PACVB Marketing Campaign

The Peoria Area Convention and Visitors Bureau announces its new marketing campaign to bring conventions to the Peoria Civic Center after its $55 million renovation. Visitors will be drawn to the Peoria area with some new ambassadors, friendly dogs of all shapes and sizes and the slogan, “Come. Stay. Play.”

The campaign uses mans’ best friend in a variety of ads to show all that the Peoria area has to offer with its reliable and fun atmosphere. Specific ads include: “Have you Heard?”, “Treat Yourself”, “Get the Royal Treatment” and “Have a Ball”. The integrated campaign is multifaceted and includes direct mail, print advertising in targeted trade publications and direct sales.
PACVB staff tested several concepts with a group of meeting planners before settling on the “Come. Stay. Play.” theme.

Rick Edwards, PACVB board member and Event Planning Manager for Caterpillar Inc., was consulted in the early stages of planning the promotion. “This new marketing campaign is sure to create new interest in hosting conventions and meetings within the greater Peoria area,” stated Edwards.

The PACVB works to bring business to the Peoria area in the form of conventions/meetings, thus the key audience for the new campaign is meeting planners. Meetings bring visitors to the area who spend dollars at local hotels, restaurants, and stores. 

Kelly Stickelmaier, PACVB Director of Communications, stated, “The convention business is highly competitive and the key to successful marketing efforts is creativity. We are capitalizing on the affection people feel for their pets. Using images of these loyal companions combined with strong taglines, the campaign will grab their attention and then sell them on our product. I am confident that our campaign will, without a doubt, stand out in the marketplace and bring a smile to a meeting planner’s face.”


The Peoria Area Convention and Visitors Bureau works to bring more overnight visitors to the Peoria area through conventions/meetings, athletic events, group travel and leisure travel, thereby creating more business for the entire destination.
For more information about the Peoria Area Convention and Visitors Bureau’s marketing plan, please contact Kelly Stickelmaier, Director of Communications, at (309) 676-0303, ext. 3287