Greater St. Charles CVB Asks What's Your St. Charles Story?

The Greater St. Charles Convention and Visitors Bureau recently unveiled a new marketing and social campaign designed to attract visitors to the Greater St. Charles area for winter getaways entitled “Stories to Write Home About”.

A new website at www.StCharlesCharm.com, will enable visitors not only to read stories and view photos from other visitors to entice them to book a room this winter, but also encourage them to share their own stories, photos and experiences from a recent visit or memorable Greater St. Charles experience.

Visitors can also share their memorable stories and photos on Twitter (@StCharlesIL) and Instagram (@StCharlesIL) using hashtag #STCStories.

At the conclusion of the winter campaign, five submissions will be selected by a judging panel to receive a spring or summer St. Charles getaway package, including hotel stay. Winning submissions will be announced in early March.

Marketing Manager Jason Pawlowski stated the objectives of this new winter marketing campaign are two-fold:

1.) To increase bookings with Greater St. Charles hotels during the winter months.

2.) To encourage visitors to share stories and photos of their most memorable St. Charles getaways, with the longer-term goal of utilizing this more authentic and personal content to assist the Bureau in better marketing Greater St. Charles as a getaway destination to a wider net of visitors.

In addition to the anticipated increase in winter bookings, Pawlowski said the visitors' perspective is an essential component to the success of the “Stories” campaign.

“How better to market the many wonderful tourism amenities the Greater St. Charles community has to offer to visitors than thru the stories and experiences of the visitors themselves?” said Pawlowski.

The “Stories to Write Home About” campaign is supported by a robust, multi-channel advertising campaign, including print advertising in local and national magazines, radio ads, direct mail, digital marketing, and social media.

The Greater St. Charles Convention and Visitors Bureau is funded by a portion of the hotel/motel tax collected by St. Charles hotels and by the Illinois Office of Tourism for the purpose of promoting Greater St. Charles as a destination for leisure tourists and meetings and conventions, sports events, and motor coach trips.