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Pinellas goes pithy: Visit us

The tourism agency's new name, Visit St. Petersburg/Clearwater, gets to the point.

By CHRISTINA REXRODE, Times Staff Writer
Published October 5, 2007

One week after Hillsborough County's tourism arm unveiled a hip new name, Pinellas followed suit with its own style of rebranding.

It marks the tourism agency's biggest endeavor so far under D.T. Minich, who in May became executive director of the St. Petersburg/Clearwater Area Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The first thing to go: that clunky, 19-syllable name to promote county tourism. Now, marketing materials will say simply "Visit St. Petersburg/Clearwater." On Thursday evening, Minich detailed that and other parts of the rebranding for an audience of about 350, most of them tourism industry reps, at the Hilton in St. Petersburg's Carillon Park.

All of the changes are based on research conducted since Minich came to the agency. His employees, he said with pride, crammed at least a year's worth of work into just four months.

The reason for the agency's rebranding is simple, and its focus is wide: "We're just trying to get a bigger piece of the market, period," said Minich, 43. So he's targeting in-state and international, business and pleasure.

In most cases, the agency will drop the "Convention & Visitors Bureau" from its materials, and replace it with the -if not much catchier then at least more direct - "Visit St. Petersburg/Clearwater."

The agency considered "The Beaches of Tampa Bay" for its new slogan, but focus groups in New York, Chicago and Orlando said that slogan did not make them think of Pinellas County.

It also redesigned its sun-and- waves logo and replaced specific information about Fort De Soto and Caladesi Island, which have recently earned accolades from the well-known Dr. Beach, with the simpler "America's Award-Winning Beaches."

The new business cards, Minich said, arrived a few hours before his presentation. He, like all of his staffers, sported a T-shirt with the new logo.

The Pinellas agency is hopping on a national bandwagonby downplaying its CVB name and trimming its slogan. Even the trade group for CVBs changed its name to Destination Marketing Association International in 2005. And on Sept. 27, the Tampa Bay Convention & Visitors Bureau announced it was renaming itself Tampa Bay & Co.

Among the other changes that the agency has planned:

- Redesign of the Web site, though this won't take place until all of the recent research can be analyzed. The agency will keep the FloridasBeach.com address until then. Under Minich, the agency has launched German-language and Spanish-language pages, and plans to launch a French site next week.A separate Web site, PinellasCVB.com, will continue to provide information for industries.

- Heavy advertising at Orlando Sanford International Airport, a popular portal for British visitors.

- A bigger presence at Pinellas events like the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, which draws big-name sponsors like American Express.

- A partnership with the Martha Stewart Show, which might give away a trip to Pinellas for its studio audience.

Minich, the agency's head, is no stranger to rebranding an area. A few years ago, when he was executive director of the tourism arm of Lee County, he decided that the agency's longtime slogan, "the Lee Island Coast," didn't resonate with out-of-state travelers. So he axed it for "the Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel" - though first he had to win over tourist businesses in other parts of the county.

Christina Rexrode can be reached at crexrode@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8318.

[Last modified October 4, 2007, 22:49:51]