Philadelphia and the Countryside - Press Room

Does Chef Jose Garces indulge in scrapple? Has DJ/producer Diplo run the Rocky steps? Readers of uwishunu.com will find out the answers to these and many other questions when they read the “With Love Letters” series on uwishunu.com. In the posts, the “personality” of the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation’s With Love, Philadelphia XOXO™ campaign interviews noteworthy Philadelphians in order to learn more about their relationship with the city and why they love it here.

First up is chef and restaurateur Jose Garces, who dishes on dollar dog days at Citizens Bank Park, shopping at Reading Terminal Market and

Video podcasts—also known as vodcasts—are the newest tool visitors can use to plan their trip to Philadelphia, and they’re now available on the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation’s (GPTMC) gophila.com and uwishunu.com. The series of free three- to five-minute themed video tours guide visitors through some of the city’s most colorful neighborhoods and complement seven dynamically mapped and customizable podcast tours already available on gophila.com/soundabout. One of the new vodcasts highlights significant African-American heritage sites, while the other three showcase the local shops, watering holes and cultural spots of Chinatown, Fishtown/Kensington and University City.

As more travelers use

The Philly Like A Local hotel package, one component of a program designed to provide the real deal from real Philadelphians on eating, drinking, music and culture, proved to be a success in year one, generating 1,332 room nights in its first 10 months and an estimated income of $475,000 for participating hotels. The package will be available for a second year at the Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia, the Loews Philadelphia, Park Hyatt at the Bellevue, The Rittenhouse Hotel, The Hilton Inn at Penn and the Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia, and it will include a newly compiled all-Philly music CD. The hotel

With so much to do in Philadelphia, visitors will want to sleep over so they don’t miss a thing. And with pleasant weather ushering in even more events—and a hotel package that gives guests a $50 gift—there’s even more to fit into a Philly trip. Fortunately, there are a number of hotel packages to choose from on www.gophila.com and beyond that are perfect for late nights and more fun. Here’s a sampling of 10 great options:

Seasonal Fun:
Philly’s More Summer Fun Hotel Package – Visitors who book this two-night package receive a $50 American Express gift card that

The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) today announced what’s new with uwishunu® (as in "you wish you knew"), including new advertising creative, three new Web TV series, an enhanced Philly Like A Local hotel package and additional partnerships. Funded by the City of Philadelphia, uwishunu is a $5 million tourism campaign in which "in the know" residents serve as the city’s storytellers and evangelists for their neighborhoods in an effort to woo tech-savvy tourists seeking fun.

"This is just the beginning for uwishunu," said Meryl Levitz, president and CEO, GPTMC. "We are kicking off the new year—or what

On the heels of a successful first year, uwishunu®, a two-year marketing initiative promoting Philly primarily through new media and Web 2.0 tools, the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) is responding to the uwishunu.com audience’s interest in original content with the debut of three new Web video series. In addition, a new video category on the blog will make it easier for viewers to watch their favorite uwishunu shows online.

The blog’s first Web TV series IllaDates paved the way for IllaNights, following local comedian Anton Shuford on his escapades from one Philadelphia nightspot to the next.

To spread the buzz about Philadelphia’s newly emerging contemporary art movement, uwishunu®, a tourism initiative created by the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) and funded by the City of Philadelphia, is connecting with the Big Kids/Little Kids traveling exhibition, chronicling the first eight years of this emerging art scene in the city.

Big Kids/Little Kids, which made its debut in Philadelphia on January 11,is so named because it explains the multi-layered connections that have helped fuel a new generation of artists from the City of Brotherly Love. The exhibition features artwork seen in a book of the same name

Local favorites on South Street are highlighted in uwishunu™ (as in “you wish you knew”), a tourism campaign created by the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC), funded by the City of Philadelphia and supported by City Council President Anna Verna, City Councilperson Frank DiCicco and their colleagues to show off the city from the inside out. On the blog uwishunu.com, locals share under-the-radar scoop on cool things to do in their Philly neighborhoods. Favorites featured on the blog then reappear in uwishunu’s advertising.
 

Advertising:
Mini-magazines inserted in alternative weeklies in New York, Baltimore, Boston, Providence and

Philadelphia comes by its independent spirit naturally—and so do Philadelphia’s stylish independently owned and operated shops. Bustling Old City in Historic Philadelphia has become renowned for its chic boutiques and mod galleries. In industrial and hip Northern Liberties, it’s shelter shops and craft galleries. And in upscale Rittenhouse, refined and sophisticated rules. Even the city’s suburbs subvert sameness with shops owned and operated by independent individuals. Inside each store, owner-retailers are steadfast fixtures, offering customers the latest looks—and an old-fashioned level of personal service.

Clothing and Accessories:

• Adresse – Classic chic is the look at this boutique for contemporary

Laid out into a neat grid by city planner William Penn, Philadelphia naturally lends itself to smart design. Visitors can wander from the glittering Avenue of the Arts to the workaday Italian Market and from the cozy cobblestone streets of Old City to the industrial and hip sidewalks of Northern Liberties. Two hundred-year-old buildings mingle with modernist structures. Huge warehouses are reborn as chic lofts. Invention and reinvention are key. This easy itinerary, available at www.gophila.com, offers a glimpse of Philadelphia’s finest design—but feel free to stray to wherever your eyes may lead you.

