Welcome to WeHo – the Rebel City Whose Cause Is Tourism

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A woman with an apparent fascination with bondage throwing a dart at a target stuck in the crotch of a muscular and nearly naked man? A long line of sexy young men and women at the side of a hotel swimming pool, taking selfies? Two men, one preppy and one bearded like a hipster, sitting on a couch in what is apparently a gay mixed-marriage?

Welcome to West Hollywood! Oh, and if any of that offends you, well, bye Felicia!

Those images are part of a campaign by Visit West Hollywood to market the rebel city that is WeHo.

“Any time that a destination is able to portray its best assets is always great, but for West Hollywood, it’s also never been more important,” said Tom Kiely, President and CEO of Visit West Hollywood. “This city was built on the idea of a safe haven and welcoming place, with no judgements made, and it’s the same today. With our campaign, we are inviting people from around the world to come visit, and be who they are.”

visit weho, tourism
A still from Visit West Hollywood’s new promotional video.

The radical (or should we call it “rad”?) campaign was developed by Symblaze, a marketing firm with clients across the world that is based in West Hollywood and is best known among locals for its marketing of the city’s Pick Up free nightlife shuttle. Its founders are Michael Horton and Josh Morgerman.

Josh Morgerman said Visit WeHo decided to re-evaluate the way it markets West Hollywood to travelers after the death in 2015 of Brad Burlingame. Burlingame was the well-liked CEO of Visit WeHo for 18 years, the man many credit with making West Hollywood a major center of tourism in Southern California. Kiely was named Burlingame’s successor last September.

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“We did a brand audit,” Morgerman said, something that involved long talks with employees of Visit West Hollywood as well as with influentials in the city and the tourism industry. “We came to the conclusion that this brand needed an extreme makeover.”

tourism, visit west hollywood
A Visit WeHo ad that Visit California declined to publish.

Visit WeHo’s marketing campaign had focused, as does those of most tourism destinations, on the stylish hotels, great restaurants, hip nightlife and luxury shopping in the city. But that focus “didn’t have the edge that we think West Hollywood has,” Morgerman said. That edge, he conceded, might put off some. However, “we are strong believers that really memorable brands, the ones that stand out, are not for everybody. When brands try to talk to everybody, they’re talking to nobody.”

So who does Visit West Hollywood want to speak to? Who finds, or is likely to find, WeHo a desirable destination? And why?

“It’s no secret that people come to West Hollywood from all over the world,” Morgerman said. “It’s not a cheap place to visit and also has a certain vibe. We found that a large portion of the traffic comes from big cities in North America, and that includes Canada and increasingly Mexico, the EU (especially London and the UK), and of course Australia. We found a common thread in those travelers and diagrammed it.”

Morgerman describes those travelers as “cultural creatives.” They are people in their 30s, 40s, and 50s. They work in creative fields such as fashion, advertising, media and entertainment. They aren’t “super wealthy,” Morgerman said, “but they do well.”

“We decided that we are going to talk to them,” he said, adding that those who aren’t cultural creatives are certainly welcome as well.

The next step was figuring out what gives WeHo, a city known for its great hotels and restaurants, and great nightlife and shopping, an edge among all those cities that also have those attributes. What, Morgerman asked, is WeHo’s “special sauce”?

“A lot of people think it’s the LGBT population, but that’s not the only thing…” he said. “The common thread we found about West Hollywood, was in its history. The city was founded by AIDS activists and rents rights activists and Russian immigrants working hard to create a safe space for themselves… In the 80s this was the center of the hair metal scene, getting blasted, partying and rock… And even today, the West Hollywood City Council takes controversial stands on things – the fur ban, the ban on plastic bags, our (former) mayor’s saying that Donald Trump is not welcome here.

A ‘selfie shot’ by the pool at the Mondrian in a still from Visit WeHo’s new video.

“This is a city of social justice warriors, a city of deep compassion and taking moral stands on things …. But there is a really hedonistic side too. And actually they are connected. And the connection is rebellion… We are going to do what we think is right and what we want to do, whether it’s partying our ass off or having bathrooms that accommodate everybody.

“The common thread is we’re a rebel city. This is a rebel city. It has been since its inception. It is politically. It is in terms of the hedonism of the city, which we celebrate. That’s the brand’s special sauce.”

To pitch WeHo as a rebel city required a brand with “some teeth,” Morgerman said. “And that means some people aren’t going to like it. We created this brand before the (presidential) election, and now it’s going to have even more impact … Our carrying this torch of rebellion, it means more than it ever did.

“Our target audience, whether they come from North America or Europe or Australia, appreciates that. They are very much on our side in this cultural war. Trump’s election put our branding position in even more stark relief.”

Visit WeHo’s new approach is displayed in a marketing video that Visit West Hollywood produced, with Morgerman as director and Richy Jackson, known for his work with Lady Gaga, as choreographer. Titled “You’re Too Good for This Sh*t. Visit WeHo”, it depicts West Hollywood as rebellious in a particularly hedonistic way.

