Promotional Opportunity with The Violet Eye

The Violet Eye is a free monthly newsletter that promotes women's events in Chicago. The email and social media accounts will keep you up to date with all of the local art celebrating women's voices. If you have an event that you'd like included, email violeteyechicago@gmail.com with a 100 word description, the time, date, place, and any promotional images you'd like to share. Follow us at violeteyechicago on Facebook and Instagram for more frequent updates!

Call for Proposals for Chicago Artists Month

The 18th annual Chicago Artists Month (CAM) is a marketing initiative of the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) that showcases the work of Chicago’s independent artists and arts organizations; highlights arts activity in Chicago neighborhoods; drives tourism; encourages collaboration and provides opportunities for creative expression and education for Chicagoans and visitors alike. Last year over 250 events were part of Chicago Artists Month, reaching an audience of over 100,000. CAM is a great way to diversity your audience and embark on new collaborations.

CAM is an open call that welcomes event submissions that:
+ Feature one or more Chicago-based artists
+ Take place in October at a public venue in Chicago
+ Event categories include: Exhibition, Performance, Open Studio, Art Walk, and Learning/Making

Events in any neighborhood in the City of Chicago are eligible to be part of CAM, but dedicated curators will be focused in these CAM 2013 Featured Neighborhoods on these weekends:
+ Edgewater / Uptown - Sept. 28-29
+ Portage Park -  Oct. 4-6
+ South Chicago / South Shore-  Oct 11-13
+ Pilsen - Oct 18-20
+ East Garfield Park -  Oct 24-26

Applicants are responsible for securing their own venues.

Proposals are accepted online at www.chicagoartistsmonth.org. Deadline for applications is 5pm, July 15, 2013

Selected proposals will be part of a robust marketing effort by DCASE in print, online and social media.

Questions? Email Barbara.koenen@cityofchicago.org.

Promotional Opportunity at Auditorium Theatre

The Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University has just acquired a new lobby brochure display and would love to showcase other venues and performances around Chicago.

If you would like your materials to be displayed, please mail them to:
Kerri Martin
Auditorium Theatre
50 E. Congress Parkway
Chicago, IL 60605

Participate in Dining Out for Life

EdgeAlliance is putting on the event called Dining Out for Life on April 26, 2012. The event takes place in 85 restaurants across the city, many are near local theatres. EdgeAlliance is looking to work with Chicago area theatres to promote the event which raises over $100,000 to provide housing and services for low income individuals and families living with HIV/AIDS. To learn more, contact Allen Hailey VP, Advancement at (773) 359-0133 or ahailey@edgealliance.org. Click here for more information and the list of participating restaurants.

Promotional Opportunity--What's New in 2012?

The Chicago Office of Tourism and Culture (COTC) continually reaches out to the media on behalf of Chicago's cultural and community partners and in a few short weeks they will be issuing a release on What's New in 2012.

With this annual release we attract regional, national and international media attention to Chicago that invigorates our thriving $11 billion tourism industry. You are invited to share, by Monday, November 28, the highlights of your 2012 cultural calendar.

This includes:
New Destinations opening in 2012 (museums, theaters, restaurants, hotels)
Major Anniversaries in 2012
World Premieres & Openings (performances, long-running exhibits)
Notable Residencies/Partnerships beginning in 2012 (Guest conductors, profiled chefs, award-winning theater/dance directors)

To submit your attraction/event/tour for consideration, please email andres.torres@explorechicago.org the name, dates, address, and a 75-word max. description by Monday, November 28.

To review a list of ways in which you can collaborate with the Chicago Office of Tourism and Culture, visit the Toolkit for Community and Cultural Partners.

Chicago Restaurant Week expands for 2012 with ways for CCTB non-dining members to participate

Question: If you’re not a restaurant, how can you participate in Chicago Restaurant Week 2012?
Answer: Host a food-themed special event or activity!

Now in its fifth year, Chicago Restaurant Week is the largest dining event of its kind in the Midwest. The 10-day food celebration will run February 17 – 26, 2012 and restaurants throughout the entire metro Chicago area will offer prix fixe menus at $22, $33 and $44 for lunch and dinner. Last year, Chicago Restaurant Week served 377,000+ diners in 207 participating restaurants and generated $19.68 million in direct spending for Chicago’s restaurant industry.