LOCATION: Philadelphia’s neighborhoods

TRANSPORTATION: Feet, public

Philadelphia has recently seen the addition of three major new buildings, the Comcast Center (standing 57 stories high but still under construction), the Cira Centre and the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s Ruth and Raymond G. Perelman building. These architectural additions, along with other modern constructions, blend with Colonial-style buildings as well as structures from eras in between to give the city a distinguished look. The architectural heritage of more than 300 years is visible throughout the city and region with outstanding examples of every type of building and virtually every architectural style found in the United States. Almost 100 buildings

Local favorites in Bella Vista, the Italian Market, Queen Village and Graduate Hospital are highlighted in uwishunu™ (as in “you wish you knew”), a tourism campaign created by the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC), funded by the City of Philadelphia and supported by City Council President Anna Verna, City Councilperson Frank DiCicco, Jannie L. Blackwell and their colleagues to show off the city from the inside out. On the insider blog uwishunu.com, locals share under-the-radar scoop on cool things to do in their Philly neighborhoods. Favorites featured on the blog then reappear in uwishunu’s advertising. Additionally, three episodes

Local favorites in Port Richmond, Fishtown and Kensington are highlighted in uwishunu™ (as in “you wish you knew”), a tourism campaign created by the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC), funded by the City of Philadelphia and supported by City Councilpersons Joan Krajewski, Frank DiCicco, Daniel Savage and their colleagues to show off the city from the inside out. On the insider blog uwishunu.com, locals share under-the-radar scoop on cool things to do in their Philly neighborhoods. Favorites featured on the blog then reappear in uwishunu’s advertising. Additionally, the third episode of the popular Web TV series airing on the

Local favorites in Northern Liberties and Old City are highlighted in uwishunu™ (as in “you wish you knew”), a tourism campaign created by the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC), funded by the City of Philadelphia and supported by City Councilpersons Darrell Clarke, Frank DiCicco and his colleagues to show off the city from the inside out. On the insider blog uwishunu.com, locals share under-the-radar scoop on cool things to do in their Philly neighborhoods. Favorites featured on the blog then reappear in uwishunu’s advertising. Additionally, three episodes of uwishunu’s popular Web TV series feature tours of Northern Liberties,

Local favorites in Logan Square and the Fairmount/Art Museum area are highlighted in uwishunu™ (as in “you wish you knew”), a tourism campaign created by the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC), funded by the City of Philadelphia and supported by City Councilperson Darrell Clarke and his colleagues to show off the city from the inside out. On the insider blog uwishunu.com, locals share under-the-radar scoop on cool things to do in their Philly neighborhoods. Favorites featured on the blog then reappear in uwishunu’s advertising. Additionally, the seventh episode of uwishunu’s popular Web TV series features a dramatic tour of

Local favorites in Chestnut Hill, East Falls, Manayunk and Northwest Philly are highlighted in uwishunu™ (as in “you wish you knew”), a tourism campaign created by the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC), funded by the City of Philadelphia and supported by City Councilpersons Carol Ann Campbell, Marian Tasco, Donna Reed Miller and their colleagues to show off the city from the inside out. On the insider blog uwishunu.com, locals share under-the-radar scoop on cool things to do in their favorite neighborhoods. Favorites featured on the blog then reappear in uwishunu’s advertising. Additionally, the latest episode of uwishunu’s popular Web

Local favorites in Northeast Philadelphia are highlighted in uwishunu™ (as in “you wish you knew”), a tourism campaign created by the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC), funded by the City of Philadelphia and supported by City Councilpersons Brian O’Neill, Joan Krajewski, Frank DiCicco, Daniel J. Savage, Darrel L. Clarke and their colleagues to show off the city from the inside out. On the insider blog uwishunu.com, locals share under-the-radar scoop on cool things to do in their favorite neighborhoods. Favorites featured on the blog then reappear in uwishunu’s advertising.

Advertising:
A mini-magazine inserted into alternative weeklies in New

Nearly 250 professional and amateur social media enthusiasts from the Greater Philadelphia area and around the nation came together in Center City from July 12-13 for the inaugural BlogPhiladelphia conference. The free event, which took place at the Radisson Plaza-Warwick Hotel Philadelphia, generated rounds of discussion and fostered creative content contributions among Philadelphia’s social media innovators and educated beginners. Additionally, BlogPhiladelphia celebrated two “firsts”: It was the first “zero-waste” event of its kind, and it was the first social media “unconference” in the U.S. hosted by a tourism organization—the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation and insider Philly blog uwishunu.com.

More than 200 bloggers, podcasters, consumer-generated media gurus and novices to the online media field have registered for BlogPhiladelphia, a free social media “unconference” taking place at the Radisson Plaza-Warwick Hotel Philadelphia on July 12-13. With the conference beginning this week, the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) and Philly blog uwishunu.com announce three important updates: BlogPhiladelphia is “going green,” video documentaries of the conference will be available online at ziddio.com and attendees can now view the session schedules at blogphiladelphia.net.
 

BlogPhiladelphia “Goes Green”:
The Philadelphia blogging community suggested BlogPhiladelphia “go green” and offered to work collaboratively to

uwishunu.com, Philly’s new insider blog created by the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) and funded by the City of Philadelphia, received a Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Bronze Anvil award in the blog category. The award recognizes the blog itself and the launch events that drove traffic to the site prior to the advertising kick-off. The blog is one component of a two-year tourism initiative, uwishunu™ (as in “you wish you knew”), to promote the unconventional side of the city primarily through the power of new media and Web 2.0.

This year, PRSA judges evaluated 927 entries