FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Lee Tasseff, President
Mansfield/Richland County Convention & Visitors Bureau
419-525-1300 Ext 24
ltasseff@mansfieldtourism.com
CVB Brings Home 5 More Awards
Dublin, Ohio – The Ohio Travel Association (OTA) held the annual Ohio Conference on Tourism at the Embassy Suites in Dublin, Ohio on October 10-12. One of the much-anticipated events at the conference is the presentation of RUBY Awards, a competition honoring those who have found the most innovative and creative ways to market their destination, attraction, or service in the diverse field of tourism marketing. RUBY stands for recognizing uncommon brilliance in the travel & tourism industry. The Mansfield/Richland County Convention & Visitors Bureau was honored with 5 awards in the statewide competition.
Click Here to see award winning entries
“The staff and our creative partners did a great job of helping to re-launch our look with brand new marketing products,” said Lee Tasseff, Bureau President. “The RUBYs are the pinnacle of competition for in Ohio’s tourism industry. This help cap off a successful year in Richland County tourism. We’ve gotten very good results from our website, social media, PR and niche market campaigns. We took our new materials and put them to good use in the marketplace.”
Category: Annual Report – 2011 Report – RUBY Award Winner
Category: Promotional Video – The Shawshank Trail – RUBY AWARD Winner
Category: Promotional Video – Haunted Mansfield – Citation of Excellence
Category: Marketing Campaign – The Shawshank Trail – Citation of Excellence
Category: Website – MansfieldTourism.com – Citation of Excellence
The CVB entered 6 categories and was very excited to be recognized across the state for their tourism marketing efforts. The Ruby Awards, sponsored by Ripple Effect Interactive were presented during the Ohio Conference on Tourism, the state’s largest conference for tourism industry professionals.
“While the awards are a reflection of what we do, it’s how we use them and why we do it that really counts. Every success we have means more positive attention pointing back to our community, catching the interest of visitors and having them spend more money here as a result.
Tourism is a net revenue generator for Mansfield and Richland County in terms of visitor spending ($284 million), jobs sustained (3975) and local taxes generated ($7.6 million). While not all economic sectors have seen growth, tourism has recovered faster than most and has been driving new money into our local economy.”
OTA members and travel and tourism entities within Ohio submitted their best marketing materials in 16 categories, with nearly 150 entries were submitted. Winners in each category received the coveted RUBY Award, while runner-up submissions were given the Citation of Excellence. The Mansfield/Richland County CVB received the following awards in their budget classification:
This round of recognition extends the streak the Bureau has been on with its promotional materials. Earlier this year the Bureau received three First Place “MIDDY” Awards for its 2011 Annual Report, new MansfieldTourism 3.0 website and Haunted Mansfield promotional video. MIDDY Awards are presented for destination marketing and tourism development. 120 award entries were submitted from destination marketing organizations across Ohio in print, advertising, promotion, TV/Video, Internet related, strategy, graphics, and radio divisions. Entries were judged by a team of experts in the communications, advertising, public relations, publications and/or tourism from outside of the OACVB membership.
The CVB wants to recognize their creative partners: Teri Myers for the Annual Report and Marketing Campaign elements, Spire Advertising & Web Design for the website, and Ryan Niemiec for both promotional videos.