News You Can Use

Bureau invites travelers to explore Illinois’ Fantastic Fall-O-Ween Road Trips

Kicking off Sept. 12, the Fantastic Fall-O-Ween Road Trips Web site will invite travelers to discover the state’s beautiful fall foliage, exciting festivals and other unique destinations all while driving down Illinois’ scenic stretches of highways. To launch the program with a media splash on Sept. 12, IBOT-branded scarecrows will descend on Chicago and entertain commuters. The scarecrows will be handing out Fall-O-Ween pumpkins featuring the IBOT Web site to kick off the fall travel season and drive traffic to enjoyillinois.com. To encourage morning drive chatter on radio and TV, morning show producers will receive packages with essential goodies for the perfect Fall-O-Ween Road Trip. 

IBOT has also secured an exclusive media partnership with the Chicago Sun-Times. The
Sun-Times plans to announce Illinois’ Fantastic Fall-O-Ween Road Trips in its Travel section on Sept. 12 and follow up with additional coverage highlighting scenic routes, activities and events through November.

For more information on Fall-O-Ween, contact Brad Strauss at IBOT (312-814-3155 or brad.strauss@illinois.gov) or Stephanie Aenchbacher at Edelman (312-240-2688 or stephanie.aenchbacher@edelman.com).

More than 170 cyclists travel the state in the third annual Illinois Great Rivers Ride

More than 170 cyclists from 22 U.S. states and Canada will participate in the third annual Illinois Great Rivers Ride, sponsored by Governor Blagojevich, Opportunity Returns, the Illinois Department of Transportation and IBOT. Kicking off in Chicago on Sept. 9, the 2007 ride travels approximately 335 miles before concluding in Springfield on Sept. 15. 

This year’s seven-day noncompetitive ride offers participants an entirely new route from which to enjoy the state’s magnificent natural beauty and attractions. Highlights along the route include:

• A pre-ride celebration in Chicago aboard Chicago’s First Lady
• An opportunity to cycle on a Formula One-Style Racing Circuit at the Autobahn Country Club in Joliet
• Sightseeing at the spectacular Starved Rock State Park near Utica
• A dinner cruise aboard the Spirit of Peoria paddleboat
• Tours of Lincoln’s New Salem State Historic Site in Petersberg
• Access to the acclaimed Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum in Springfield
• A celebratory dinner at the Governor's Mansion in Springfield followed by festive fireworks

For more information on the 2007 Illinois Great Rivers Ride, visit www.illinoisgreatriversride.com or call 877-477-7007 (ext. 217).

Illinois advertising gears up for fall push after wowing competition at ESTO

The state's popular Offbeat Illinois advertising campaign was recognized by tourism organizations across the country when it won the National Council of State Travel Director's Mercury Award for best overall print campaign at the Educational Seminar for Tourism Organizations (ESTO). The award program was created to recognize members for excellence and creative accomplishment in state/territory tourism marketing and promotion, inspire the continued development of imaginative and exciting destination marketing and promotion programs and to showcase outstanding work.

This fall, Illinois continues its iconic black-and-white print advertising and radio advertising that targets women who live within driving distance of the state. The ads will encourage consumers to experience Illinois' festival getaways, scenic drives and couples getaways in markets including Chicago, St. Louis, Indianapolis, Champaign/Springfield/Decatur and Peoria/Bloomington, as well as national publications such as AAA Living and Budget Travel. Additionally, IBOT has produced an eight-page insert featuring all of Illinois' amazing fall travel options which will be distributed on Sept. 9 in select target markets.

UK program, MyChicago, engages hometown celebrities in multi-media initiative

Employing its understanding of the UK market, IBOT has successfully introduced two ambassadors of the “MyChicago” public relations program, which highlights the top five areas of interest to UK travelers—culinary, architecture, entertainment, music and shopping—as personified by world-renowned ambassadors with local connections.

Currently IBOT has announced two of its five ambassadors: Shopping Ambassador Melissa Turner, director of fashion arts and events for the City of Chicago; and Music Ambassador Frankie Knuckles, the “Godfather” of House music. For more information on the MyChicago program or to view the ambassadors’ micro pages featuring profiles of Melissa and Frankie, visit www.gochicago.com/mychicago.

So far, both Melissa and Frankie have been a huge media success, garnering more than 8.6 million impressions from outlets such as “BBC Holiday,” The Independent on Sunday, Evening Standard, The Observer, Travel Weekly and handbag.com. The program has also attracted record visitors to gochicago.com and has been so successful that IBOT is looking to launch a similar program tailored to the German market early next year named “Mein Chicago.”  The German program will have some key enhancements, including German-speaking ambassadors and themed itineraries that will encourage travelers to explore Chicago and beyond.

Watch for the identity of IBOT’s next MyChicago Ambassador to be revealed this fall and IBOT’s first Mein Chicago ambassador to be named in spring 2008.