New for 2012, the CCTB is running a $625k consumer ad campaign targeting a 500-mile drive market to encourage visitation to Chicago during January and February. The Chicago Restaurant Week website (EatItUpChicago.com) will feature special February hotel rates at tiered pricing of $89, $119 and $149.

Additionally, the website will feature food-themed events and activities hosted by CCTB non-restaurant members. It’s a way for your brand to be part of Chicago Restaurant Week and get exposed to hundreds of thousands of hungry diners – both residents and visitors – via EatItUpChicago.com.

The kinds of events are only limited by your imagination. Below are the primary categories we’ll use to organize these events, along with real examples of food-themed special events that are in line with the kinds of activities we believe would complement Chicago Restaurant Week:

• Tours & Attractions
o Example: Chicago Architecture Foundation’s “Appetite for Design” http://caf.architecture.org/page.aspx?pid=995
• Museums, Galleries & Exhibitions
o Example: Art Institute of Chicago’s “A Feast for the Eyes” Mini-Tour http://www.artic.edu/aic/visitor_info/selfguide/june08_guide.pdf
• Theater & Performing Arts
• Music & Comedy
• Shopping

To participate, it is NOT necessary to offer a discount. It’s more important that you create a food-themed event or activity that would appeal to residents and visitors alike as they’re making plans for their participation in Chicago Restaurant Week.

Generally speaking, events should be scheduled no earlier than February 3, after the CCTB’s kick-off media event on February 2, and no later than February 28. If you’re creating special activities, such as a food-inspired tour, it’s appropriate to offer the activity for the entire month of February, if you wish.

How do you qualify to participate?
Just send your great idea for a special food-themed event or activity that you’ll host and manage. Email hmorris@choosechicago.com by December 1; be sure to include a brief description of the event and details, such as:

· Start/End dates
· Event name and description
· Event URL
· Venue name and address

They'll review all submissions by December 10 and accepted events will be featured on the Chicago Restaurant Week microsite and www.ChooseChicago.com starting in January.

Be a Part of Chicago Office of Tourism's Get Up and Go! Series

COT launched its Get Up And Go! Conversation Series in Summer 2010 to showcase Chicago's diverse communities, and offer visitors a fresh, local perspective on things to see, do and eat in the neighborhoods. This weekly series was presented in the Chicago Cultural Center's Visitor Information Center, and highlighted the city's arts, history and culture through moderated chats with experts from each week's featured neighborhood.

They are putting together the schedule for 2011's Get Up And Go! series, and would love for your neighborhood or community organization to be involved. This is an excellent opportunity for you to connect directly with tourists and entice leisure visitors to experience all the historical, cultural and culinary gems your neighborhood has to offer.

New for 2011, each weekly session at the Chicago Cultural Center will be followed by a free guided walking tour of that week's featured neighborhood, which will bring visitors directly into your community. We encourage you or a member of your organization to partner with us on planning or leading this tour of your neighborhood.

If you know of any additional partners in your community that might be interested in participating in this exciting program, please have them email us at info@chicagoofficeoftourism.org. Together, we can continue to promote Chicago's diverse communities and the many treasures to be found in our neighborhoods.

Office of Tourism 2011 Guidebook of Special Values Opportunity

The Chicago Office of Tourism invites you to participate in the FREE 2011 Guidebook of Special Values online coupon program. This online coupon book is a directory of many of Chicago’s top attractions, shops and restaurants that offer a discount or other incentive for visitors. Visitors are able to search coupons in advance of their trip and find incentives to add your establishment to their travel plans. This is an excellent way to reach over 4 million tourists who do advance trip research on our websites, a number that continues to increase with the ongoing promotion of www.ExploreChicago.org, the City’s Official Tourism website.

There is no charge to participate.

The Chicago Office of Tourism will promote the online Guidebook of Special Values on the Official City Tourism website, www.ExploreChicago.org and Tourism initiative sites, as well as other travel websites. The Guidebook is actively promoted to domestic and international media, as well as through popular social media channels, including our award-winning @explorechicago visitor concierge Twitter account, Facebook, Foursquare and SCVNGR channels.

Past offers have included 2-for-1 deals, admission discounts, free goodie bags, free desserts, percentage-off restaurant bills, etc. The better the offer, the more success you will have with driving traffic to your location.

To participate, please have an authorized representative visit the following link to fill out the survey information. You will be asked for the organization’s contact information, the representative’s information (will not be published – for our use only) and your offer details. Instructions for photo or logo submission are included.

