Category: American Society Of Association Executives

VISIT Milwaukee serves up the destination of choice…and Bloody Marys

8/24/2018

At the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) Annual Meeting & Exposition in Chicago this week, anyone who stopped by the VISIT Milwaukee booth received a wealth of MKE information and a hearty Bloody Mary. The sales team welcomed about 750 attendees to its ASAE booth and served up 700 stacked signature Milwaukee Bloody Marys.

“Among many other nicknames, Milwaukee is known as the Bloody Mary Metropolis. We wanted people who visited our booth to get a true taste of the city (pun intended),” said Marco Bloemendaal, senior vice president of sales. “Having activities like this at trade shows, conventions, and community events keeps Milwaukee top of mind for travelers when planning their next business trip or vacation.”

The ASAE Annual Meeting & Exposition is the premier tourism event hosting meeting planners from associations nationwide. These association representatives enjoy the three-day conference for its plethora of resources as well as in-person introductions to top destinations to host their own meetings and conventions, a key market for VISIT Milwaukee.

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Omaha’s Old Market Wows a New Crowd in Canada

8/23/2017

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Visit Omaha, also known as the Omaha Convention & Visitors Bureau, is the official tourism authority for the City of Omaha.

For the second year in a row, Omaha receives top honors at one of the largest convention trade shows in the tourism industry. Visit Omaha’s recreation of Omaha’s Old Market Entertainment District received third place, out of 700 organizations, for best trade show booth at the American Society of Association Executives’ (ASAE) Annual Meeting & Expo in Toronto, Canada. Last year Visit Omaha received top honors for best booth.

“The whole idea behind the booth is to bring a taste of Omaha directly to national convention planners who attend ASAE’s Annual Meeting each year,” said Keith Backsen, executive director for Visit Omaha. “Receiving an award for the second straight year means our message is resonating with convention decision makers and grabbing their attention.”

To change it up, this year Visit Omaha created its own play money. “Omaha Bucks” were included in welcome packets to encourage participants to go shopping at the Visit Omaha booth. This also provided an opportunity for Visit Omaha’s sales team, which includes hotel and convention center representatives, to engage with event planners in a creative way. The “Omaha Bucks” could be used to purchase Omaha Steaks beef jerky, handcrafted soap made by the Benson Soap Company, and souvenir Omaha craft beer mugs.

“In years past, we typically had 200-300 attendees stop by the Visit Omaha booth. This year there was a total of 807 people representing 453 different organizations through the booth, many with potential meeting business for Omaha,” added Backsen.

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