Following the trend of dropping the lengthier monikers, the Anaheim/Orange County Visitor & Convention Bureau now is called Visit Anaheim.

After more than 20 years as AOCVCB, the bureau streamlined its name and introduced a new brand.

“A year’s worth of brand exploration, consumer, meetings and travel trade research told us clearly that we needed a name and brand that is reflective of our organization’s mission,” said Jay Burress, president & CEO, Visit Anaheim.

He added, “Visit Anaheim is a name that travel enthusiasts and conventioneers can easily find and understand. It evokes a sense of discovery and clearly communicates that we have an incredible, awe-inspiring destination that people should come see for themselves.”

The second largest city in Orange County, Anaheim not only has one of the largest convention centers in the United States, but also it has plenty of hotels and attractions like Disneyland.

“Our new look is bold, timeless and delights in the uniqueness of Anaheim,” Burgess said. “ It also perfectly encapsulates the next stage we are entering into as an organization. We are here to help inspire the imagination of every visitor that comes to our destination – whether they’re a sports fan, adrenaline junkie, beach lover, theme park enthusiast or foodie – and change the way they see the world.”

To land on its new name and brand essence, Visit Anaheim conducted multiple focus groups and key stakeholder interviews in and around Anaheim, Orange County, Los Angeles, Phoenix and San Jose to better understand how travelers perceived the destination, which includes Anaheim, Garden Grove and the greater Orange County.

The findings were clear that the DMO’s broad consumer and business travel audiences were not aware of what the destination offers and what it represents.

As a result, rebranding to Visit Anaheim was an important first step in better communicating  what the destination had to offer, while remaining committed to serving its Southern California partners and promoting tourism for the greater county as it has since its founding in 1961.

Designed by Kansas City-based MMGY Global, a travel marketing agency, the Visit Anaheim logo has multiple design elements that speak directly to Anaheim and Orange County’s past, present and future – the big “A” is reminiscent of a number of big A logos around the destination; the looped “h” is similar to an Anaheim logo created by a former Disney creative; the dot over the “i” is Disney’s dot; and the palm tree icon speaks to the City of Anaheim’s robust revitalization. The logo’s colors, blue and marigold, are warm and inviting, a tribute to Southern California’s endless ocean views, clear blue skies and warm sunny days.

"Through our extensive consumer research for Anaheim, it became clear that The Power of Awe would be a credible, relevant and unique brand essence for the destination," said Chris Davidson, evp/global strategy for the destination's branding agency, MMGY Global.

He added, "Anaheim's personality is truly distinct from other destinations in Southern California, and we set out to capture the emotional core of what makes this place so special. In so doing, the destination now has an effective filter to guide local leaders in evaluating everything from advertising campaigns to the language it uses in its press materials to how it attracts meetings and conventioneers to the area."

As part of the launch celebrations, the DMO will be giving away amazing prizes via Instagram to people eager to Visit Anaheim (#VisitAnaheim).

To view sweepstakes rules, go to www.VisitAnaheim.org/Rules. To view more of what the area has to offer, Visit Anaheim’s newest destination video was released today: www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIsc6ZaZ8iQ