Shelby County Tourism and Visitors Bureau is marketing Shelby County today at the 2021 Media Marketplace at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. After a year off, the Media Marketplace, an Indiana Destination Development Corporation event, is back for 2021.
Writers from across the United States come together at Indianapolis Motor Speedway where Destination Management Organizations bring their “stories to tell” and pitch story ideas to writers, bloggers and podcasters. Over 60 Indiana counties and tourism destinations will be represented at the event.
Shelby County introduced a new logo/brand last year, along with the “Find Your Place” tagline enticing visitors to discover all the unique towns of Shelby County.
“COVID took the tag in an unknown direction, as we were able to leverage the tag to our own residents for various contests that kept them involved in social media while at home. The tag gave them the chance at winning gift certificates to local restaurants, a win-win for everyone at the time,” said Nisha Ciarletta, Operations Director for Shelby County Tourism and Visitors Bureau.
Today, the tagline lends to the hook, “The Undiscovered Doughnut,” as Shelby County is uniquely positioned as the doughnut county to the southeast of Marion County.
“We may be undiscovered to a few now, but that won’t be for much longer, as we are on the cusp of getting noticed by visitors from across the U.S. We are going through a rediscovery in our own county. We all see what a naturally beautiful place we have to offer visitors with our trails, museums, galleries, renovated downtown in Shelbyville, and our outlying towns and their histories, it’s exciting to be a part of this historic time,” said Rachael Ackley, Executive Director of the Shelby County Visitors Bureau. “We look forward to telling our stories to all these writers, along with ensuring they leave with plenty of swag straight from Shelby County including Linne’s cake doughnuts, Brandywine Creek Vineyards and Winery wines and plenty of Shelby County Bicentennial merchandise, including the ever-popular town trading pins.”
