Taos marketing team presents rebrand plan; Abbey Agency and local firm Bent House Creative to lead work

The Town of Taos council on Sept. 9 heard a joint presentation from Abbey Agency and local partner Bent House Creative laying out a branding and tourism-marketing strategy that the town’s marketing staff said will emphasize stewardship, local voices and attracting “the right” visitors.

The agencies described an onboarding schedule that includes an immersion week and public brand workshop the week of Sept. 15, a Lodgers Tax Advisory Board meeting on Sept. 17 and a branding workshop scheduled for Sept. 18. The team said it will deliver a comprehensive marketing plan by the end of the year.

Town marketing director Rima Christ introduced the teams and said the new contractor arrangement is already producing publicity and outreach. “We are right on track. We haven’t missed a beat,” Christ said, citing a recent Albuquerque Journal story arranged by the agency.

Allegra Dimersion, client success director for the Abbey Agency, said the firm will ground strategy work in a marketing audit and in local input gathered at the brand workshop. “Our role is really on that overarching destination strategy effort, defining where we need to go, where we are, what our opportunities are, and then working with our team to carry out what that plan looks like,” Dimersion said.

Christine Harsinski, Abbey’s creative director, said the firm will focus on retaining Taos’s character while calibrating messaging to reach visitors whose values align with the town’s stewardship goals. “We want to make sure we’re conveying the town correctly and retaining the character that you want to retain and attracting the right people into the market,” Harsinski said.

Bent House Creative, a Taos-based firm located on Bent Street, described its role as supplying local content, social media and creator relationships. “Your tourism experience is shaped by locals,” said Jason Seck, partner at Bent House Creative, describing plans to highlight local makers, chefs and guides rather than bringing outside influencers alone.

Council members asked how the agencies will define the “right” visitors. Dimersion said the definition will come from the brand workshop and the town’s destination stewardship plan; she added the campaign will use audience research and paid media to refine targeting. Rima Christ said Bent House will hire local influencers, photographers and videographers as part of the work to ensure a local footprint.

Next steps listed by staff include the agencies’ immersion week in mid-September, the brand workshop Sept. 18 and continued monthly updates to the council as the marketing plan is finalized.

The presentation did not request council approval of additional funding at the Sept. 9 meeting; staff said a full marketing plan with deliverables and budget would be presented later in the year.