A marketing campaign seems to be making a good impression with meeting planners.

About 350 meeting planners were sent a book featuring Sammie Springfield, a sock monkey enjoying the sites, hotels and meeting facilities in the city. A couple weeks later, the same planners received their very own Sammie Springfield, a sock monkey with a Springfield logo on its chest. A website and advertising campaign targeting meeting planners are also part of the campaign.

The goal of the campaign is to generate interest in Springfield as a convention and event destination. In the  coming months, the Convention & Visitors Bureau sales staff will follow up with the meeting planners to discuss potentially bringing events to Springfield.

Several meeting planners who received the book and monkey have responded with positive calls, emails and posts on social media sites.

The sock monkeys are manufactured at Ozark Mountain Kids in Ozark, one of the largest manufacturers of sock monkeys in the United States.

For more information about this and other convention sales efforts, contact Dana Maugans, CVB sales director, at 417-881-5300, ext. 111, or dmaugans@springfieldmo.org.