New Visitors Bureau intiative encourages local companies to hold meetings in the D

The Detroit Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau is known for angling in out-of-town corporations for conferences. But Let's Meet in the D! aims to flip the script by inspiring local corporations to look in their own backyard when considering locations to host meetings.

When Christopher Ilitch became chairperson of the DMCVB in January, he said he considered how he personally could contribute to the organization. "I thought, probably through my network and through my position in the community, I could really be effective in encouraging Metro Detroit companies to hold their their meetings here," he says. "This initiative can make a huge difference, a huge impact, at no cost."

Ilitch notes that outsiders can be more likely to give Detroit a chance when considering a meeting or convention host city. "What we learned from the Super Bowl, the All Star game, NCAA basketball, the Auto Show, is that when people come here they leave impressed," he says. "They come here and we are returning them as advocates." He hopes Let's Meet in the D! has a similar effect on Metro Detroiters.

The program is already having some impact. Little Caesars, which is owned by Michael and Marian Ilitch, is moving the Little Caesars 2009 worldwide conference for franchisees from Las Vegas to Detroit, which will bring over 1,500 people to Detroit. General Motors has identified over 15 meetings that will be moved to Detroit over the next two years.

Other early adopter companies are: Bank of America, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Crain Communications, Deloitte, Detroit Medical Center, ePrize, Ford Motor Company, Michigan Economic Development Corporation, Northwest Airlines, Strategic Staffing Solutions, and Verizon Wireless.

DMCVB plans to release ongoing results for the program on a regular basis and provide an economic impact study to demonstrate the results. Ilitch also is pushing to better track the positive feedback the bureau hears from visitors to the area as another low-cost high-impact way to boost the area's economy.


Source: Christopher Ilitch, DMCVB
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh