Last month, the Oregon Convention Center (OCC) turned 20: not yet old enough to buy a beer, but accomplished beyond its years.
For two decades, the OCC — which released this nice video retrospective — has served the dynamic needs of meeting planners and convention delegates, embraced the arts, burnished the city’s reputation for design and sustainability, and performed a critically important role in the economic development of the Portland region.
Online marketing guru Kent Lewis (right) discusses the finer points of Travel Portland's pay-per-click strategy with MTV reality-show personality Mike "The Situation." (No word yet if Kent will recommend that we start purchasing the following keywords: "gym," "tan" and "laundry.")
Just a few updates from some of Travel Portland’s partners in crime:
On a recent trip to Miami, our pal Kent Lewis of Anvil Media — Travel Portland’s search-engine marketing firm — bumped into Mike “The Situation” from MTV’s Jersey Shore (see photo at right). A picture may be worth a thousand words, but in this case, a single one will suffice: yikes.
Hats off to our friends at Sockeye Creative. An international panel of judges selected our Sockeye-designed Portland Perks logo for inclusion in the forthcoming sixth volume of LogoLounge.
Speaking of Portland Perks: Sockeye has swept the cutting-room floor to compile a blooper reel for Cheryl VanClacken, the deals-loving, over-caffeinated character brought to exquisite life by Live Wire! Radio host Courtenay Hameister. We hope you’ll enjoy this fitting bookend to a fun series.
There are people who love deals (Pretty much everyone, right?) — and then there’s Cheryl VanClacken. The host of the fictional morning show “Perk Up Portland!” lives to “help” local celebs sniff out bargains. Check out her videos for the lowdown on savings, Portland-style. One note: While Portlanders do enjoy saving money, few of us are quite as … enthusiastic … as Cheryl.
Have you visited the official Portland fan page on Facebook? That’s where we share local tips and talk with 6,000 or so of our closest friends.
If you’re not yet among Portland’s fans, now is the perfect time to join the party. This month, we’re sharing more than great insider info about the city: We’re offering a $50 gift card for shopping — sans sales tax — at downtown Portland’s Pioneer Place. Just book your spring getaway (minimum two-night stay) by Feb. 21 for travel by April 30.
To get your gift card, plus complimentary overnight parking, continental breakfast for two and the discount-packed Portland Perks coupon book, visit the Portland fan page on Facebook.
Since I work for Travel Portland, many of my out-of-town friends and family ask me if I know of any secret deals on hotels, restaurants and activities in Portland (most of these people are beyond crashing on my couch, but still want to save a buck).
The answer? Of course I do. I always send them to Portland Perks, where they can get exclusive deals on more than 35 Portland hotels, free parking, free continental breakfast and the Portland Perks coupon book – more on that in a second.
But starting today, I can share an even sweeter deal. People who follow the Travel Portland Twitter feed can book a participating Portland Perks hotel with all the benefits and save an extra $50 off a two-night stay. (more…)
As we near the end of the year, I thought I’d share a recent bit of news coverage: an Associated Press article that mentions our Twisitor Center, one of the most popular Portland-related travel stories of 2009.
This particular article, though, is bittersweet: Vice President of Communications & P.R. Deborah Wakefield – who is quoted in the piece, and whose efforts have raised Portland’s profile around the globe – has announced that she is leaving Travel Portland on Dec. 31 for a job with CityPass.
Like any good reporter, Deborah (pictured here) never wants to be the story. But since joining Travel Portland some 16 years ago, Deborah’s expertise, credibility, professionalism and hard work have brought Portland’s stories to the world – and brought visitors from around the world to Portland. We’ll miss her, and we wish her all the best.
While I usually post about my hobbies around Portland, my life, like many of yours, is increasingly steeped in all kinds of online interactions – particularly social media. Here’s an update on Travel Portland’s activities with this blog; our own social network, GoSeePortland.com; our presence on Twitter; and Travel Portland on Facebook.
The fact that you’re reading this means you’ve already discovered one social outgrowth of our main online presence. This blog gives us the opportunity to not only share the wealth of Portland experiences that we collectively experience both personally and in our work, but also to discuss Portland with you — we love your comments and encourage you to keep them coming! (more…)
It’s Klamath Falls to you, but K-Falls to us Oregonians. Day One of “NTA Reno or Bust” ended at the Shilo Inn Klamath Falls and we were thrilled with the light snowfall that greeted us …
Since I work for Travel Portland, many of my out-of-town friends and family ask me if I know of any secret deals on hotels, restaurants and activities in Portland (most of these people are beyond crashing on my couch, but still want to save a buck).
Like any good reporter, Deborah (pictured here) never wants to be the story. But since joining Travel Portland some 16 years ago, Deborah’s expertise, credibility, professionalism and hard work have brought Portland’s stories to the world – and brought visitors from around the world to Portland. We’ll miss her, and we wish her all the best.
