Sedona tourism staff set May 15 launch for 'Embrace the Moment' summer campaign as board reviews data and assets
May 01, 2024 | Sedona, Yavapai County, Arizona
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Sedona tourism staff told the Tourism Advisory Board they plan to launch the "Embrace the Moment" summer stewardship campaign on May 15, pending a routine City Council consent item. Robin Mullen, tourism program marketing manager, said the creative combines wide landscape shots with closer "in‑the‑moment" imagery and that photo and video assets from a three‑day April shoot are ready for use.
Mullen framed the campaign around recent market indicators, saying, "March is the third consecutive month this year where hotel occupancy exceeded the prior three years," and walking members through lodging metrics including March occupancy at 81.1% and year‑over‑year increases in ADR and RevPAR. Staff showed a booking‑pace slide that flagged a steep drop in group bookings for summer — staff reported July group demand down roughly 93% year over year — and said the decline was part of the rationale for a coordinated summer marketing effort.
The campaign will run out of market (programmatic placements targeted to Los Angeles and Phoenix), in‑market stewarding ads (including Meta placements and shuttle‑screen video), and a landing page at scenicsedona.com/embrace‑the‑moment that staff will use to attribute where visitors saw ads. Mullen said the landing page includes stewardship guidance, links to lodging and dining pages, and a curated four‑day itinerary.
Staff told the board they submitted a 600‑word advertorial and photos to San Diego Magazine as part of an AOT co‑op and showed sample banner and video placements. They also said the council has already reviewed the campaign at a March work session and that the consent item before council is to amend the contract for services with DBA Marketing to cover the campaign’s production and placements.
Board members asked about search‑engine marketing, how the landing page will outrank sponsored pages such as Scenic Sedona Tours, and whether the city has the staff and tools to capture group inquiries. Staff said they correlated some data with bed‑tax records for a winter campaign and will follow up on whether that can be a recurring input; they also said the tourism manager hire, Andrew Grossman, will start July 1 and will help build out trade and group sales capacity.
The board approved the minutes earlier in the meeting by voice vote; the consent item for the campaign is scheduled before council and staff said they expect it to be a procedural approval. If council takes the item off consent the city is prepared to present the contract amendment in more detail.
The campaign launch, attribution tracking and creative assets were the most immediate deliverables staff asked the board to champion with local businesses and visitor channels.
Mullen framed the campaign around recent market indicators, saying, "March is the third consecutive month this year where hotel occupancy exceeded the prior three years," and walking members through lodging metrics including March occupancy at 81.1% and year‑over‑year increases in ADR and RevPAR. Staff showed a booking‑pace slide that flagged a steep drop in group bookings for summer — staff reported July group demand down roughly 93% year over year — and said the decline was part of the rationale for a coordinated summer marketing effort.
The campaign will run out of market (programmatic placements targeted to Los Angeles and Phoenix), in‑market stewarding ads (including Meta placements and shuttle‑screen video), and a landing page at scenicsedona.com/embrace‑the‑moment that staff will use to attribute where visitors saw ads. Mullen said the landing page includes stewardship guidance, links to lodging and dining pages, and a curated four‑day itinerary.
Staff told the board they submitted a 600‑word advertorial and photos to San Diego Magazine as part of an AOT co‑op and showed sample banner and video placements. They also said the council has already reviewed the campaign at a March work session and that the consent item before council is to amend the contract for services with DBA Marketing to cover the campaign’s production and placements.
Board members asked about search‑engine marketing, how the landing page will outrank sponsored pages such as Scenic Sedona Tours, and whether the city has the staff and tools to capture group inquiries. Staff said they correlated some data with bed‑tax records for a winter campaign and will follow up on whether that can be a recurring input; they also said the tourism manager hire, Andrew Grossman, will start July 1 and will help build out trade and group sales capacity.
The board approved the minutes earlier in the meeting by voice vote; the consent item for the campaign is scheduled before council and staff said they expect it to be a procedural approval. If council takes the item off consent the city is prepared to present the contract amendment in more detail.
The campaign launch, attribution tracking and creative assets were the most immediate deliverables staff asked the board to champion with local businesses and visitor channels.
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