That expertise and passion was evident in three different marketing and sales initiatives our team conducted in recent weeks. I will highlight each one, over the next several issues of our Meet Minneapolis Minute, starting with our New York City Media Blitz.

Many of us may take issue with the fact that New York often portrays itself as the center of the universe. And Frank Sinatra’s signature song – New York, New York and its most familiar line, “if I can make it there, I’ll make it anywhere” – feeds off of that that premise. Realistically, however, influencing media outlets based in New York City is a vital part of our awareness-building strategy, since New York City is one of the media capital of the world. Our Public Relations team led a three-day media blitz to New York City where our group interacted with numerous reporters and writers for major travel and consumer publications, in order to initiate interest in our region for future stories. Overall, earned media is much more authentic and reliable than paid media; it’s essentially a third party endorsement which adds credibility to a narrative.

The Meet Minneapolis PR team has been traveling to New York City annually, since 2017. Our goal, this year, was to work with our regional partners to pitch and execute a New York City media tour promoting the Minneapolis/St. Paul region through deskside appointments and curated events.

From Oct. 28-31, we executed two (2) media events and 13 in-person briefings with reporters and editors, resulting in 85 interactions with media. This also provides opportunities for ongoing follow-up and relationship-building with these individuals and their media outlets and publications.

We want to thank our partners who joined us and helped to ensure the success of this vital initiative:

• Bloomington CVB
• Explore Minnesota Tourism
• Greater MSP
• Mall of America
• Metropolitan Airports Commission/MSP Airport
• Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED)
• Visit Saint Paul

Hearst Media Event
On Oct. 28, we hosted an event within the Good Housekeeping Wellness Lab at Hearst Tower. The event was open-house style where we could mingle with media attendees and discuss health and wellness, food, business, and the lifestyle, culture and unique attributes of the Minneapolis/St. Paul region and Minnesota overall. More than 50 individuals from various publications under the Hearst umbrella stopped by. Media publications that are a part of Hearst include: Bicycling; Delish; Esquire; Food Network Magazine; Good Housekeeping; O, The Oprah Magazine; Men's Health; Redbook; Women's Health; Woman's Day; and more.

Culinary Event
On Wednesday, Oct. 30, we hosted a beautifully curated culinary event, located at Nomo Soho Gallery and Terrace. During the event, chef/restaurateur and Minnesota local, Justin Sutherland, prepared bites for our attendees, which included: Swedish meatballs, Walleye cakes, Pimento cheese dip, and offered samples of his whiskey collaboration with Tattersall Distilling. More than 20 food-focused media contacts and influencers attended providing an opportunity to discuss the Minneapolis region, particularly our culinary scene.

Media Desksides: Our time in New York City also included in-person appointments with reporters and editors representing major media outlets and publications. This provided additional opportunities to pitch various story ideas. The individuals in the appointments represented publications and media outlets such as: AFAR, Architectural Digest, Associated Press, CNN Travel, Condé Nast Traveler, Lonely Planet, Martha Stewart Living, Oprah.com, Parents, Shermans Travel, Travel + Leisure, and USA TODAY.

We want to offer a special thank you to the team at Carmichael Lynch Relate for its technical expertise and media relations acumen.

Be sure to check out upcoming issues of the Meet Minneapolis Minute as we highlight more great work by the Meet Minneapolis team including the Cuernavaca Sister City delegation visit and the Washington, D.C. sales blitz.