New Name: Visit Philadelphia

PTMC CHANGES ORGANIZATION NAME TO VISIT PHILADELPHIA™

PTMC CHANGES ORGANIZATION NAME TO VISIT PHILADELPHIA™
The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC), the region’s official destination marketing organization, today announced its new name: Visit Philadelphia

“The name Visit Philadelphia™ focuses on the relationship between our destination and the visitor. It’s a strong call to action that tells people exactly what we want them to do—visit Philadelphia,” said Meryl Levitz, president and CEO of the newly renamed company. “Visit Philadelphia™ is also more in line with one of our strongest assets, visitphilly.com. And, it is increasingly how people are referring to us.”

The name has been in the works since 2010, when the organization launched visitphilly.com (formerly gophila.com). Now, it is the most-visited destination website network of the 10 biggest cities in the U.S.

The name Visit Philadelphia™ is in line with the industry trend of using action- and inspiration-oriented names that emphasis the destination. Organizations have been making the switch for years (e.g., Visit Denver, Travel Portland and Choose Chicago).

Visit Philadelphia™ is not a campaign; it is a company identity. The organization will continue to run its successful programs and campaigns, most notably With Love, Philadelphia XOXO®.

GPTMC will continue to be the legal name of the company. Visit Philadelphia™ is the dba (doing business as) name for all consumer and stakeholder communications. The new logo was designed by local company Beh Rose, where designer Kelly Beh and brand strategist Sadie Tettemer work together to build brands based on strong belief systems and smart designs.

About Visit Philadelphia™:
GPTMC, now doing business as Visit Philadelphia™, is a 501(c)(3) founded in 1996 by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the City of Philadelphia and The Pew Charitable Trusts. Visit Philadelphia™ makes Philadelphia and The Countryside® a premier destination through marketing and image building that increases the number of visitors, the number of nights they stay and the number of things they do in the five-county area. In 2012, the region welcomed 38.8 million domestic visitors—that’s 12 million more than in 1997, when the company launched its first advertising campaign.

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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