How Aria turned marketing of Game XLV on its head for North Texas Town
The Objective _
The City of Lewisville — in North Texas — had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The Big Game (you know the one we’re talking about), was coming to Dallas for the first time. Ever. With it came unprecedented national attention, media buzz, and lots of out-of-towners.
The obvious question arose: how do we maximize our share of the pie, while making Lewisville truly stand out?
The Solution _
The answer: a highly-targeted destination marketing and economic development campaign that turned traditional advertising and digital advertising upside-down.
Every City has the same basic stats. X minutes to Y. A number of college educated people compared to B. X number of square footage of retail space. A brand new development that’s just amazing!
All of them can tell the same story. But they’re not the same… are they?
We took your typical “beat our chest and make claims” approach, and flipped it. We asked a simple question. “Whoville?”
Part tounge-in-cheek, part serious question, the campaign — centered on a single ad — made you challenge the way you view and value cities. (See the full ad below).
With ad space already purchased in a special Super Bowl issue of D Magazine — and a circulation of 150,000 national and international business leaders — we had the right platform to spread the word, but what to do when they followed the ad’s call to action (WhatYouDontKnowAboutLewisville.com). Our battle plan:
- Craft a unique print ad to kick-start the campaign that goes against what many similarly-minded EDCs will be messaging
- Produce a landing page, with a vanity URL, to provide a cohesive online advertising component
- Host a VIP/RSVP event to further engage respondents and further cement Lewisville’s brand
The Results _
A stand-out advertising campaign that literally turned traditional advertising on its head — all pun intended.
Whoville Print Ad
Whoville Landing Page