As National Travel & Tourism Week begins, the the Convention & Visitors Bureau announced its 2016 advertising campaign designed to encourage leisure travel to Springfield is underway.

The campaign began in April with television and radio spots, digital advertising featuring the bureau’s new “True Talk” videos native content marketing and select magazine placements.

The “True Talk” videos feature several local business owners talking about things to do in the city and why they like living and owning a business in Springfield. The videos are being shared on the CVB’s social media channels as well as in digital advertising on a variety of sites.

Laura Whisler, vice president for the CVB says that the campaign is based on recently conducted branding research for Springfield.  

“We learned that Springfield visitors want to experience authentic places where they can ‘act like a local,’” Whisler said. “Springfield has a great mix of unique stories and interesting people and we are excited to share the behind-the-scenes stories and experiences with our visitors through the True Talk campaign. It’s encouraging to see that it is resonating with them, too. Early indications show that the campaign is a success.”

To date, the campaign has garnered more than 368,000 impressions, 189,000 video views and 6,100 reactions, comments and shares on Facebook alone. Complete campaign analytics will be available once the campaign concludes at the end of June.

For information about the CVB’s advertising efforts, contact Laura Whisler, CVB vice president, at 417-881-5300 or lwhisler@springfieldmo.org.

The CVB is a nonprofit marketing agency dedicated to promoting Springfield as a travel destination in order to boost the local economy.

National Travel & Tourism Weeks is May 1-7 and destinations across the country are working to showcase the value of the industry.