MILLENNIALS WELCOME

Jackson, Mississippi embraces its inherent “Millennial Assets” with unconventional outreach.

JACKSON, MS - They’re in the workforce, they have disposable income, and they love to travel. The only issue is they don’t travel like generations before. And that’s perfect for Jackson, Mississippi.

“Millennials are turning the way we’ve done tourism on it’s head,” said Wanda Collier Wilson, President/CEO of Visit Jackson, the organization in charge of tourism marketing for Mississippi’s capital city. “For decades, ‘big tourism’ has focused on major attractions, large events, and pageantry - all of which don’t match up to typical Millennial sensibilities.”

The Millennial generation - with over 80 million members and a travel spending forecast to be in excess of $200 billion in 2017 - aren’t your father’s (or grandfather’s) travelers. Millennials value substance over superficial, authentic experiences instead of overly-produced excursions, and soaking up the creativity and diversity of local culture rather than “touristy” type attractions.

“That’s right in our wheelhouse,” said Wilson. “Taken as a whole, Jackson is full of creative diversity and authentic experiences that are second to none.”

But, just as Millennials are unconventional travelers, the tourism powers-that-be in Jackson realized they needed an unconventional strategy to expose the inherent “Millennial assets” of their city to the audience.

Here comes the hot stepper: Enter Lyrical Branding

Music genres have a tradition of paying tribute to great American cities. From standards such as I Left My Heart in San Francisco to more modern cult classics like Walking in Memphis, cities have benefited from being immortalized in lyrical verse.

Mississippi as a whole and Jackson in particular have a rich, practically unrivaled, history and tradition in American Music. The city can rightfully lay claim to being on the founding edge of genres such as Blues, Gospel, and Rock and Roll, and also has developed a vibrant Hip Hop and Country scene. Given this, it seemed natural that “Jackson” should be a town set to music.

“Jackson has been styled the ‘City with Soul,’ and for good reason,” said Visit Jackson Vice President of Marketing, Jonathan Pettus. “Soul is a connotation that extends to our food, arts, events, and the like, but none looms larger than our musical tradition.”

It was recognized that the historical aspect of Jackson’s music tradition was important, but it was also realized that to appeal to Millennial travelers it was necessary to reflect the vibrant scene that is happening in Jackson now. A young up and coming Jackson artist - Adam “AJC” Collier (no relation to Ms. Wilson) - was commissioned to write and produce a song which captured the essence of the “City with Soul,” as he understood it.

The subsequent song - My City by AJC and the Envelope Pushers - was the result of this process. Adam’s lyrics where then set to a frenetic series of video images that formed the artist taking a tour of all the happening places and events around Jackson.

“Even as a native of the Jackson area and a graduate of Jackson State University, I didn’t realize the scene that is the City with Soul!” said Collier in a post-production interview. “There are fifty-million bars, murals all over the city, it really is incredible…and authentic.”

Developing a legitimate contemporary pop song that reflects the culture of modern Jackson was key for Jackson’s tourism efforts.

“We didn’t want a ‘jingle,’ and we didn’t want to retro-fit an existing song into a ‘promotional’ video,” said Pettus. “Jackson deserved a true and authentic lyrical brand, so that’s what we asked the artist to produce - one that reflected the authentic culture and fun of Jackson.”

When the status quo won’t work, change it.

The effort is a step outside the typical comfort zone of tourism marketing campaigns.

“The world is changing,” said Wilson. “WHO is traveling and WHAT they are seeking is changing, and we are ensuring that Jackson is on the forefront of adapting to this change.”

The My City project is the first execution of a strategy that Visit Jackson and collaborators are implementing to shift emphasis away from traditional advertising into more content development and marketing. This, again, is in alignment with the sensibilities and decision drivers of Millennial audiences. As an added bonus, Wilson sees down-the-road benefits for the city which extend beyond just tourism.

“This strategy, while one designed to increase tourism, will undoubtedly produce results in other areas,” she said. “Talent retention, attraction, and economic development efforts all stand to benefit from an enhanced Jackson image - both among visitors and our own citizens.”

My City is available for download from various online music stores including iTunes, and is streaming on Spotify.

The My City music video can be viewed at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEPYI18mdww

For a brief interview with Adam “AJC” Collier, please visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pgS1mAybuc

See you in Jackson, the “City with Soul!”