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Watson Creative unveils "Oregon's base camp" branding and $100,000 marketing plan for Redmond tourism
Summary
Consultants from Watson Creative and the Redmond Tourism and Lodging Advisory Committee presented a mid-year brand and growth strategy that proposes the tagline "Oregon's base camp," a phased digital campaign and a $100,000 advertising budget aimed at increasing awareness and bookings.
The City of Redmond heard a mid-year report from the Tourism and Lodging Advisory Committee and Watson Creative that lays out a brand platform, creative direction and a phased marketing plan the team said is designed to position Redmond as "Oregon's base camp." Heather Cossaro, communications director for the City of Redmond, introduced the committee and consultants and said the presentation summarizes work that began in June 2024.
Greg Needham, vice president of strategy at Watson Creative, described the discovery process that informed messaging and creative work. Needham summarized the brand platform and read elements of the draft manifesto: "Redmond wasn't built like other cities...A community that built the tracks, bridges and depots for the railroad connecting Central Oregon to the rest of the country...Redmond, Oregon's base camp." He said the positioning and tagline are intended to present Redmond as a hub for regional recreation, culture and history without the crowds and expense of larger nearby destinations.
The consultants presented a multi-part marketing approach. It divides work into phases: a foundation-building Phase 1 (awareness and education) that runs through June and includes a new website, organic social channels, content, influencer and affiliate marketing, and an initial advertising push; and Phase 2 (optimization), beginning in August, that applies data from Phase 1 to expand multichannel paid advertising. Tatiana Caraballo, digital marketing strategist, said the team will prioritize the highest-performing channels rather than "use every single channel that is available." She described a recommended budget allocation and timelines and explained the campaign funnel from awareness to conversion.
Consultants described a $100,000 overall paid-media budget and gave a sample allocation for a March–June paid push of about $40,000. That projection estimated roughly 30,000 website visits for the $40,000 placement (about $1.32 per visit), roughly 3,000,000 impressions and other benchmarks. Consultants also proposed a 36-keyword SEO strategy that they said targets about 8,000 searches per month for the chosen keywords and projected 4,000 monthly visits from ranking for a portion of those terms under an assumed 5%–10% click-through range.
Watson Creative presented the campaign's creative system, centered on a multi-colored "beacon" symbol that the team described as a way to "light the way to the hub." The creative intent included a color palette ("lights out," "sagebrush," "moss," "clear day," "rust," "campfire," "comfort"), type treatments and mockups for posters, social ads, merchandise and wayfinding displays. The consultants said the visual system is meant to be flexible so the city can own and evolve it over time.
Committee members spoke in support. Joanna Eisler, chair of the Tourism and Lodging Advisory Committee and director of business development at Visit Central Oregon, said the committee "invested a lot" in the work and that the research will inform which markets and audiences to target. Tobias Colvin, representing SEP Hotel, said the brand work "distill[s] us down to who is Redmond" and emphasized that overnight stays generate hotel tax revenue the city can reinvest in services. Jeff Hines of the Deschutes County Fair and Expo Center told the council a stronger Redmond brand would help attract group and event business that currently defaults to better-known neighboring destinations.
Councilors offered early reactions: several said they liked the messaging and color palette though some said they needed more time to evaluate the logo and the use of a shortened Redmond treatment (RDMND). City staff confirmed the website build is underway and said the consultants expect a campaign launch in March; they said performance data collection will follow the launch and be used to refine Phase 2.
No formal council action or budget appropriation was taken during the presentation; the meeting functioned as an informational update and to solicit feedback from councilors.
