Ally Mills Dorrough, TMP, APR, our communications and marketing manager, got together with her public relations colleague John Matson, APR, vice president of communications at the Alabama Nursing Home Association, ahead of the association’s mid-year convention along Alabama’s Beaches. The PR pros discussed the importance of long-term relationships in enhancing meetings and encouraging attendees to explore the destination beyond the conference space.
When considering locations for your next convention or meeting, think beyond the hotel or convention center. Don’t skip working with the local convention and visitors’ bureau (CVB)/destination marketing organization (DMO) as your first connection with the market as many CVBs offer complimentary meeting planning services.
At Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Tourism, the sales team assists planners in a variety of ways, including sourcing proposals, recommending local suppliers and offering a robust marketing toolkit – for free. The sales team is comprised of destination experts who go above and beyond to ensure planners have a smooth planning experience and attendees feel connected in the ballroom and beyond the board room along Alabama’s Beaches.
John Matson, APR, vice president of communications at the Alabama Nursing Home Association, shares his top five reasons to work with the CVB when planning your meeting, zeroing in on the importance of long-term partnerships.
- Invested in Your Success. The CVB wants return and new meetings, so they have a vested interest in your success in hopes of winning return business or your organization bringing new meetings to their area. Long-term partnerships for the win!
- Experts in the Market. Want to know about the best restaurants, new attractions or great spots for team-building? They live and work in the destination and know the area far better than you. You can trust their recommendations. They’re not going to steer you in the wrong direction because, like I stated above, they want repeat business.
- Builds Your Credibility. Likewise, you immediately have credibility with a potential vendor/site because the CVB referred you. You’re not a random meeting planner calling or emailing out of the blue. The vendor/site is reasonably assured that you’re a legitimate meeting/event because you’re working with the CVB. I have much more success when the CVB connects me with a new vendor/site than when I cold call.
- Saves You Time. You can call/email the CVB’s sales team, and they will do the leg work, allowing you to focus on other tasks. This is a game-changer for meeting planners who inevitably wear many hats.
- Speeds Up the Process. By starting with the CVB, many times you can get contracts signed and events set much quicker. The sales team helps cut through the clutter when matching venues and sourcing proposals.
So, wherever your next meeting takes you, be sure to touch base with the CVB/destination marketing organization first to set your event up for success.
John Matson is Vice President of Communications for the Alabama Nursing Home Association. In that role, he tells the story of nursing home residents and caregivers to help target audiences better understand long-term and post-acute care. He also coordinates the association’s major conventions and supports its political work. John earned his Accreditation in Public Relations in 2012 and won the Public Relations Society of America’s Silver Anvil Award of Excellence for Integrated Communications in 2016. Nationally, John is a past-president of the Public Relations Society of America’s Alabama Chapter and the American Health Care Association’s Society of Long-Term Care Communicators. John holds a Bachelor of Science with honors from the University of Alabama. He and his wife have two children.
