Staff recommends $124,340 summer marketing plan with 'redefine' creative and high‑income pilot

Tourism staff presented a proposed summer 2026 destination marketing plan recommending a $124,340 base spend and a staggered launch of ads to prioritize flight markets earlier in May and roll advertising into drive markets by May 15. The package would fund paid search, in‑market and out‑of‑market Meta ads, attribution web and CTV buys and a targeted high‑net‑worth channel, with some creative and paid Earned‑media placements timed to align with an Outside Inc. editorial buy (Pinkbike) and other earned placements.

The proposal, led by staff (Andrew), said the campaign would continue the agency’s multi‑year “redefine” creative family and deliver seasonal executions that reinterpret a familiar word with unexpected imagery. Staff proposed that flight markets start May 1 and drive markets May 15 and said attribution and ancillary tactics (local news segments in Phoenix) would supplement the paid buys.

TAB discussion focused on messaging and audiences. Several members said the phrase “redefine siesta” read as a literal nap in some markets and urged testing alternative terms or supportive imagery; staff said creative is always paired with imagery and that staff will explore synonyms and additional variants (for example, “redefine the afternoon” or other redefined‑X taglines). Board members also pressed staff to add more family‑friendly itineraries and to highlight indoor, heat‑friendly options or pools as alternatives to creek visits for families.

Staff described a more surgical media approach this year: a high‑income channel will be built via reverse‑geofencing (targeting people who physically visit top luxury hotels and similar behaviors) and luxury‑oriented creative and landing pages will be tested. Staff said this allows a narrower, more efficient set of buys and is part of why the recommended budget is lower than past boosted summer totals.

On markets, staff recommended keeping core drive markets—Phoenix, Tucson, Los Angeles, San Diego and Las Vegas—while piloting Houston and maintaining flight market placements in Denver, Seattle, San Francisco, Dallas and Chicago. Staff emphasized a priority on attracting overnight visitation during historically slower months and on incorporating heat‑safety/sustainability messaging for in‑market visitors.

The next step is a staff presentation of the strategy to Sedona City Council (agenda bill due March 19) and presentation at the April 14 council meeting; staff expects to launch flight market buys May 1 and drive market buys May 15 if approved.

All campaign figures and targeting descriptions above are reported as presented by staff at the TAB meeting; where the transcript included unclear numeric text (see audit), this article flags numbers as staff‑reported rather than independently verified.

The TAB asked staff to circulate alternative taglines and imagery options for member feedback and to consider family‑focused itinerary pages and clearer visitor maps showing local place names rather than highway numbers. Staff agreed to return a final campaign plan and recommended budget to council and to the TAB as part of the May reporting cycle.

The meeting included a brief voice vote approving routine minutes but no formal vote on the campaign recommendation at TAB.