Philadelphia and the Countryside - Press Room

On March 15, the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation’s (GPTMC) uwishunu.com will launch Philly 101, a daily video series starring 101 residents who share their Philly tips and insights (ones that you wish you knew) in about 60 seconds. When all 101 minutes are completed, Philly 101 will be a must-see movie—made by and starring in-the-know Philadelphians—that people can watch anytime and from anywhere.

People & Places:
The videos star 101 different Philadelphians, sharing the real deal about their city. The authentic voices range from Chef Michael Solomonov of Zahav and Federal Donuts and Bill Covaleski, founder and CEO

One of the country’s most successful tourism blogs, the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation’s (GPTMC) uwishunu.com celebrates its fifth anniversary by launching Philly 101, a daily video series starring 101 Philadelphians who will share their Philly tips and insights (ones that you wish you knew). This engaging project comes after the site welcomed a record-breaking two million visits in 2011—that’s one million more visits than in 2010.

Philly 101:
The Philly 101 video series will launch in March 2012 and run for 101 days. People will find the videos on the GPTMC’s social media sites, such as facebook.com/visitphilly,

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

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.

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

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 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.

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