Visit Mesa, the official tourism marketing arm for the City of Mesa, completed the Downtown Mesa video, a new destination marketing tool that shows off the activities, businesses and new experiences along Main Street.
The video features the vocal talent of local Arizonans Sara Robinson and Levi Waskom as they get ready to enjoy their dream day downtown, full of charm, character and local culture exclusive to the city’s vibrant downtown.
Visit Mesa commissioned the original song, Our Downtown is Your Playground, which is performed by both Robinson and Waskom and written and arranged by Tim Yokley.
Phoenix-based OH: Owens Harkey agency directed and produced the three-minute video. The agency recently wrapped a lengthy film shoot in the area that started in early November and captured a variety of ways to access the area, capturing light rail activity, pedestrians and by car.
“Downtown Mesa’s streetscape is evolving and we needed to capture all the new offerings for our visitors,” said Marc Garcia, Visit Mesa president and CEO. “We anticipated that light rail would bring in a new customer, but it’s the unique businesses that have relocated or opened here that has truly lured in a new visitor. Our approach was to make sure we positioned Downtown Mesa as a new place to play – this video showcases all the ways to do that here.”
In tandem with the timing of the film shoot, Visit Mesa embarked on a national marketing campaign aimed at attracting Millennials, also known as Generation Y. This influential set of consumers, born in the 1980s and 90s, has surpassed Generation X in population and now represents the largest share of the American workforce.
Visit Mesa partnered with Millennial Media on a seven-month digital marketing campaign that targets potential consumers via their mobile use, and monitors their mobile behavior. Millennial Media, recently acquired by AOL, is the leading independent mobile ad marketplace. The company’s unique data and technology model only reaches this lucrative consumer set on their mobile devices.
Visit Mesa’s campaign highlights images and messaging promoting the city’s outdoor lifestyle and regional offerings that appeal to this demographic, as well as offering exclusive hotel rates. Criteria for receiving a targeted ad from Visit Mesa will depend on website searches and purchasing habits determined by Millennial Media. The campaign with also features a proactive retargeting campaign that follows the consumer’s online behaviors.
