Share
The 2023 Adrian Awards are now open! Take some inspiration from one of last year’s honorees –Visit Seattle. Submit your entry for the 2023 Adrian Awards by September 8, 2023.
In a new Special Report, we profile all of the Platinum and President’s Award winners — including Visit Seattle, which was honored for this Public Relations/Communications entry.
PLATINUM WINNING ENTRY: KISSING IN THE RAIN: SEATTLE EMBRACES ITS MOST CONTROVERSIAL SEASON
AGENCY PARTNERS: COPACINO FUJIKADO AND C+C
Background
After a year of uncertainty and challenging news coverage (crime, safety, homelessness issues) coming out about Seattle, Visit Seattle set out to change traveler’s perspectives of the Emerald City, by launching a national campaign, focused on reigniting excitement back into Seattle travel.
Campaign
Embracing an unexpected element, Visit Seattle headed over to the heat-encompassed cities of Los Angeles and Scottsdale, to launch their Kissing in the Rain Booth: a first-ever sustainable rain booth, built to highlight the magic and romance of a rainy Seattle day and invite potential travelers to fall in love with Seattle’s cozy season. After all, some of the most magical scenes in cinema involve rain – from kisses in the rain (a la The Notebook and Spiderman) to extravagant musical numbers (like the classic Singing in the Rain).
Results
The 17’ x 16’ booth had rainfall that was captured and pumped back to make the booth fully sustainable. The design itself featured wooden ramps and paneling to create a mid-century modern Pacific Northwest look. Visitors in both cities lined up to kiss, dance and sing in the rain, and were then given the opportunity to choose from three unique movie posterstyle Seattle backgrounds to share their Instagram-worthy misty moments in the booth with their followers. Afterwards, visitors walked away with Seattle-branded swag—from sleek bucket hats to cooling misting fans. The Seattle Rain Booth garnered 81 pieces of unique traditional news and social media coverage and was featured everywhere from Reuters to Yahoo News to the Weather Channel to Adweek—to the tune of a combined 167MM+ earned media impressions.