Aug 20, 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 20, 2008

CONTACTS: Nancy Hamilton, Lee Rose, Katie Meckley (239) 338-3500

Southwest Florida's Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel earns Florida's top tourism marketing honors

LEE COUNTY, FL – The Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau (VCB) earned a "Henry Award," the highest award for imaginative destination marketing at the 41st Annual Governor's Conference on Tourism Flagler Awards Competition presented Aug. 17-19 in Orlando.  The VCB has the distinction of acquiring 21 Henry Awards since the competition began in 1999.  

Sponsored by Visit Florida, the official marketing organization for Florida tourism and the Florida Commission on Tourism, the Flagler Awards program is designed to acknowledge the outstanding marketing achievements of the state's tourism-related businesses, destinations, attractions, and other entities.  Four out-of-state tourism-marketing authorities judged the competition's nearly 200 entries in 15 categories.

In the competition's magazine category, the VCB was awarded for its campaign "Florida's Unspoiled Island Sanctuary." The VCB uses magazines as one element in a multi-media campaign designed to narrow the focus of the brand and communicate its core attributes and differentiators.

The VCB was a finalist in six other categories including creativity in public relations, which focuses on reaching a new market through the sports media; Web site, www.TreasureYourTrip.com; resource promotional material – consumer, "My Island Life" Webisodes; television, "What took you so long?" campaign; radio, "Stop ignoring that voice inside your head" campaign; and mixed media campaign, "Florida's Unspoiled Island Sanctuary" campaign.  

"We are grateful for organizations of the caliber of Visit Florida and the Florida Commission on Tourism to have acknowledged our bureau's marketing efforts over the years," said VCB Executive Director Suya Davenport.  "We commend the outstanding work of our staff; the VCB's advertising agency, BVK of Fort Myers and Miles Media."
 
EDITOR'S NOTE: The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel in southwest Florida includes: Sanibel Island, Captiva Island, Fort Myers Beach, Fort Myers, Bonita Springs, Estero, Cape Coral, Pine Island, Boca Grande & Outer islands, North Fort Myers, Lehigh Acres.

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