Visit Newport Beach promotes our city to both locals and visitors, and they’ve done it with creative campaigns that have won awards and captured attention.
One of their most memorable was their 2015 UK marketing campaign called “Picture Perfect” that Visit Newport Beach said drew more than 50,000 people to our town.
Visit Newport Beach launched the “Picture Perfect” campaign in the dead of winter, and featured a clear-sided truck with the campaign’s brand messaging “Picture Perfect” on the exterior and a large beach motif inside complete with real sand, lounge chairs, tropical plants, heat lamps, beach cruiser bikes, and similar items.
The truck toured central London for a week in early February. Visitors who entered the truck were encouraged to take a “selfie” on lounge chairs in front of the Newport Beach coastal scene and tag the photo. The “Picture Perfect” sweepstakes included a dream vacation to Newport Beach.
Now, Visit Newport Beach has used a similar concept in New York.
The Vacation Club Pop-Up is an immersive brand experience that brought a Newport Beach vacation to the heart of New York City. Following a private preview for media, influencers and VIPs, the four-store pop-up opened to the public for three days in Manhattan’s Nolita neighborhood. More than 3,500 visitors came through the doors, well above expectations, and every one of them was welcomed by name as a member of the Club.
For three years, the Newport Beach Vacation Club has invited travelers to experience Newport Beach as their own private “club without walls.” The pop-up turned that brand world into a place people could walk into. Each of the four storefronts told one chapter of a Newport Beach vacation:
- The Clubhouse & Check-In: This space was representative of world-class hospitality and service found in Newport Beach. Guests were invited to check in, and Prescott West IV, the Club’s General Manager, welcomed each of them by name.
- Beach Stroll: An island of real sand, a boardwalk and a saltwater taffy bar brought a sunny Newport Beach afternoon to Lower Manhattan.
- Golden Hour Sail: This space transported guests aboard a Newport Beach sailboat at golden hour, the Club’s newest vessel for its maiden voyage. Guests were welcomed by Captain Finn who ceremoniously christened the boat before inviting club members to help give the new vessel its official name.
- Midnight Dip: Guests were invited to take a “Midnight Dip” in the oversized caviar pool for an unexpected photo moment, bringing their Newport Beach vacation from day into night.
Between locations, a custom Duffy Electric Boat-inspired pedicab named Sea Legs carried the Club through the streets of Nolita.
“New Yorkers see destination advertising everywhere they look, so we knew a billboard alone could never capture how a Newport Beach vacation feels,” said Gary Sherwin, President & CEO of Visit Newport Beach. “Instead of asking people to picture Newport Beach, we let them step inside it and be fully immersed. Watching more than 3,500 guests walk in as New Yorkers and leave as members of the Club showed us how far this platform can go.”
Visit Newport Beach’s in-house team created the concept, creative direction, storytelling and guest journey. Twelve ambassadors played members of the Club staff, each with a name, role and backstory drawn from a 25-page character and hospitality brief.
Invited guests received personal letters from Club staff members written in each character’s voice. By the time they arrived, they already knew who would greet them. The team installed all four environments in less than 24 hours, nearly 3,000 miles from home.
According to Visit Newport Beach, New York is one of Newport Beach’s most valuable long-haul markets. It is also one of the most crowded media environments in the world. The pop-up gave high-value New York travelers a personal way to experience Newport Beach’s hospitality, coastline, harbor, resorts, dining and nightlife firsthand. Every moment was designed to be captured and shared, and opt-ins collected at check-in will let Visit Newport Beach invite guests to plan a visit.
Through partnerships with local content creators and media outlets in the weeks leading up to the event, press and social media coverage of the pop-up generated more than eight million impressions.
“Newport Beach is a destination built on hospitality,” said Ashley Johnson, SVP and CMO, Visit Newport Beach. “Nearly 3,000 miles from home, we got to show that hospitality in person, one guest at a time. We hope every New Yorker who joined the Club in Nolita is already planning a real trip to come visit us.”
Visit www.visitnewportbeach.com for more information.
