Spring is calling. All January long, ride share vehicles throughout Chicago were promoting Arizona’s winter warmth, dreamy landscapes, and sunshine as part of the newest Visit Mesa campaign to promote the desert destination and entice would-be visitors to book their spring vacations to the Southwest.

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Mesa, Arizona’s destination marketing organization wrapped 20 ride share cars that were zoned for high traffic areas in Chicago and featured a campaign where users could learn more about the destination both inside and outside the vehicle. The cars were wrapped with messages like: “Blizzards Exact Opposite”, “Let’s Work on That Winter Tan”, “Warm Up Your Life” and “Our Winter Layers: Sunscreen”. The rideshare cars could be seen picking up passengers and dropping them off around Soldier Field, the United Center, Millennium Park, Magnificent Mile, Navy Pier, and other iconic Chicago landmarks. Visit Mesa even ensured cars were circling the weekend fan event, the Chicago Cubs Convention, held at the Sheraton Grand Chicago. During peak dates in January, wrapped cars featuring Mesa imagery would swarm at events including the Chicago Bears vs. Minnesota Vikings NFL game on Jan. 8; the Chicago Blackhawks vs. Colorado Avalanche NHL game on Jan. 12 and the Chicago Bulls vs. Golden State Warriors NBA game on Jan. 15, to name a few.

Visit Mesa partnered with Carvertise, leaders in this space for travel destinations who run similar campaigns nationwide. The car wrapping visual campaign was the first time Visit Mesa marketed the destination on vehicles and the campaign was made possible with the Visit Arizona Initiative, a grant program managed by the Arizona Office of Tourism.

Passengers could learn more about Mesa on the outside of the car by going online to VisitMesa.com and also received a QR code to book vacation deals to Mesa and the latest promotional materials when inside the vehicle. Visit Mesa also created a special website that directed online traffic to hotel deals, attractions passes, and spring event information in Mesa. When complete, the campaign is expected to reach more than 5M impressions.

“It’s not a hard task to promote our attributes in the winter. Arizona sunsets and our unbeatable weather certainly deserve the spotlight,” said Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Michelle Streeter. “This campaign allowed us to spread our message to a market that is familiar with what we offer in the winter and spring seasons. We paired our call to Chicagoans to “warm up” with strong visuals and Mesa had an undeniable presence across the city at the perfect time of year. We felt this was a great way to promote Mesa in advance of our first full season of MLB spring training in three years, and a roster of signature events all season long.”

Visit Mesa is already tracking increases in visitation above 2019 levels and forecasts predict domestic leisure travel to be resilient in the months ahead. According to the latest Longwoods International tracking study of American travelers, 92% have travel plans in the next six months, tied for the highest levels seen since the beginning of the pandemic. Tourism Economics says consumers are well-positioned to continue to support leisure travel and that pent-up demand and a continued prioritization of travel will endure into 2023. Year-end hotel performance for the City of Mesa in 2022 reached 1.3M room nights sold, up 4.3% from the previous year; 2022 occupancy rate was 7.1% ahead of 2021.