The Beverly Hills City Council approved a contract amendment with the Beverly Hills Conference and Visitors Bureau (BHCVB) on Feb. 8 to enable the organization to create a $350,000 television campaign promoting Beverly Hills as a travel destination.
The commercial, called the “Feel Good Campaign,” will air in Beverly Hills’ top four tourism generating cities, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and New York.
It hopes to spur pandemic recovery within local tourism and related industries.
The TV commercial is expected to spotlight the city’s vibrancy and diverse options for food, hospitality, shopping and entertainment.
“I would say start rolling as soon as possible because this is a very important program,” said Vice Mayor Lili Bosse during a review of the program at a Feb. 1 City Council Liaison Marketing Committee meeting.
Tourism was among the hardest hit industries during the pandemic, with the city reporting a 73% decrease in hospitality revenue during the first year alone. Additionally, the campaign was proposed in an effort to counter what BHCVB calls negative press around recent high-profile crimes in the city. BHCVB staff told the Beverly Hills City Council Liaison Marketing Committee that it is important to reach these top tourism generating cities and assure them that Beverly Hills is open and safe.
“It’s something that we feel is very important in terms of telling the messaging of what Beverly Hills really is now, to counter some of the negative that is not true,” said Bosse. “I think it’s necessary. I wish we could get this up and running.”
The Council’s decision effectively adds an additional $50,000 to the TV campaign budget. Without it, the BHCVB says it would not be able to air the commercial in New York. As Beverly Hills’ partner marketing organization with resources for visitors, media and travel, the BHCVB will spend $100,000 from its marketing budget, $200,000 in buffer funds, and the additional $50,000 approved during the Feb. 8 Council meeting.
