EXPERIENTAL MARKETING EFFORTS
Visit Baltimore often has a presence at major meetings and conventions tradeshows to attract new groups and more business to our city by showing off what makes Charm City special , but this year the team took big risks and invested more in creating an immersive experience in our booth by bringing a full crab feast to the tradeshow floor , creating a retro-style video game , and partnering with local businesses to create unique amenities . And it paid off .
TATTOO BAR AT IMEX
In addition to conducting one-on-one appointments and group presentations , the Visit Baltimore sales team saw more than 350 people walk through their booth at IMEX in Las Vegas . Playing off our meetings and conventions advertising tagline , “ Be Surprised , Meet Baltimore ,” we celebrated our city ’ s unconventional creativity by providing custom-designed temporary tattoos by the Baltimore Tattoo Museum . Owner Chris Keaton also joined us to handdraw temporary Vegas-themed flash tattoos . During happy hour , we served Sagamore Spirit orange crush cocktails and crab cakes from Jimmy ’ s Famous Seafood .
ASAE CRAB FEAST
The Visit Baltimore team attended and exhibited at the ASAE Annual Meeting in Atlanta in August 2023 . We invited thousands of meeting planners and industry executives to an authentic steamed crab feast in our 20x20 booth . Maryland blue crabs , oysters and Sagamore Rye orange crushes were served over the two-day convention . Visitors participated in crab-picking and oyster-shucking demonstrations led by Tim “ Chyno ” Chin , content creator for The Baltimore Foodie , and Nick Schauman of the Local Oyster . Out of 600 booths , Baltimore was recognized as Best In Show ! The crab feast experience gave the team a chance to connect with attendees for a longer time , resulting in deeper interactions and more RFPs . We scanned 496 people into our booth , compared to 138 the previous year .
18 VISIT BALTIMORE