The Memphis CVB, the official destination marketing organization representing Memphis and Shelby County, Tennessee, has rebranded to Memphis Tourism.
Officials from Memphis Tourism said the name change was instituted following feedback from intensive audience research and testing, stakeholder interviews and a competitive set analysis. The effort also culminated in a logo redesign that seeks to embrace the brand equity of the previous logo.
“The most important part of the process in developing a new identity for our organization, that also works to effectively draw visitors to our destination, was to listen to the people around us,” said Regena Bearden, chief marketing officer of Memphis Tourism. "This was a strategic approach driven by research that conveys to the visitor what our brand promise is as a music capital that celebrates three genres of music and the impact our music makers have had on our destination."
The organization debuted the new name and logo at its annual MEMTalks meeting, which brought together local tourism leaders at Beale Street’s The New Daisy Theater.
“There isn’t a better place in the world to debut our new name, logo and tagline than right here on world famous Beale Street,” said Kevin Kane, President & CEO of Memphis Tourism. "Authenticity is at the heart of everything we do, staying true to who we are as a city and destination will aid us in fostering continued growth for the Memphis economy."
"The development of this new identity builds value for Memphis as an iconic destination, in addition to raising the profile of our tourism and hospitality industry on the local level, showcasing the value it has as an economic development engine and job creator for our community," he added.
The new tagline for Memphis Tourism is “Home of Blues, Soul & Rock ‘n’ Roll,” which capitalizes on the destination’s longstanding brand recognition of being an incubator of three of the most iconic forms of American music. Storied Memphis recording studios such as STAX and Royal helped shape American popular music, and entertainment continues to be the prime travel motivator for visitors to the city.
