With a focus on fun, Visit California has today launched a serious new tourism initiative. Titled the Ultimate Playground, Visit California’s new global brand platform – its first brand evolution in more than a decade – invites international and domestic visitors to experience a whole lot of fun in a state known for its free-spirited nature.
As the name suggests, the Ultimate Playground focuses on play, your way – whether that’s on the sands of SoCal or the trails of Tahoe, in LA life or on the streets of San Francisco.
“California’s playful, free-spirited attitude, paired with its abundance of experiences, create the Ultimate Playground – something no other destination can claim,” Visit California President and CEO Caroline Beteta tells Karryon in an exclusive Australian travel industry interview.
“Travel is a time and place that gives us permission to embrace play, and the Ultimate Playground offers every visitor an opportunity to play in a way that speaks to them.”
Travel and play
As you’d expect, the initiative’s focus on play has been well thought through, with scientific evidence backing its approach.
Based on a Wunderman Thompson Intelligence study, nine in ten (89 per cent) consumers “see fun as a necessity that keeps them going in tough times”, while eight in ten (83 per cent) said they are “seeking out experiences that bring them joy and happiness”.
In a study released last week by the National Institute for Play (NIFP), play was revealed as a requirement for a happy and healthy life, while a clear correlation between fun and travel emerged.
“More than 85 per cent of global consumers agree it’s important to incorporate play into their lives, and 43 per cent said that vacation “is the only time I have to really let go and play,” Beteta says.
“With mental health and wellness at the forefront of travellers’ minds, it was essential to us that we lean into the Ultimate Playground. Play is crucial to human development, and the deprivation of play has proved to be a key indicator of mental health issues plaguing both adults and kids.”
The NIFP study, called ‘The Power of Play: Losing and Finding Ourselves through Everyday Play’, breaks down play into eight unique styles, showing how everyone finds their own fun. Emerging at infancy, these play styles comprise Collector, Competitor, Creator, Director, Comedian, Explorer, Mover and Storyteller.
“Travellers can come to VisitCalifornia.com to discover their individual ‘play style,’ and be inspired by the regions and experiences that align with each style,” Beteta says.
“This is designed to assist travellers with finding the right playground that matches their personality and eventually experience their own fun and free-spirited vacation in California.”
“Let’s Play” launches
As part of the new Ultimate Playground branding, Visit California has unveiled the ‘Let’s Play’ global campaign, a 30-second television spot highlighting playtime in California.
Worth around AU$50 million (US$32.8 million), the three-month ad campaign will run in Australia, USA, Canada, Mexico, UK and China.
The new advertisements represent Visit California’s first brand campaign to run in Australia since the pandemic.
There will also be a 60-second version of the television spot, which features 10 destinations including San Francisco’s Hyde Street Trolley & Golden Gate Bridge, Sequoia National Park, Joshua Tree National Park, Temecula’s Leoness Cellars, Los Angeles’ Hollywood Sign, Newport Beach’s Crystal Cove, Palm Springs’ Ingleside Hotel, Lake Tahoe’s Palisades, Yurok Country’s Klamath River and San Diego’s Rady Shell.
Focus on families
Beteta calls the overall brand evolution a major global rollout “that we expect to play out over the next 18 months – so there are many surprises still to come for consumers and the travel industry”.
“Expect to see Visit California activating in all 14 global markets, pursuing media opportunities, trade integrations and consumer activations, all under the banner of ‘The Ultimate Playground’,” she says.
“And expect to see California’s destinations embracing the ethos of play and positioning themselves as part of The Ultimate Playground – because it really does encompass the whole state.”
Beteta tells Karryon that the initial ad campaign will run until June 2024, “but layered into our media plan are campaigns focused on family travel and road trips, which are still the bread and butter for Visit California”. Sounds like fun.
Read about SoCal secrets, gastronomy and sports sensations in a recent Visit California famil to Los Angeles flying United Airlines. Not to be left out, NorCal also welcomed a Visit California famil flying United to San Francisco.