CINCINNATI — Joe Burrow targeted six different receivers in the Cincinnati Bengals’ win over the Kansas Chiefs yesterday, but REDI Cincinnati had an even busier day.
The economic development agency targeted cell phones at Arrowhead Stadium with a 30-second ad about Cincinnati’s strengths as “a region that means business.” The agency reached 30,000 cell phones with its geofencing strategy, which sends a message to smart phones that enter a defined area.
“We worked to create a pretty short and sweet marketing message,” CEO Kimm Lauterbach said. "We actually created the ability to target, hopefully, those businesspeople who were attending the game who maybe hadn’t thought of Cincinnati as a location.”
It’s one of many ways Cincinnati’s business community is trying to make the most of the region’s Super Bowl opportunity.
“Cincinnati might be a town that maybe a meeting planner hadn’t thought of before,” said Julie Calvert, president and CEO of the Cincinnati USA Convention and Visitors Bureau. “Convention planners like cities that are successful and they like winners. And that’s certainly what we are.”
So, the visitors bureau is joining forces with REDI, the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber, the startup accelerator Cintrifuse and the Cincinnati Business Committee to develop marketing plans that capitalize on the attention Cincinnati is getting from the Bengals.
“This is such an opportunity for this city, for these organizations,” Calvert said. “And we’re going to leverage it to the fullest of our ability and we’re really excited about it.”
The Cincinnati Bengals got 127,000 media mentions this month, according to the research firm, Critical Mention. That’s nine times the attention this team received last January and it’s only going to get bigger in the next two weeks.
Game Day Communications estimates the Bengals reached a potential audience of 22.6 billion people with its media mentions this month. Buying that much exposure would cost $344 million, CEO Jackie Reau said.
“The Super Bowl is a very powerful stage,” Reau added. “It’s a great time for our city and our region to leverage it to tell our great story of our city that we love so much.”
REDI Cincinnati announced an innovative partnership with the Kansas City Area Development Council last week in which both organizations promised to “Rep the Midwest” by touting each other’s strengths in job creation and quality of life standards. Both groups also pledged to support charities in Kansas City and Cincinnati.
The Freestore Foodbank and Easter Seals are among the nonprofits expected to benefit through Feb. 17, when both groups are inviting business communities in both cities to participate in National Random Acts of Kindness Day. The groups have a goal of recruiting more than 500 volunteers to participate in acts of kindness in the week after the Super Bowl.
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