The Advertising Club of New Orleans has awarded New Orleans & Company multiple ADDY Awards, an award for the best in local advertising, including the highest honor of “Overall Best in Show” for the 2020 leisure marketing campaign, Offline Playlist. The campaign was created in 2019 and ran briefly to a national audience encouraging visitors to experience New Orleans culture in early 2020 before being put on hold due to COVID-19.

“New Orleans draws people from all backgrounds to experience our culture in a myriad of ways," said Stephen Perry, president and CEO of New Orleans & Company. “This campaign celebrates the wide variety and depth of talent that lives in our great city and we’re honored that the advertising community recognized our efforts to showcase New Orleans’ unique place in both music history and its future. Especially in such a competitive environment, this validation of the quality of our creative work provides encouragement that visitors will continue to choose New Orleans as they plan future vacations once they feel safe to travel.” 

At the February 25th ceremony, New Orleans & Company received the following awards:

Gold ADDY

  • Print Advertising, Magazine advertising for New York Times Magazine placement
  • Film, Video & Sound, Television advertising, National campaign
  • Film, Video & Sound, Internet commercial
  • Film, Video & Sound, Music video
  • Cross Platform, Integrated Campaign, National

Silver ADDY

  • Advertising & Promotion, Online/Interactive campaign

Best in Show

  • Best in Show, television
  • Overall Best in Show

The Offline Playlist, a concert for people with nothing in common but a Spotify playlist, shows that even when we have nothing else in common, music brings us together. New Orleans Tourism set out to prove it, and to attract visitors to the city, by partnering with Spotify to bring the city’s sound to life. First, a playlist was created that reflected the true sound of the city, as defined by years of listener habits. Then, the playlist was performed live, from start to finish, in its original order, at the iconic Preservation Hall, for a few lucky fans who followed it.  The result was a first-of-its-kind, star-studded concert that reimagined what it meant to make a playlist in the first place. The lineup included Jon Batiste (Late Show with Stephen Colbert), Irma Thomas, Curren$y, Mannie Fresh, Alynda Segarra, Boyfriend, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, and other local stars who collectively make up six Grammy nominations, seven platinum albums, 23 Hot 100 singles, and more than 100 million Spotify streams. 

In total, the project produced a historic concert, live album, sponsored Spotify content, broadcast commercials, out of home, social and influencer content, and a full-length documentary which has received several awards from national and international film festivals.  More information on Offline Playlist can be found here.

“This campaign was the result of multiple partnerships," said Mark Romig, Chief Marketing Officer and Senior Vice President, New Orleans & Company. “Our creative agency, 360i, outdid themselves with the concept and execution of every aspect of the Offline Playlist. None of this would have been possible, though, without the wonderful inspiration of our host, Preservation Hall, and the talent of the musicians that provided their music and performances to this production.” 

The American Advertising Awards, home of the ADDY® Award, is one of the industry’s largest creative competitions, attracting nearly 35,000 professional and student entries each year through competitions offered through local AAF clubs. The mission of the American Advertising Awards is to recognize and reward the creative spirit of excellence in advertising. Conducted annually by the American Advertising Federation (AAF), the local Ad Club phase is the first of a three-tier, national competition. Concurrently, all across the country, local entrants vie to win ADDY Awards – recognition as the very best in their markets. At the second tier, local ADDY winners compete against winners from other local clubs in one of 15 district competitions. District ADDY winners are then forwarded to the third tier, the national stage of the American Advertising Awards. For more information on the ADDY Awards, click here.

Offline Playlist press images are available here. Credit given to Danny Clinch. Additional Preservation Hall images can also be downloaded here. Credit given to Justen Williams.

New Orleans & Company is a nationally accredited, 1,100-member destination marketing organization and the largest and most successful private economic development corporation in Louisiana. New Orleans & Company and its members and partners influence thousands of decision-makers and millions of visitors to choose New Orleans through direct sales, marketing, public relations, branding, visitor services and local advocacy initiatives at our New Orleans headquarters. Consistently recognized as one of the top five destination marketing organizations in the country, New Orleans & Company celebrates its 61st anniversary in 2021. For more information, please visit NewOrleans.com/about.

 

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