Discover Central Massachusetts - Smile City Campaign

Omnichannel campaign to drive behavior at scale

Marketing Strategy, Creative Direction & Production

Challenge: Drive visitation & stimulate ecomonic impact in Central Massachusetts after a decline in tourism during the pandemic.
Insight: The perception of Worcester needed a refresh. As New England’s second largest city, and a multi-cultural hub rich in attractions, history, and a vibrant local dining scene, investment was required to showcase the city beyond the typical talking points and out-dated outsider expectations of a run-down, drive-through city.
Idea: Rebrand Worcester as “Smile City” with an omnichannel campaign that draws attention to attractions and dining, while enagaging prospective visitors with a “Smile City Culture Passport” offering exclusive deals.

Execution: Project production launched in April 2021 and campaigns were live June-August, a timeline dictated by the terms of the grant.
- Collaborated with local designers on the Smile City brand.
- Partnered with Bandwango to brand and embed their passport technology.
- Produced videos to leverage for streaming and social ad campaigns. Production included casting, location scouting, and creative direction of the videographer and editor.
- Digital campaigns, including email and banner ads, with media partners Boston Magazine and LocaliQ, plus an online sweepstakes with LocaliQ.
- Social campaigns, paid and organic, including an influencer strategy with 6 families from target demographics in Boston, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.
- Outdoor advertising on major MA highways, by Union Station and Fenway Park, plus full page print ad in Connecticut Magazine and MA newspapers.

Results: The campaign drove a significant increase in brand awareness, website impressions, social following, and long-term results show an increase in visitation YoY, driving economic development and tourism recovery for the region.

Exceeded campaign KPI goals for awareness, reaching 10,290,192 total impressions.
EffectTV streaming campaign delivered >1M impressions to target audiences, and 94% were viewed in full.
25,960 Visits on Discover Central MA’s landing page during the campaign.
198% Increase in website visitation over the prior year.
841 Passport opt-ins, with 79% of passholders opting-in to email marketing, plus gained 2,883 email subscribers through the LocaliQ sweepstakes.
Economic impact data comparing 2020 to 2021 showed a 52.7% increase in visitor expenditures, and a 65.9% increase in local tax reciepts ($6.2M). Data comparing 2021 to 2022 showed continued momentum: 21% increase in visitor expenditures, a 14.6% increase in industry employment, and a 28.8% increase in local tax reciepts ($4.5M),
In 2022, Worcester earned a spot on a “Top 20 Smiliest Cities in the US” list according to AI facial recognition data.
The city’s perception change is evident in the numbers, and data shows a steady growth. Qualitatively, recent earned media showcase the perception chance with loglines like “…its diverse, modern identity may spark a “Wait, Worcester has that?” moment” (Yankee, Weekend Away, July ‘25) and “Massachusetts’ scrappiest city just became its more interesting” (Boston Magazine, The Beacon, Aug. ‘25).