Verdin client Ventura County Coast and their partner cities—Camarillo, Oxnard, Ventura and Port Hueneme—are definitely “Heading Places Together.” The group’s tremendous efforts to promote the region to visitors were on full display at the annual Tourism Impact Summit on Oct. 1.
The summit is intended to highlight the past year’s accomplishments and outline major initiatives for the coming year. The summit is also designed to engage and educate stakeholders and community members at large about the benefits of the Ventura County Lodging Association.
The summit was at the Ventura Beach Marriott, a beautiful and recently remodeled hotel. The theme of the summit, “Heading Places Together,” was captured in the visual representation of the brand, the unique marketing materials and the presentation itself.
The biggest surprise to the more than 200 attendees was the extraordinary recreation of the Ventura County Coast trade show booth. Many months were spent looking for the perfect visual representation of “Find your Vibe” for the Ventura County Coast booth, which will travel to trade shows throughout the country. The highlight of the booth was the pristinely restored front portion of a classic 1968 VW bus— complete with a roof rack and surf boards—allowing visitors to enter the bus for selfies, to watch exciting video footage of the destination and experience the Ventura County Coast vibe.
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The “Heading Places Together” theme permeated the entire event. Ventura County Coast highlighted their exceptional collaborative commitment by having speakers from Visit California, the Central Coast Tourism Council, and each partner city. These discussions focused on the benefits of VCC and their partnerships with all their stakeholders, as well as the improved economic impact that working together has on the individual communities. Attendees enjoyed well-presented and actionable information, an exceptional lunch and an Instagram-worthy custom fish waffle and ice cream dessert by Coastal Cone.
The summit experience was the result of Ventura County Coast Executive Director Brian Tucker’s attention to detail and dedication to embodying the destination’s brand in every element:
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Name badges were created on special, plantable seed paper, offering long-term sustainability and a lovely patch of wildflowers for participants
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The extensive 2019/2020 marketing plan was provided as a digital version to cut down on waste (though a printed version is available by request!)
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Charming branded VW bus USB drives were gifted to each guest to take home.
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The final detail was a branded, ballpoint pen made of fully recycled materials for use during the event.