Visit Santa ClaritaMarketing Campaign
The Challenge
Visit Santa Clarita set out to reintroduce Santa Clarita as a must-visit destination and springboard for Southern California travel. As the city continues to grow as an appealing place to live and explore, the goal was to increase leisure travel within a 400-mile radius by highlighting Santa Clarita’s unique mix of offerings — from world-class thrills to scenic outdoor adventures.
The campaign needed to build awareness, inspire trip planning, and lay the groundwork for a future sweepstakes-based remarketing effort—while uniting all of Santa Clarita’s attractions under a refreshed, cohesive creative platform.
Research
Lundmark began by reviewing past campaign performance, audience insights, and competitor positioning to identify how Santa Clarita could stand out in a crowded Southern California tourism market.
Audience research revealed that regional leisure travelers are driven by value, proximity, and variety, while also uncovering opportunities to showcase outdoor recreation, an offering with strong appeal but low previous visibility. These insights guided a strategy positioning Santa Clarita as the ideal “jumping-off point” for an L.A.-area getaway, blending adventure, family fun, and relaxation.
Positioning Strategy
Lundmark developed a positioning strategy anchored in four core experience pillars:
- Thrills – record-breaking rides at Six Flags Magic Mountain
- Outdoor Recreation – hiking, biking, horseback riding, and scenic exploration
- Family Fun – affordable entertainment and attractions for all ages
- Food & Drink – diverse local dining, breweries, and wineries
Multiple creative themes were developed and pitched, each designed to bring these pillars to life in distinctive ways. “It All Starts Here” emerged as the selected campaign theme, capturing the excitement of beginning an unforgettable Southern California adventure in Santa Clarita.
A video storyboard was also developed to demonstrate how the campaign could extend into video, providing a framework for future production and expanding the campaign’s reach across digital channels.
Creative Execution
The campaign leveraged punchy, category-specific messaging such as “Adventure Starts Here” and “Taste Starts Here,” paired with vibrant photography and bold, modern design to capture attention.
To authentically reflect the city’s energy, the creative relied heavily on licensed user-generated content to capture the true essence of what visitors experience in Santa Clarita, blending real traveler moments with destination-focused messaging.
The system was designed to be flexible enough to promote both Santa Clarita as a whole and its individual experience categories, while also supporting a Phase 2 sweepstakes to drive lead generation and remarketing opportunities. The campaign launched across digital, social media, connected TV, and streaming audio.
Results
Feedback from the destination marketing organization and their members was overwhelmingly positive. In just over six weeks, the campaign captured more than 4,500 leads, with corresponding email addresses added to the client’s database for future marketing. Additionally, Facebook page “likes” jumped 242% in one month, demonstrating strong audience engagement and social growth.