ALBUQUERQUE – The Visit Albuquerque (Visit Albuquerque) announced today that its advertising campaign created in partnership with advertising agency McKee Wallwork Cleveland received three Gold Adrian Awards from the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI). HSMAI is an international organization of sales and marketing professionals representing all segments of hospitality, travel, and tourism. At the award ceremony on January 28th, the three Gold awards will be eligible for the overall Platinum and Best of Show Awards.
 

For the second consecutive year the Visit Albuquerque and McKee Wallwork Cleveland were recognized by HSMAI. This year, one Gold Adrian was awarded for Visit Albuquerque’s “Local Artisan” positioning campaign, in which area artists were commissioned to design and hand-craft framing elements composed of Spanish-inspired punched tin, Western-inspired tooled leather, and Native-American pottery. The frames’ integral element in the award-winning campaign included a series of magazines ads, website design, an interactive kiosk at the airport, newspaper inserts, a brand video, and various other communication pieces. Another Gold was awarded to Visit Albuquerque for the print campaign including a total of seven magazine ads featuring the locally-created frames. The third Gold recognized the Visit Albuquerque’s newly designed website – www.itsatrip.org - in the CVB/Destinations/Office of Tourism Web Site category. The website was created by Visit Albuquerque staff and Aristotle Interactive based on the branding concept developed by McKee Wallwork Cleveland and the Visit Albuquerque.

“The key messages in our marketing materials promote Albuquerque as a world-class destination by touting our authentic Southwestern heritage, rich culture, dramatic landscape and spectacular climate,” said Dale Lockett, President and CEO of Visit Albuquerque. “We strive to differentiate our marketing efforts including advertising and the website from the homogenous look of so many other destinations. The Adrian Awards are highly regarded in our industry and we are honored to receive three Gold Awards.”

A team of industry experts judged the entries based on marketing objectives, creativity, quality, content and results. In its 51st year, the Adrian Awards continues to capture and showcase industry achievers and ROI-producing materials from hotels, airlines, attractions, car rental companies, casinos, convention centers, cruise lines, destinations, restaurants, spas, and more. The 2007 competition received almost 1,300 entries from countries around the world.

“We are thrilled to be the recipients of three Gold Adrian Awards from HSMAI, the largest and most prestigious hospitality trade organization,” said Steve McKee, President of McKee Wallwork Cleveland. “This advertising campaign and website allow us to showcase Albuquerque as a premier destination and continue to attract visitors to our great city.”

* Images of the Visit Albuquerque website and some of the award-winning ads are attached. Larger files are available for print up on request.

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About Albuquerque Convention and Visitors Bureau
The mission of the Visit Albuquerque is to stimulate economic growth by marketing Albuquerque as a visitor and convention destination. For more information, please call 505.842.9918 or visit our web site at www.itsatrip.org.

About McKee Wallwork Cleveland
McKee Wallwork Cleveland offers planning, creative, and media services to a broad range of growing companies, including Taos Ski Valley, Mr. Rooter Plumbing, Glass Doctor, Heritage Hotels & Resorts and The Natural Stone Council. Founded in 1997, the agency earned a spot on the 2002 Inc. 500 list of the fastest-growing private companies in the nation and is a two-time EFFIE Award winner. www.McKeeWallworkCleveland.com

About Aristotle Interactive
Aristotle is a leading developer of high performance travel & tourism sites, online-offline marketing campaigns, and interactive media projects. One of the most experienced interactive tourism agencies in the industry, Aristotle offers a complete suite of proven integrated marketing services designed to boost search engine rankings and increase website traffic and sales. Aristotle has more than ten award winning years in website design and promotion. www.aristotlewebdesign.com