It’s been a year since the Greenville Convention and Visitors Bureau rebranded itself as VisitGreenvilleSC and announced its new marketing and branding campaign, Yeah THAT Greenville. Last week, the city celebrated with style at the 2nd Annual THAT Party as the organization announced a new fashion collection and some impressive visitor numbers.
Officials at VisitGreenvilleSC say visitor spending in Greenville County topped a record-breaking $1 billion in 2013. Tourism in Greenville generated $58 million in state and local taxes and hotel occupancy rates increased by 3.1 percent – more than double the U.S. average. New inquiries from advertising communications increased 283 percent since 2012 while requests for visitors guides went up 250 percent.
In the latest addition to the rapidly growing “Yeah, THAT Greenville” branding campaign, VisitGreenvilleSC unveiled a fashion collection last week to a crowd of more than 450 industry, business and community leaders. The collection includes branded women’s and men’s jeans, men’s button down shirts, polo shirts, outerwear and fashionable “postcard” tops for women featuring iconic Greenville images.
“We wanted to create a fashion-forward collection with hints of Greenville, S.C.,” said Jennifer Stilwell, Chief Marketing Officer for VisitGreenvilleSC. “Everything from our signature colors to our brand identity marks including the “Yeah, THAT Greenville” logo and Happy G icons are located in unexpected places [inside waistbands, on a pocket, under a collar] throughout the apparel line.”
Stilwell said the tourism agency is “strategically weaving the brand throughout every touch point – from paid media, earned media and social media, to what we’re calling ‘wearable’ media. This is all part of our strategy to spark engagement and conversation with the brand and the destination. What better way to strike up a conversation than by literally wearing the destination on your sleeve?”
VisitGreenvilleSC teamed with local designer and fashion company Beija-Flor Jeans to create the “Yeah, THAT Greenville” signature collection. The company, owned and founded by mother/daughter design team Kathy Moca and Emilie Moca Whitaker, has been recognized by “O, the Oprah Magazine” as having the “World’s Best Jeans.” Since 2005, they have offered Brazilian jeans designed in Greenville to women of all shapes and sizes.
“We are thrilled to be involved in creating a collection for “Yeah, THAT Greenville,” said Whitaker. “It represents the first of its kind collaboration between two industries – travel and fashion.”
Pieces from the collection will soon be available at Beija-Flor’s Denim Salon retail pop-up store at 2 North Main Street as well as online at www.ilovethesejeans.com. Official “Yeah, THAT Greenville” happy merchandise are also sold at their locations.
Additionally, branded items such as coffee mugs, hats, T-shirts and more will be available mid-June at www.visitgreenvillesc.com as well as select local retailers.
