LA Tourism launches new campaign in Australia
LA Tourism has announced a new ‘Now Playing’ campaign, launching in Australia today.
The announcement:
Los Angeles Tourism has today raised the curtain on a record-breaking Australian advertising campaign, inviting Australians to discover what’s “Now Playing” in the City of Angels. In collaboration with Visit California, the AUD $2.2 million media buy will target Australia’s east coast – via out of home, broadcast video on demand, connected TV, native and social media.
Running from 7th November through March 2023, the groundbreaking campaign marks a number of firsts for Los Angeles Tourism, with the largest Australian advertising spend in history by a U.S. city tourism office; the largest spend in any international market by the Los Angeles Tourism Board ever; and the first time Los Angeles Tourism has concurrently run advertising in key markets Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane – all offering direct air service to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).
Australia has long been an important market for Los Angeles. In 2019, prior to the pandemic, L.A. welcomed 421,000 Australians, making Australia the 2nd largest overseas source market for visitors following China. The upcoming roll-out of this large-scale media campaign supports Los Angeles Tourism’s prediction that Australian visitation will be on track to meet pre-pandemic levels by 2024 (410,000), or 2025 at the latest (440,000). To assist with planning and recovery efforts, Los Angeles Tourism recently celebrated the ten year anniversary of having a Sydney based office, which remained open during the pandemic despite the closed borders.
“Aussies and Angelenos have a long history of friendship, due to our similar climates, attitudes and way of living,” said Don Skeoch, chief marketing officer for the Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board. “We’re excited to warmly welcome Aussies back to our shores once again to experience all of the unique, ‘only in L.A.’ attractions, experiences and events that the City of Angels has to offer.”
Visit California has partnered on the campaign to further bolster the Golden State as the most popular and convenient gateway for Australians visiting North America. Airlift to California is quickly rebounding, driving the forecasted recovery as flights are consistently being booked to capacity.
“California has always been the first stop for Aussies dreaming of visiting the United States, and we invite them to return to explore all of the dreamworthy experiences on offer,” Visit California president & CEO Caroline Beteta said. “Since 2020, California has truly seen a renaissance of new hotels, attractions and cultural wonders, especially in Los Angeles. There has never been a better time to visit.”
In recent recovery efforts, LAX has seen an increase in flight capacity from Australia, welcoming 44 non-stop direct flights each week. As a result, LAX receives over half (56%) of Australian visitors compared with other North American airports. The state-of-the-art airport has been undergoing a multi-billion dollar modernisation project to attract both first-timers and returning friends to the bucket-list travel destination.
Launching in other overseas markets in late-September, the new “Now Playing” creative shines a Hollywood spotlight onto the incomparable breadth of attractions, experiences, entertainment and accommodations found only in L.A. Shot on location at several iconic L.A. sites and featuring Southern Californian DJ, record producer and executive Steve Aoki; along with narration by stage, screen and TV veteran Jenifer Lewis; the spot combines live-action film, music, animation and voiceover to create a dazzling mix of campaign content.
Leading the campaign is a dynamic 30 second ad that pays homage to the city’s reputation as the entertainment capital of the world. The story opens on a writer at work on an ever-changing screenplay that follows a group of friends as they crisscross the city, visiting Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), hiking in Griffith Park by the Hollywood Sign, spending a night out at the Hollywood Bowl, enjoying Leo’s Tacos, and experiencing Venice Beach.
“Now Playing instantly evokes what’s unique about Los Angeles,” said Don Skeoch. “With this campaign, we’ve combined the vocabulary of the screenwriter and the visual language of cinema to creatively capture what makes L.A. an unparalleled visitor destination.”
Campaign Credits:
Client: Los Angeles Tourism
CMO: Don Skeoch
VP, Brand & Digital Marketing: Bill Karz
Creative Director: Shelley Leopold
Production Company: Plus Plus Productions
Director: Pablo Delgado
Head of Production Dave Horowitz
Creative & Executive Producer: Eva Ruiz de Chávez
Media Buying Agency: MBuy
Partner: Visit California
Source: Adhesive Agency
