is what we do now."
He explained that CVBs have undergone an identity crisis in the last several years, with people assuming all they do is run convention centers.
Many CVBs have already changed their names to be more destination-focused, and Jones predicted this trend will continue. The Rochester CVB will remain as such for now, but did change its Web address to http://www.visitrochestermn.com.
