Simpleview launches media resource website for September's Pittsburgh Summit 2009
TUCSON September 1, 2009— When the Group of Twenty ("G-20") meets this September, the world will turn its attention to Pittsburgh, but the media will turn to a website developed by Tucson-based interactive developer Simpleview:
http://www.g20pittsburghsummit.org
One-Stop Media Resource
When the location for the September meeting was announced, VisitPittsburgh president and CEO Joseph McGrath immediately assigned the media communications website to support the event to longtime strategic partner simpleview, which created VisitPittsburgh's destination marketing site in 2004.
With a placeholder site up in days and the full site planned, designed, written, programmed, search-optimized and launched just four weeks later, the media now has a comprehensive resource for information about Pittsburgh and the G-20’s Pittsburgh Summit, including:
- High-definition B-roll showcasing the city
- High-resolution images
- Story ideas and media contacts
- Press tour information
- Related news stories
- Pittsburgh facts, statistics and information
Answering "Why Pittsburgh?" with Design
Defending the location of the G-20 Pittsburgh Summit, President Obama has answered "Why Pittsburgh?" by holding up the city as a case study in economic and environmental turnaround, a real-world example of the G-20's recent pledge to make the world's economic recovery "green and sustainable."
In that vein, the website offers a wealth of information—written and visual — about Pittsburgh's transformed economy and leadership in green building.
"We wanted the site's design to immediately counter that stereotype of the city as some polluted, industrial wasteland," said Simpleview creative director Gregg Shapiro. "Pittsburgh today is leading the country when it comes to green jobs and green building. It's consistently named one of the most livable cities. So the blue and green, the clouds and white space — all of these elements in the design reinforce why Pittsburgh was the perfect choice for this summit."
The logo Shapiro created for the site—with "20" in a blue-green globe raised exponent-like above a highlighted "G"—also visually communicates Pittsburgh's exponential strides in becoming a progressive world-city, Shapiro explained.
A Living Site
VisitPittsburgh staff will manage and grow the new site in-house using Simpleview CMS, the content management system that also power's Pittsburgh's destination marketing site, visitpittsburgh.org. A single login point gives staff access to the full range of content for both sites, allowing them to integrate content maintenance for the new site into their existing routines.
The site will continue to grow between now and September, and will feature rolling updates during the Summit on Sept. 24 and 25, as well as archives and ongoing content development in years following. "We have one of the best destination websites in the industry," said McGrath, "so it was an obvious choice to work with Simpleview on this project. We know this is an important event for Pittsburgh, and it's going to be part of our legacy. We needed a strong partner and a high-quality, scalable site, and we knew we'd get it with Simpleview."
Funding for the new website came through efforts of the G-20 Pittsburgh Partnership, a public-private partnership of organizations that are providing time, talent and resources to serve as local hosts for the G-20 Pittsburgh Summit. Leading the Partnership are Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato and Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl. The two private non-profit founding partners are the Allegheny Conference on Community Development and VisitPittsburgh.
About Simpleview
From 2007 to 2009, Simpleview has made the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing privately held U.S. companies, placing #2 in the travel category in 2008. Since 1991, the company has maintained a 99% client retention rate while capturing the largest market share in its field, helping 125+ destination marketing organizations (DMOs) get the most out of technology, the web and interactive marketing. At the highest level, Simpleview develops big-picture strategies for DMO sales, marketing and operations. On a tactical level, they offer integrated products and services tailored to destination marketing: social media strategy, powerful forecasting and reporting, dynamic websites and mobile web, SEO and interactive marketing and the industry's most advanced CRM and CMS. In the 12 months leading up to Q2 2009, Simpleview's CRM system drove $6.8 billion in economic impact for more than 80 Simpleview clients, which include destinations ranging from New York City to Portland, Boston to Jacksonville, Toronto to the Bahamas. simpleview employs 60+ people in Tucson and San Diego.
About the Group of Twenty
The G-20, formally established in 1999, includes finance ministers and central bank governors of 19 countries and representatives of the European Union, collectively accounting for 85% of the world's economy. The group first met in Washington in November 2008 in response to global economic crisis. At a follow-up meeting in London last April, the G-20 pledged to build an inclusive, green, and sustainable recovery; repair the financial system to restore lending; and strengthen financial regulation to rebuild trust, among six agreements related to global economic recovery.
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CONTACT:
Diane Struse Marketing Manager, simpleview
(520) 575-1151 ext 149
dstruse@simpleviewinc.com
http://simpleviewinc.com