The 2011 Guidebook will launch on March, 15, 2011. This is earlier than our traditional May 1 launch date at the request of our thousands of users. The 2011 Guidebook will be available online from March 15, 2011 through March 15, 2012.

Participation deadline is Friday, December 10th.

New this year, we are encouraging participants to accept electronic coupons visible on the screen of visitor’s phones. With many Chicago tourists carrying smartphones (ie. iPhone, BlackBerry, etc), they are able to access our online coupons without the hassle of pre-printing a hard copy. This is not a requirement. If you elect to participate, we will contact you with more information.

If you have any questions about your submission please email: COTcouponsite@gmail.com.

The current coupon book can be seen online at: http://www.ExploreChicago.org/coupons.

Get in Touch with the Chicago Office of Tourism

Each month, the Chicago Office of Tourism connects with business and cultural partners throughout the city with a special enewsletter. In addition to news topics and PR highlights, this is the way we communicate special opportunities on how organizations can take part in our free programs, such as the annual online coupon book for visitors, the annual Passport to Chicago program for visiting journalists and how to get events and attractions listed on the city's tourism website ExploreChicago.org. To receive this enewsletter, please email Emily Long at emily.long@cityofchicago.org with the subject line 'Business Enewsletter.'

Join the UChicago Arts Pass Program

Would you like to reach out to over 12,000 University of Chicago college and graduate students? Created to increase student engagement with cultural institutions throughout Chicago, the UChicago Arts Pass program provides students with free or reduced cost access to arts organizations throughout the city. You can be part of the program by creating a special discount for University of Chicago Students or by promoting existing student discounts on the Arts Pass website. To learn more about the program visit artspass.uchicago.edu. If you would like to discuss your possible participation or have any questions, please contact Naiara Testai at naitestai@uchicago.edu or 773.702.2884.

WCPT Radio PSA Opportunity

WCPT Radio is offering a special promotional opportunity with their new initiative Emphasis on the Arts. Emphasis on the Arts is an informational series of Public Service Announcements and web promotions designed to educate the public on what is happening in the literary arts, dance, music and theater in the Chicago region by highlighting small nonprofit arts organizations doing good work in their communities.

Check out the attached form for you to complete and submit using the contact information listed at the bottom. Please note that submission of this form does not guarantee inclusion in the PSA series.

If selected, WCPT will create the copy and produce the spot which will run for one-two weeks. The station will also email you an MP3 version so you can post it on your website--if you do post it on your website, the station just asks that to please also post its logo to credit the source of the material. Also, WCPT has a copy of audios posted on its website if you want to listen to other PSAs; please visit http://chicagosprogressivetalk.com/pages/pages.php?page=15

Please contact WCPT’s Mark Earnest directly at mearnest@newswebradio.net or by calling 773.838.0226 if you have any questions about the program.

Footlights October-November 2010 Issue Opportunity

Footlights, the program publication used by nearly 100 theaters and performance groups in the Chicago area, will have an expanded “Arts Scene” section in its October-November issue. They are offering a special opportunity to members of the League of Chicago Theatres.

All theaters that will be producing shows in October, November or December will be entitled to a FREE listing. The October-November issue will have a circulation of over 80,000 copies. Approximately 70,000 copies will be distributed by theaters that use the program. The balance will be available at venues where theatergoers congregate and other public places. Since many League members use Footlights as their program publication, we will give those theaters the added bonus of a FREE 30-word listing plus artwork for each of their productions running during that time period.

In order to take advantage of this offer, please submit the following information for each show by Friday, August 20 to Managing Editor Myrna Petlicki at myrna_petlicki@sbcglobal.net.

Run Dates
Title
Company
Venue
Address
Phone No.
Website

Promotional Opportunity with CAR

The Chicago Artists Resource wants to show off Chicago theatre, one slice at a time! The CAR theater section is seeking to refresh it's collection of banner photos for display at http://www.chicagoartistsresource.org/theater. The banner photos appear at the top of the page, and rotate through the collection on each page refresh.

TO SUBMIT YOUR WORK: Email a 1000x106 pixel jpg (usually a cropped portion of a more standard-sized image), along with your company's name and website URL, the show featured and production year, and (and this is important) the name of the photographer. We recommend that you look at the banners currently posted on our site to get an idea of what kinds of cross-sections look good within these dimensions. We review submissions on an ongoing basis, and will notify you if we use your image. Send images and questions to car.theaterartist@gmail.com.