U.S. Bank and Meet Minneapolis launch social media partnership

Minneapolis Selfie Sweepstakes, Insider Podcast and Insider Events Calendar create new opportunities for social users to share their love for Minneapolis

MINNEAPOLIS, July 26, 2016 — U.S. Bank and Meet Minneapolis, Convention and Visitors Association, have joined forces on an innovative new social media partnership that celebrates Minneapolis and highlights opportunities for visitors and locals to get out and experience the city. The launch of the partnership is timed to coincide with major events starting soon at the new U.S. Bank Stadium in downtown Minneapolis.

Through this new effort, fans and followers of Meet Minneapolis and U.S. Bank on social media will have new opportunities to share selfies for prizes, get insider information on events, and learn about things to do in the city each week. Social media users can join the fun by liking and following Meet Minneapolis and U.S. Bank’s social media accounts:

Twitter: @MeetMinneapolis and @usbank

Instagram: /MeetMinneapolis and /usbank

Facebook: /MeetMinneapolis and /usbank

The major components of the partnership include:

Minneapolis Selfie Sweepstakes

Snap a selfie at a Minneapolis landmark and be entered to win a $50 U.S. Bank gift card, just for sharing your love of the city with the world! The Minneapolis Selfie Sweepstakes begins now, with U.S. Bank Stadium as the first selfie spot. About 200,000 people visited U.S. Bank Stadium for the first time during the grand opening celebrations, and the sweepstakes is a chance for folks who are checking out the stadium to share their selfies and win. Just tag your selfie with #MplsSelfies to be entered for a chance to win. New selfie spots will be added to the list each week, and a gift card winner will be chosen at random from each week’s entries. Winners can either redeem their prize at Minneapolis Visitor Information on Nicollet or receive the gift card by mail. To see all the entries, just visit www.Minneapolis.org/MplsSelfies.

Minneapolis Insider Podcast

The Minneapolis Insider Podcast is a new, monthly podcast produced by Meet Minneapolis and U.S. Bank to share insider info and highlights of events and festivals in town. It is hosted by Kristen Montag of Meet Minneapolis with a rotating guest co-host. The guest co-host for the first podcast episode is Jason DeRusha, morning anchor for WCCO TV, and it’s available now at www.Minneapolis.org/insider and in the iTunes store and Google Play store.

The first podcast features:

- Jamie Hodgson of M Hospitality, to give all the inside details on the newly-announced food and beverage menu at the new U.S. Bank Stadium.
- Michele Kelm-Helgen, chair of the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority, to take listeners behind the scenes at U.S. Bank Stadium.
- Leah Wong, vice president of events and marketing at the Minneapolis Downtown Council and Minneapolis Downtown Improvement District, to go behind the scenes of the Aquatennial and other summer fun downtown.
- Phillip Trier, Twin Cities Market President for U.S. Bank, to discuss U.S. Bank’s involvement in the new stadium and opportunities for fans during Vikings home games.

Minneapolis Insider Events Calendar

Meet Minneapolis’ social media channels will feature a weekly wrap-up of upcoming events to make it easy for fans and followers to learn about opportunities to get out and experience the city. A new calendar will post each Thursday to help you get ready for the weekend.

Also as part of the partnership, U.S. Bank is now the official sponsor of the Meet Minneapolis Social Media Command Center, located inside Minneapolis Visitor Information at Nicollet and 5th Street. The command center is used by Meet Minneapolis partners for social media activations, events, and activities.

ABOUT MEET MINNEAPOLIS

Meet Minneapolis is a private, not-for-profit, member-based association. It actively promotes and sells the Minneapolis area as a destination for conventions and meetings, works to maximize the visitor experience and markets the city as a desirable tourist destination to maximize the economic benefit to the greater Minneapolis area.

Meet Minneapolis is accredited by the Destination Marketing Accreditation Program (DMAP) of the Destination Marketing Association International.

Online: www.minneapolis.org and http://go.minneapolis.org

On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/meetminneapolis?ref=ts

On Twitter: http://twitter.com/meetminneapolis

On Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/meetminneapolis/

ABOUT U.S. BANK

Minneapolis-based U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB), with $438 billion in assets as of June 30, 2016, is the parent company of U.S. Bank National Association, the fifth largest commercial bank in the United States. The Company operates 3,122 banking offices in 25 states and 4,923 ATMs and provides a comprehensive line of banking, investment, mortgage, trust and payment services products to consumers, businesses and institutions. Visit U.S. Bancorp on the web at www.usbank.com.

MEDIA CONTACTS

Matt Laible, Meet Minneapolis Director of Public Relations & Communications 612.767.8220, mattl@minneapolis.org

Susan Beatty, U.S. Bank Corporate Communications, 612.303.9229, susan.beatty@usbank.com