• by Larissa Faw , February 10, 2020

Philadelphia has unveiled a marketing campaign to promote its new nickname, “City of Sisterly Love” to commemorate the 100^th anniversary of the 19^th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote.

The campaign kicked off with the Philadelphia City Council issuing a resolution making the nickname change official for 2020. 

There was a live activation on digital out-of-home signage in New York’s Times Square at the end of January.

Visit Philadelphia, the region’s tourism marketing group, and agency Allen & Gerritsen will now introduce a year full of events and programming around art, food, fitness, wine, music and history, including many celebrations of the 19^th Amendment.   

The campaign targets all women—sisters, cousins, girlfriends and other groups—to choose Philadelphia as their getaway destination.

“This year, due to the Olympics and the upcoming election, mass media costs are rising rapidly,” explains Jeff Guaracino, president and CEO, Visit Philly. “Simply being seen requires that we stay more nimble than our competition and more strategic with our media dollars in order to break through.”

OOH serves as a key pillar to “strategically” target female travelers. In addition to the Times Square billboard, Visit Philly is partnering with Clear Channel Outdoor to leverage its national and international footprint to reach key demographics.

“As we optimize our advertising spends, this agility from our Clear Channel partnership allows us to drill down and talk to specific sets of potential visitors and accurately measure effectiveness across print and digital, says Guaracino. “By embracing new advertising avenues, we’ll be able to tailor our messaging to reach more specific and diverse audiences—in this case, women—in their homes and through out-of-home.”

The campaign will run in “important feeder markets” such as Baltimore, Washington DC, and New York City. Chicago and Canada are also being considered for inclusion in the campaign.  The work will also be prominently featured on Greater Philadelphia’s official visitor website. 

The city will revert back to its traditional nickname, City of Brotherly Love in 2021.