“The video starts in a grey, depressing, everyday reality,” Morgerman said. “Suddenly you’re whisked away on a fast-paced jaunt across a world that is glamorous, vibrant, strange, and sensual: West Hollywood. You barely have time to savor the rush of fantastic sights before you’re cruelly dropped off again in the grey reality of everyday life. But now there’s a longing in your heart—a spark of curiosity—to experience WeHo for yourself.”

“The video is about creating a mood. It’s not a literal sell. It’s about what West Hollywood means… the creative permissiveness of it.”

It also embraces what Morgerman, a native New Yorker who lives in WeHo, calls Southern California’s “plasticity.”

“The people coming from New York or London, they embrace the plasticity of Southern California. David Hockney is the first one to really embrace how plastic it is,” Morgerman said, referring to the famous British pop artist who has a studio in WeHo. “I wanted to acknowledge that. The models that we cast, the shots, the colors … we don’t care if it looks fake. It is fake. That’s what people come here for. We are kind of crazy… We are not Portland, we’re not San Francisco.”

A bar night full of fantasies in a still from the new Visit WeHo video.
A double hotel room for three in a still from the Visit WeHo video.
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Martin
Martin
7 years ago

I think it’s great! And, wow, so many people on here who either can’t or didn’t read the very well-written article– or just don’t understand what they read. I never chime in on these things, but just have to here… Nir: with all due respect, you do understand this a commercial for tourism, yes? To answer your question, yes, hotels, nightclubs, restaurants etc are why people visit WeHo. Sure, every city has them. But going out in WeHo isn’t like going out anywhere else. I think the ad captures how it’s different to do stuff in WeHo as opposed to… Read more »

Nir Zilberman
7 years ago
Reply to  Martin

Have an amazing summer 2017 and enjoy what WEHO have to offers. I’m not sure what? but whatever it is I wish the city residents THE BEST.

Roy Oldenkamp
Roy Oldenkamp
7 years ago

It’s a marketing clip, people. Still, would have been nice to have some old geezers, you know- thirty five years olds, maybe- at Gold Coast raising a toast. It’s far too exclusive in its focus. Otherwise, it’s silly fun.

Nir Zilberman
7 years ago

for years i was fighting to help the homeless, they need us. yes, they may be filthy and smelly and yes the laying on our sidewalks, sleeping on our driveways, but they are PEOPLE, most are homeless because they got into “METH” and other drugs, what so sad, few of them used to be our amazing looking men in those “IN” Night clubs and restaurants , just like in this video. but once again, our city council members are too busy making the city “A COOL CITY” and forget to supports those in needs, just like our homeless and our… Read more »

tyson
tyson
7 years ago

the comment about the homeless was a good one. walk a mile on santa monica blvd. and you’ll be confronted by a hundred homeless people. filthy, smelly, and laying out on the sidewalks. if you want tourists to drop money safely and repeatedly at the businesses, cleaning the streets up would help.

tn
tn
7 years ago

where are the homeless out in front of pavilions?

WeHo Resident
WeHo Resident
7 years ago

Hilarious!

Opportunistic
Opportunistic
7 years ago

A race to the bottom with a somewhat desperate, cheesy “take the money and run” campaign of limited focus. Glam dance routines on the PDC property and amateur camerawork hardly scratch the surface of WeHo. Looking at the resumes of the “creative minds” they appear to be heavy on innuendo, intent giving us West Hedonwood, a completely silly, opportunistic image. WeHo deserves much better as it longs to be taken seriously around the world.

John
John
7 years ago

It’s perfect for WeHo – come visit if your young, attractive, lily white, narcissistic and vapid otherwise, stay out. How much was spent on this mess – I hope Grindr paid for that product placement.

Ramro
Ramro
7 years ago

sad. “cause is tourism” reflects the shallow stuff in the video: only good-looking, fit, alcohol-and-sex-centered 20-somethings who shop. too bad. weho is so much more than that. and the el mirador in there as something to be proud of? that beautiful abandoned building is being left to disintegrate in front of everyone’s eyes. is this the soul of weho nowadays? bummer.

Barry
7 years ago

Sexy, smart and fun. A genuine call to arms for people looking to discover what WeHo has to offer laid out out in a playful way. Sold me and I live there.

NIR
NIR
7 years ago

WOW. it’s not about good or bad, is this what we can offer as a creative city?
hotels restaurants, night clubs & bars???
Is this what really going to bring tourists to our city?
Every city in the world have hotels, restaurants and night clubs…
retail stores? where???
We know better.
It will be great if we can change our “create city” to sex in the city.

Garrett
Garrett
7 years ago

Omg. This. Is. Awesome!!! Finally, finally! Our marketing actually starts to reflect some of the people and, ummm, activities that make this city great!!