FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Choose Chicago media relations contacts:
Isaac Reichman, ireichman@choosechicago.com
Michelle Gonzalez, mgonzalez@choosechicago.com
Prestigious tourism awards for Best Social Media Marketing and Best Tourism Marketing were awarded to Choose Chicago at the 2022 Illinois Governor’s Conference on Travel & Tourism
Photo selects available
(photo credit: Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity)
CHICAGO – December 8, 2022 – Choose Chicago, the city’s official destination marketing organization, announced they were awarded two 2022 Illinois Excellence in Tourism Awards. The awards, presented at Navy Pier on the evening of Monday, December 5 as part of the 2022 Illinois Governor’s Conference on Travel & Tourism, were bestowed on Choose Chicago for Best Social Media Marketing and Best Tourism Marketing. These two prestigious honors recognize Choose Chicago’s ongoing innovation and excellence within the tourism industry.
“Our team at Choose Chicago works tirelessly to promote this amazing city and drive visitors to Chicago for the economic benefit of all of our residents,” said Lynn Osmond, President and CEO of Choose Chicago. “I want to thank the dedicated professionals at Choose Chicago that helped us earn these prestigious awards and I look forward to continuing to make our city proud with our innovative marketing efforts.”
The 2022 Illinois Excellence in Tourism Awards were presented by the Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity Office of Tourism to celebrate the marketing efforts of convention and tourism bureaus throughout the state. Each award category contained a Budget A for organizations with annual operating budgets of $750,000 and above, such as Choose Chicago, and Budget B for organizations with budgets under $750,000. The awards honor innovative tourism marketing initiatives that promote outstanding destinations, attractions and events throughout Illinois from January 1, 2021 through June 30, 2022.
“I am so proud of our incredible marketing team at Choose Chicago and our agency partners,” said Rita Chen, Vice President of Marketing at Choose Chicago. “Every day the team goes above and beyond to promote Chicago in thoughtful, creative and groundbreaking ways, and it is an honor to be recognized by our peers in the industry.”
Choose Chicago’s first award of the night was for Best Social Media Marketing for Budget A in recognition of the multi-pronged social media effort to promote Chicago’s St. Patrick’s Day tradition of dyeing the Chicago River green in March 2022. Choose Chicago prepared an organic suite of curated content and original live content before, during and after the event across Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. This comprehensive social media marketing campaign generated strong engagement to increase awareness of the iconic event, including through an Instagram Reel that achieved viral status, reaching more than 10.8 million people.
Choose Chicago’s 2021 summer campaign, Seize Your Summer, was recognized with the Best Tourism Marketing Award for Budget A. The campaign was launched to revitalize the local tourism industry. It was driven by the insight that travelers wanted to take control of their upcoming summer, particularly after a year where many did not feel in control. The campaign used fresh audience insights and custom research to target travelers with the highest impact to visit Chicago in the post-pandemic recovery.
The highly successful campaign employed a wide range of strategies, including creating custom landing pages with curated imagery, content and messaging while also using new paid media tactics to reach the target audience. During the campaign, 3.5 million visits were driven to choosechicago.com, 97% of 2019 levels. The campaign also generated more than $121.5 million in hotel revenue, accounting for 285,000 hotel bookings and 87,000 flight bookings.
For the full list of 2022 Illinois Excellence in Tourism Awards, visit https://www.illinois.gov/news/press-release.25764.html.
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About Choose Chicago
Choose Chicago is the official sales and marketing organization responsible for promoting Chicago as a global visitor and meetings destination, leveraging the city’s unmatched assets to ensure the economic vitality of the city and its member business community. Follow @choosechicago on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter and tag #ChicaGOandKnow. For more information, visit www.choosechicago.com.
