With around 420,000 Australians and Kiwis set to head to Los Angeles in 2024, Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board (LA Tourism) announced its ‘Now Playing’ promotional campaign launches with new partnerships with Urban List and Expedia Group ANZ.
Marking the third year of significant investment in Australia, and second in New Zealand, the creative activations form part of a larger strategy in the market, says Adam Burke, President and CEO.
The campaign features six product-driven 15-second spots crafted by award-winning film title innovators Imaginary Forces and comes as Los Angeles is projected to welcome 4.3 million overseas visitors this year, marking an expected return to 93.8 percent of 2019 international tourism recovery levels by year-end.
“In 2024, our City of Angels is well-positioned to achieve new milestones as we continue focusing on tourism recovery, particularly from Aussie and Kiwi travellers. While full recovery of inbound overseas visitation is not expected until 2025, we’re seeing strong demand from a number of key international markets,” says Burke.
“We are committed to providing visitors and our travel trade partners with updates on all the exciting new attractions in LA. The launch of our refreshed ‘Now Playing’ campaign will help us accelerate the pace of recovery and support the hundreds of local businesses who depend on tourism for their livelihoods.”
The campaign kicks off this week across Australia and New Zealand across various media including Out of Home, Display, Social, CTV, Audio, Partner Direct and Search, with strategy from Allied Global Marketing. It also runs globally across markets including the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, Mexico, Canada, France and South Korea.
Since the campaign’s initial launch, ‘Now Playing’ has generated more than $2 billion in incremental direct spending in Los Angeles.
“LA Tourism’s ‘Now Playing’ campaign has been the organisation’s most successful to date, and we’re proud to continue to leverage the creative to venture into new international target markets. Our approach with this launch allows us to showcase our incredible destination authentically, through the eyes of Angelenos themselves,” says Bill Karz, Senior Vice President, Brand and Digital Marketing.
The ‘Now Playing’ campaign coincides with what LA Tourism predicts will be a landmark year of arts, culture, sports, and entertainment in the destination.
This includes eagerly-anticipated attractions, including LACMA’s David Geffen Galleries (2025), the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art (2025) and the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center at the California Science Center.
As LA Tourism shines a spotlight on LA’s arts and culture offerings, it will also continue the momentum in sports and entertainment as LA receives the Olympic torch from Paris this summer for the 2028 Olympic & Paralympic Games and as it gears up to host major events including NBA All-Star 2026, the 2026 U.S. Women’s Open Championship, FIFA World Cup 26 and Super Bowl LXI in 2027.
