In the role, Steve Grimes will lead all advertising, promotions, marketing, market intelligence, digital, communications, and social media efforts for the Visit St. Pete/Clearwater organization.
Visit St. Pete/Clearwater President/CEO Brian Lowack announced Steve Grimes has been named the organization’s Chief Marketing Officer. Grimes brings more than 20 years of marketing experience driving revenue growth through strategic partnerships, leveraging emerging technologies, and creating award-winning content. Throughout his career, he has developed integrated marketing campaigns with digital and media strategy, content creation, and advertising with a strong understanding on consumer trends and behavior.
“The CMO is a key role in our organization. What became clear during the interview process was Steve’s successful work with internationally renowned brands, his creativity, and his passion for the destination. His success in constructing digital media and social media campaigns that resulted in engagement and revenue growth along with his leadership skills is exactly what we want to add to the Visit St. Pete/Clearwater team.”
“As a recent transplant to the area I have experienced first-hand all this County has to offer visitors as it continues to evolve into one of the most desirable destinations across the globe. This is an incredible opportunity, and I am excited to lead the marketing efforts of this award-winning organization as we create unique experiences and engagement with the brand. I’m looking forward to working with the whole Visit St. Petersburg/Clearwater team to develop creative and innovative methods to enhance consumer interaction and connect our destination with visitors and potential visitors.”
Grimes’s resume includes extensive senior leadership roles marketing globally recognized brands with international presence and intercontinental programming across sports, entertainment, and consumer services. Throughout his career, he has had an impact in developing digital and media strategy, content creation, advertising, marketing, sponsorship, data analytics, social media, product development, strategic business planning, and innovation of new technology-based products.
He has had a specialized focus in digital marketing and digital media, developing customized strategies to significantly increase email engagement and website engagement metrics along with social media following and engagement. As the NBA’s VP of Interactive, Grimes led the transition of all operations of NBA.com, WNBA.com, 57 team websites, and 10 international websites to dramatically increase traffic and engagement across the league’s platforms.
Recognized as a leader in digital integration and application, Grimes was named The Topps Company’s first-ever Chief Digital Officer in 2012, developing digital strategy inclusive of new digital products and services and supporting existing businesses with digital extensions. During his time with Getty Images, Grimes built a new strategic division leveraging Getty’s images and video to develop ad-supported, consumer-focused news, sports, and entertainment channels. Advancing to VP of Global Digital Media, Content and Advertising with The IRONMAN Group, he managed multiple agency relationships overseeing paid media, email marketing, and content creation across North America, Europe, and Australia.
Grimes is a two-time Emmy Award winner, including wins while with Comedy Central for Best Special Programming for “The Daily Show” and Best Interactive Event for “Night of Too Many Stars.” He holds a BA in Advertising from Plymouth College of Art in Plymouth, UK.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
