Angelica Capullo, marketing program manager for Scottsdale Tourism and Events, told the Tourism Development Commission on Oct. 21 that Old Town Scottsdale’s June Days summer campaign delivered strong merchant participation and audience engagement and previewed Scott’s Dazzle, the city’s annual holiday activation beginning Nov. 29.

Capullo said June Days — now in its fifth year — compiled more than 100 events and included roughly 50 participating merchants. The campaign combined city signature and micro events with merchant listings on a dedicated June Days web landing page and supported merchants with social posts and advertising that drove traffic to merchant event pages.

“Both days [of the Scottsdale stadium tours] sold out, and we had a waiting list,” Capullo said, describing a Father’s Day weekend stadium-tour activation. She also noted the return of Stories & Suites, a weekly historical presentation paired with a local bakery treat, and a yoga class at Scottsdale Civic Center that drew about 200 participants and earned local TV coverage.

Capullo described a new “tournament of treats” promotion that ran through June and collected “over a thousand votes,” with broadcast segments and social engagement spotlighting participating frozen-treat vendors. She said advertising for June Days was multimedia — print, connected TV, paid and organic social, kiosks and street banners — and that the Old Town web page for June reached “one of the highest number of page views for the past year” during June.

The commission asked follow-up questions on performance tracking and local-discounting strategies. Commissioner Miller asked how year-over-year growth is tracked; Capullo said the team looks at website impressions, merchant surveys and event counts and offered to return with demographic performance data. Another commissioner encouraged expanding local discounts, especially for food and beverage, to drive local visitation; Capullo said a few merchants offered resident discounts but that activations (trivia nights, wine tastings) were more common and that discounts could be encouraged in future promotions.

Looking ahead to Scott’s Dazzle, Capullo said the event — in its tenth year — opens Nov. 29 with the jingle-and-jangle tree lighting on the Scottsdale Waterfront. She said the program this year will include decorations across Old Town, expanded activity at Scottsdale Civic Center, recurring free Scott’s Dazzle strolls on Saturday nights with a new “stroll and shop” element, and a tinsel-trail holiday window-decorating program in which artists’ designs will be installed on merchant windows. She said many Scott’s Dazzle events will be free and some will be small ticketed micro-events.

Capullo also outlined a paid advertising plan tied to the holiday program — print ads in local publications, billboards in Arcadia, Google paid search, connected TV and social — and said Fashion Square has provided a large display space near the food court to promote Scott’s Dazzle to shoppers.

Capullo closed by inviting commissioners’ recommendations and offering to provide more granular demographic and tracking data on request.