Los Angeles Tourism has raised the curtain on its latest advertising campaign, inviting Australians to discover what’s “Now Playing” in the City of Angels.
In collaboration with Visit California, the $2.2 million media buy will target Australia’s east coast – via out-of-home, broadcast video on demand, connected TV, native and social media.
Running from 7 November through March 2023, the campaign marks a number of firsts for Los Angeles Tourism, with the largest Australian advertising spend in history by a US city tourism office; the largest spend in any international market by the Los Angeles Tourism Board ever; and the first time Los Angeles Tourism has concurrently run advertising in key markets Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane – all offering direct air service to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).
Australia has long been an important market for Los Angeles. In 2019, prior to the pandemic, L.A. welcomed 421,000 Australians, making Australia the 2nd largest overseas source market for visitors following China.
The upcoming roll-out of this large-scale media campaign supports Los Angeles Tourism’s prediction that Australian visitation will be on track to meet pre-pandemic levels by 2024 (410,000), or 2025 at the latest (440,000).
To assist with planning and recovery efforts, Los Angeles Tourism recently celebrated the ten year anniversary of having a Sydney-based office, which remained open during the pandemic despite the closed borders.
“Aussies and Angelenos have a long history of friendship, due to our similar climates, attitudes and way of living,” said Don Skeoch, CMO for the Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board.
“We’re excited to warmly welcome Aussies back to our shores once again to experience all of the unique, ‘only in L.A.’ attractions, experiences and events that the City of Angels has to offer.”
Visit California has partnered on the campaign to further bolster the Golden State as the most popular and convenient gateway for Australians visiting North America. Airlift to California is quickly rebounding, driving the forecasted recovery as flights are consistently being booked to capacity.
“California has always been the first stop for Aussies dreaming of visiting the United States, and we invite them to return to explore all of the dreamworthy experiences on offer,” Visit California president & CEO Caroline Beteta said.
“Since 2020, California has truly seen a renaissance of new hotels, attractions and cultural wonders, especially in Los Angeles. There has never been a better time to visit.”
In recent recovery efforts, LAX has seen an increase in flight capacity from Australia, welcoming 44 non-stop direct flights each week. As a result, LAX receives over half (56 per cent) of Australian visitors compared with other North American airports.
The airport has been undergoing a multi-billion dollar modernisation project to attract both first-timers and returning friends to the bucket-list travel destination.