VISIT PHILLY LAUNCHES FOURSQUARE PROGRAM WITH MAYOR NUTTER

03-29-2011

 

 

7.5 Million Foursquare Users Can Check Into The Mobile Social Network & Check Out Philadelphia

 

PHILADELPHIA, March 29, 2011 – The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) has added another way for residents and visitors to experience Philadelphia and The Countryside^®, and Philadelphia’s social media-savvy Mayor Michael Nutter, will help kick it off. To promote travel to 7.5 million Foursquare users, Visit Philly has launched its own branded page on the location-based social networking website and game. Now Foursquare users can discover new places and experiences in the Philadelphia region using their smartphones, and the Foursquare “Mayor” of the Independence Visitor Center at noon on April 30 will get a personal message from Mayor Nutter via Twitter.

On Foursquare, users “check in” using their phones at venues they visit to earn points and virtual Foursquare “badges.” On foursquare.com/visitphilly, users can access credible “tips” left by Visit Philly as they check in at spots around the region and make Philadelphia “to-do lists” based on the tips, all in one convenient virtual spot. (For example, Foursquare users who check in at the Philadelphia International Airport get a tip from Visit Philly that “SEPTA’s R1 line directly links the airport to Philadelphia’s downtown for a fast, hassle-free connection.” They can remind themselves to take advantage of that service by adding the tip to their to-do list.) The exclusive branded page enables GPTMC to bring the With Love, Philadelphia XOXO^® brand to Foursquare, to encourage people to visit several Philadelphia spots and to link Foursquare friends to Visit Philly’s other web and social media properties, including Greater Philadelphia’s official visitor site, visitphilly.com.

 

Mayor Nutter will tweet a personal message via his @Michael_Nutter Twitter account to the Foursquare user who is the “mayor” of the Independence Visitor Center at noon on April 30. Foursquare mayorships are awarded to visitors with the most days checked into the Independence Visitor Center in the 60 days prior to April 30.

 

As mobile use grows at an accelerated rate, GPTMC continues to lead the way among destination marketers—becoming an early adopter of the exclusive branded pages from Foursquare. Philadelphia adds to Pennsylvania’s major momentum on this mobile network: Like Philadelphia, Hershey Harrisburg Regional Visitors Bureau and Visit Bucks County have branded pages, and VisitPA was the first state to join Foursquare in May 2010 and the only state to offer a coveted “badge” program. 

Foursquare joins a growing list of ways GPTMC connects visitors and residents with Philadelphia and The Countryside^®. Whether people like to connect with friends on Facebook, tweet from their smart phones, surf the web or get the scoop delivered directly to their e-mail inboxes, they can stay in touch with the region they love.

 

The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) makes Philadelphia and The Countryside^® a premier destination through marketing and image building that increases business and promotes the region’s vitality.

 

For more information about travel to Philadelphia, visit visitphilly.com or uwishunu.com, where you can build itineraries; search event calendars; see photos and videos; view interactive maps; sign up for newsletters; listen to HearPhilly, an online radio station about what to see and do in the region; book hotel reservations and more. Or, call the Independence Visitor Center, located in Historic Philadelphia, at 
(800) 537-7676.

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