Rand McNally Announces Promotional Sponsors for the Inaugural Best of the Road® Rally

America's Trusted Source in Maps, Directions and Travel Content Joins Saab Cars North America, Country Inns & Suites By Carlson, Fleetwood RV, Destination Marketing Association International and Shell for Three-Week Cross-Country Search for the Best Small Towns in America

News provided by

Rand McNally

Jul 07, 2011, 03:43 ET

SKOKIE, Ill., July 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Rand McNally proudly announces the promotional sponsors of the inaugural Best of the Road guide and Best of the Road Rally: Saab Cars North America, Country Inns & Suites By Carlson, Fleetwood RV, Destination Marketing Association International and Shell. The exclusive media sponsor of the Best of the Road is America's No. 1 daily newspaper in print circulation, USA TODAY.

"Our sponsors have made the ultimate great American road trip possible for our five Best of the Road teams," said Dave Muscatel, CEO, Rand McNally. "We're grateful to them for joining us in rallying local towns to participate as well as providing everything from cars to hotel accommodations to fuel and an RV for this incredible and memorable adventure."

Driving from metro New York to Los Angeles in a mix of Saab 9-3s, 9-5s and the new 9-4X crossover cars fueled by Shell, the no. 1 selling gasoline brand in the U.S., teams are tasked with finding the best small towns in America. The McNavigators, Gone with the Wynns, TravelingJules and TravelingJoan, Captain & Clark and the Fun Finders will collectively visit 30 towns and upload photos, videos and reviews along the way on bestoftheroad.com.

After chatting with local residents and enjoying the town's culture, teams will retire to a caring and comfortable hospitality experience at Country Inns & Suites By Carlson. Joined by the teams along their route will be a chase crew of filmmakers documenting the rally in an RV, provided by Fleetwood RV.

The winning teams will be announced on July 15 in Los Angeles and the winning towns will be announced in New Orleans on July 21 at the 97th annual Destination Marketing Association International Convention. The Best of the Road Rally grand prize is $10,000 and a 2011 Saab 9-4X.

About the Best of the Road® –Rand McNally has earned the reputation as a trusted source in maps, directions and travel content with its best-selling Road Atlas and annual Best of the Road online guide. Its celebration of the Great American Road Trip has given way to an online guide of the Best of the Road and features top attractions in more than 20 categories --- from the Best Beach to the Best BBQ. This year, in collaboration with USA TODAY, Rand McNally is revving up for an all-new the Best of the Road search with content created by travelers online and published in the 2013 Rand McNally Road Atlas. For more information about the Best of the Road, visit www.bestoftheroad.com.

About Rand McNally – Rand McNally is the most trusted source for maps, directions, and travel content. Rand McNally's products and services include: Interactive travel referral service, Tripology; IntelliRoute® truck routing software and GPS devices; and the leading geography-based educational resources for the classroom. The 88th edition of America's #1 Road Atlas by Rand McNally will be available shortly and it includes digital TAGs which connect smartphone users to special mobile web pages. Consumers, businesses, truckers, and educators depend upon Rand McNally to help navigate today's world. www.randmcnally.com

About USA TODAY – USA TODAY is a multi-platform news and information media company. Founded in 1982, USA TODAY's mission is to serve as a forum for better understanding and unity to help make the USA truly one nation. Today, through its newspaper, website and mobile platforms, USA TODAY connects readers and engages the national conversation. USA TODAY, the nation's number one newspaper in print circulation with an average of more than 1.8 million daily, and USATODAY.com, an award-winning newspaper website launched in 1995, reach a combined 5.9 million readers daily. USA TODAY is a leader in mobile applications with more than eight million downloads on mobile devices. The USA TODAY brand also includes USA TODAY Education and USA TODAY Sports Weekly. USA TODAY is owned by Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI).

Press Contacts:

Weber Shandwick for Rand McNally
Kristen Insalaco, [email protected], 212-445-8481
Lauren Lane, [email protected], 212-445-8303

USA TODAY
Heidi Zimmerman, [email protected], 703-854-5304

Saab Cars North America
Michele Tinson, [email protected], 248-581-0856

Country Inns & Suits By Carlson
Joan Cronson, [email protected], 763-212-1418
Ben Gardeen, [email protected], 763-212-8129

Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI)
Kristen Clemens, [email protected], 202-835-4214

Shell
Katie Floyd, [email protected], 713-241-8184

Fleetwood RV
Heather Everett, [email protected], 951-377-3852

SOURCE Rand McNally