Meet in Minnesota : Explore Minnesota Tourism

Meet in Minnesota

Explore Minnesota Tourism is developing a presence in the meetings and conventions market. Although meeting and convention marketing is primarily a focus for Minnesota's convention and visitor bureaus, Explore Minnesota Tourism is coordinating with organizations throughout the state to promote awareness of the bottom-line benefits of meetings and conventions and of Minnesota's many meeting venues. The goal is to increase the number of meetings and conventions held in Minnesota and to increase attendance at these events.

This effort includes a website for use by meeting/convention planners and participation at national trade shows for meeting planners. Activities for 2012 include:

Support for a Minnesota hosted reception for meeting planners and materials for booth branding at the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) conference in Dallas, TX, August 11-14, 2012
MeetinMinnesota.com - Listing of meeting facilities and tourism promotion organizations; online format for meeting planners to request RFPs; communities should make sure facilities are updated on the website.
Meet in Minnesota logo - use of this logo is encouraged when meetings-related information is distributed; download the logo here
Organizational Partnership Grants - meeting & convention marketing is available in this program

For further information on updating meeting facilities on the website, and resources for promoting meetings & conventions in your community or business read the "Meet in Minnesota Campaign" section of this page below.

Sample Opinion Editorial piece available for your community's use
Use the attached "op-ed" template to tell your story. Add information pertinent to tourism in your own community and send out under the letterhead of your own organization, with a local contact. Or, use as the basis for your own letter to the editor to your local newspaper.

Opinion Editorial template

Download the Meet In Minnesota logo.

Meet in Minnesota Campaign

The Meet in Minnesota campaign relies on public relations efforts, elected public officials, industry communications, and support tools to make the most compelling case possible for meetings and conventions.

The Meet in Minnesota toolkit provides you with a number of materials to participate in the Meet in Minnesota promotion:

Talking points/fact sheet -- for you to adapt to your needs
Meet in Minnesota buttons to spread the message to staff, meeting planners, corporations and community leaders
DVD of video on a One Person Meeting

Your organization or business can participate in this promotion in a number of ways.

List your CVB or chamber on the destinations list of the MeetinMinnesota.com webpage. CVBs and Chambers that represent communities with facilities for an overnight meeting of 30 people or more can have a link on our meetings and conventions webpage. To be included, please submit the following to peter.dian@state.mn.us:
- Thumbnail photo: 60 pixels wide, 47 pixels high
- Name of CVB
- Description: 200 character
- URL to link
Your organization can also directly receive requests for proposal (RFPs) from parties interested in hosting a meeting in Minnesota. To participate in this program, please include an e-mail address to which you would like RFPs delivered. Through your organization, RFP's should be made available to tourism facilities capable of hosting meetings and conventions.
List your convention center on MeetinMinnesota.com If there is a convention center in your community, send the name and a Web site link (URL) to Peter.dian@state.mn.us For the purpose of this listing, a convention center is a publicly owned facility that combines an exhibition space with a substantial number of smaller event spaces. The purpose of these buildings is to host trade shows, public shows, conventions, large food functions and other functions related to the convention industry. Lodging is not a part of the facility.
List Your Conference Center on MeetinMinnesota.com. A category for conference centers is included on the MeetinMinnesota.com website. For purposes of listing on this page, a conference center is defined as: a facility that is constructed for and devoted to meetings (more meeting space than sleeping rooms). To be listed, please send the name of the conference center and a Web site link (URL) to Peter.dian@state.mn.us.
Include information on your meeting facilities in your accommodations listing on exploreminnesota.com. To update listings go to http://admin.exploreminnesota.com and enter your unique user ID and password. If you've forgotten your login information, click on "Forgot Your Password?" and your login information will be sent to you. Once logged in there are two places you can enter information about your space: 1) go to "Attributes for Category Accommodations" screen and enter the maximum capacity of both your banquet facilities and your meeting/convention facilities, or 2) (optional) add a line in your 500 character description. If you have any questions about your listing or difficulties in logging in, please contact Kim Kinsler at Kim.kinsler@state.mn.us.
Use the Meet in Minnesota logo on your meetings-related collateral, including Web sites, brochures, etc. (Download logos)

We welcome your comments and feedback on this Meet in Minnesota promotion, as well as any information you can share on outcomes.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact Colleen Tollefson at 651-757-1872, or 800-657-3637 or e-mail colleen.tollefson@state.mn.us or Gayle Junnila at 651 757-1852 or gayle.junnila@state.mn.us.