COLLABORATION AWARDS

At the very beginning of the pandemic, the entire tourism community within Bellaire immediately recognized the challenge of keeping their small town economically viable with its strong dependence on tourism. By mid-May of 2020, the business community came together and combined their individual audiences to elevate Bellaire collectively as a respite for safe travel, a place to escape crowds, and a place to be outside with multiple types of recreation. The concept of the theme "Bellaire is Fresh Air" resonated with the business partners immediately and the campaign was born. Each partner added to the creation and production of the marketing campaign by providing voice talent, creating videos and vlogs, developing radio and print advertising, and even merchandise. From the gourmet bakery to the yoga studio to Short's Brewery, each business began using the social media messaging collectively to celebrate "Bellaire is Fresh Air". The results were demonstrated in the record- setting revenue and visitation but, the most important result is that every storefront in Bellaire remains occupied. It was confirmed that the message is stronger, the audience reach is wider and the message's equity is greater when everyone comes together.

Frankenmuth developed a goal to spread the joy of the season in a more responsible way by utilizing more spaces and hosting a greater number of events for visitors to choose from every day of the week instead of just the very busy weekends. The two-year development projects have included the addition of a 40-foot Christmas tree with 23,000 programmed LED lights set to music, the placement of 175 trees lining all the downtown streets, and the largest destination development project is the addition of the "Frankenmuth Ice Rink" which greeted over 17,000 skaters in the first year. In 2021, "The Frankenmuth Christmas Experience" marketing campaign was launched with a designated landing page, social media campaign, a printed experience guide and interactive activities for guests to immerse in the activities and connect personally with businesses through contests and activities at the Farmer's Market. The Frankenmuth Christmas Experience has forever changed how the holiday season is celebrated in Michigan's Little Bavaria. What once was consisted of a couple of busy weekends, has transformed into a seasonal experience that can be enjoyed any day of the week during the season!

As the pandemic took hold and shutdowns ensued, the meetings and events industry came to a grinding halt. Leaders within the industry did not sit idle and instead went into action to develop protocols and guidance that Michigan hotels, event venues and meeting professionals could use to return to meetings in a safe and responsible manner. More than seventy volunteers from sixty organizations representing health, tourism, state associations, and meeting professionals joined forces to create the Safe Meetings in Michigan coalition. The group broke into five subgroups and published five fully researched education pieces for the meeting process to create the Safe Meetings in Michigan Guidebook which has been downloaded over 6,000 times. The work culminated in the Safe Meetings in Michigan Virtual Conference in June 2020 to deliver the information to over 200 meeting professionals throughout the state and the Midwest region. The Safe Meetings in Michigan project exemplified the very best of what industries and associations can accomplish when they coalesce around a common cause. The industry is still relying on many of the protocols and practices that were developed nearly two years ago. And while the pandemic continues to affect the meetings industry, the work done through Safe Meetings in Michigan allows host venues and host organizations to feel empowered to move forward in bringing people together for conferences and events.