The Salt Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau and its creative service provider, Blain Olsen White Gurr Advertising (B/O/W/G), recently were presented a Utah ADDY Award for the marketing organization’s interactive web site, VisitSaltLake.com, representing the only destination marketing organization to win an ADDY for its web presence. ADDY’s are awarded by the Utah chapter of the American Advertising Federation for the most creative and effective advertising and branding elements produced for an organization’s promotional efforts in 12 different categories.

Since its launch in June 2006, the SLCVB’s new interactive web site, VisitSaltLake.com, has experienced record numbers, including one for unique visitors with over 47,000 in November 2006, and a prodigious 33 percent increase over 2005 in overall page views. At the core of the site is a flash-animation graphic, enhancing the visitors’ online experience and presenting the site’s navigation in a fun, user-friendly creative interactive graphic depicting the beautifully natural setting of Salt Lake.

“Most convention and tourism sites look the same,” said B/O/W/G Creative VP Eric White. “With VisitSaltLake.com and the ads, we thought people would respond well to a Salt Lake that’s fresher, more fun, and likes to laugh. Sure we’re different—that’s good. People don’t come here looking for the same thing they left at home.”

In addition to being awarded the ADDY for its web site in the Interactive Media category, the SLCVB and B/O/W/G were awarded Silver ADDY’s in the categories of Consumer/Trade Publication four-color advertising for its “Inch,” “Screw Fun” and “Tramp” campaign; Mixed Media for its national campaign including promotional collateral, advertising and interactive media; and Elements of Advertising for both of the Bureau’s new marks, the Salt Lake Country logo and the Ski Salt Lake logo.

The Salt Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau is a private, non-profit corporation responsible for the promotion of Salt Lake as a convention and travel destination. Salt Lake is a unique fusion of metropolitan city and quaint mountain town; the towering Wasatch Mountains that embrace Salt Lake offer a dramatic backdrop to the vibrancy and activities of downtown. Having recently undergone a $58 million expansion, the Salt Palace Convention Center now boasts 679,000 square feet of exhibit and meeting space, ideal for groups of all sizes and needs. For more information on all that Salt Lake has to offer, visit www.VisitSaltLake.com.