Visit Seattle Takes New Approach to Destination Marketing and Launches TV Series, Creates Branded Video Content and Traveler Testimonials

SEATTLE, Sept. 16, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Visit Seattle announced today a new marketing campaign converging traditional ads and marketing with content focused video. The new campaign features a Seattle TV series, focusing on music that will air on a national music channel, as well as inauguration of a new, web-based Visit Seattle TV channel with a series of video chronicles of individual first-time travelers to Seattle.

The decision to create a purely content based campaign dovetails with the increased importance of video for travelers and the new way they're consuming content. It represents the first time a destination marketing organization (DMO) has taken this approach to marketing.

The components of Visit Seattle's new campaign include the "Sounds by the Sound," the first-of-its-kind, long-form series built entirely for a brand partner on Revolt TV (owned by Sean "P Diddy" Combs), "First Takes," a video series showcasing actual Seattle visitors describing their first visits to the Emerald City, and a new branded web-based TV channel on the Visit Seattle web site called VISITSEATTLE.TV.

Visit Seattle teamed up with Publicis Seattle to create the two new branded series. "Sounds by the Sound" will premiere on Revolt TV online at VISITSEATTLE.TV the week of September 21. The series will explore Seattle's music scene and celebrate the uniquely textured civic experience that informs and inspires it. The series will feature a mix of interviews with emerging and established artists and performances at city landmarks such as Chihuly Garden & Glass, Kubota Gardens, the Space Needle and CenturyLink Field. For example, the episode filmed inside CenturyLink Field, examines how music influences sports and includes interviews the Seattle Seahawks' own DJ (the only official team DJ in the NFL) as well as the up-and-coming band The Flavr Blue, whose front woman is also featured on the hook of Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' single "White Walls" and served as the lead producer on their viral videos for "Thrift Shop" and "Wing$."

"During the past 20 years, Seattle has become known as an incubator for new music across all genres, so we decided to tap into Seattle's rich music talent as one focus of our new campaign," said Tom Norwalk, Visit Seattle President & CEO.

The second new video series, "First Takes," will chronicle the sensory experiences of first-time Seattle visitors. The series is directed by documentary filmmaker Austin Wilson and will be featured on VISITSEATTLE.TV as well as through social media and various online destinations. The series features a wide range of traveler experiences ranging from first-time oyster tasting to smelling fresh roasted coffee to taking off in a seaplane over the Puget Sound. "We're excited about this series because of the authenticity of the messaging when it comes from the mouths of the visitors," said Ali Daniels, Visit Seattle V.P. of Marketing. "We are spoiled by what we have in our backyard, and it is eye opening to see it through a first-time visitor's eyes. To hear someone describe paddle boarding in Portage Bay or watching the sun rise over Gas Works Park makes you fall in love with your city all over again."

VISITSEATTLE.TV launches on visitseattle.org today. The channel, which will be managed and produced by Visit Seattle, will feature a mix of branded video content including "Sounds by the Sound" and "First Takes," maps with highlighted content for trip planning and other content.  Both series will be featured on VISITSEATTLE.TV, Visit Seattle TV on YouTube as well as through social media and various online destinations. View it now at http://www.visitseattle.org/tv/ or https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgSt-U04-NkYglXh0O4DRSA.

The campaign is funded by the Seattle Tourism Improvement Area (STIA), a dedicated marketing fund assessed from guests at 54 downtown Seattle hotels. Visit Seattle, which administers the STIA marketing programs, successfully explored uncharted DMO marketing initiatives since the advent of the STIA in 2011. The 2 Days in Seattle campaign was the first by a DMO to curate the content of visiting social media influencers as content for a proprietary destination web site. Visit Seattle also launched a Seattle eCookbook and created its own Pandora music channel.

About Visit Seattle:
Visit Seattle, a private, nonprofit marketing organization, has served as Seattle/King County's official destination marketing organization (DMO) for more than 50 years. The goal of these marketing efforts is to enhance the employment opportunities and economic prosperity of the region. For more information, visit www.visitseattle.org.

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SOURCE Visit Seattle

Related Links

http://www.visitseattle.org