An invitation to locals
Portland Staycation
An invitation to locals to come visit a revitalized downtown with a weekend full of events and surprises.
Overview
Reimagine Portland came together with the Portland Bureau of Transportation to create Portland's first Staycation campaign. A handful of events happened to land on the same weekend, which turned into a three-day celebration of what downtown Portland has to offer. The group asked me to start with a brand so we could shop the idea around, and from there it snowballed. Downtown Portland, Portland Alliance, Sunday Parkways, Travel Portland, Travel Oregon, Alaska Airlines, Prosper Portland, and more all jumped in with financial and structural backing.
As for direction, I aimed to channel the city's quirky personality by combining fun, mid-century design with a vintage postcard look. Less like ads and more like a natural part of Portland, written in welcoming headlines and cheeky, Portland-specific one-liners. Yes, even backyard chicken jokes made the cut.
ClientReimagine Portland × PBOT
RoleBrand, Campaign & Art Direction
ScopeIdentity, Campaign, Print, Merch, Web
Year2025
The Brand
The brand had to sell the idea before the idea existed, then stretch to hold a whole city's worth of collaborators once it did. A primary mark, a circle badge, a square stamp for social, and a reversed lockup for dark placements.
On the Web
A dedicated site at pdxstaycay.com held the whole campaign: hotel packages, an events calendar, and a sign-up flow for the shops and restaurants downtown who wanted in.
Visit the live site
Out of Home
Collectibles
Getting the word out to locals was the key ingredient to success. Thousands of mailable postcards were printed and handed out, and hundreds of coasters were made to be given to participating bars and restaurants. The "book a flight" line is a good example of some of the borrowed-travel language I used throughout the campaign.
Postcard
Coasters
Locals Pass
Social Engagement
We also used established social accounts and local influencers to spread the good word. I provided premade social tiles along with design assets to make people's lives easier, and maintain some brand consistency.
9:41PDX
portland_staycation Your city. Your weekend. Your staycation.
Billboards were posted in strategic locations across the city, and a jumbotron ad ran during a Portland Timbers game.
Digital Advertising
The campaign also showed up where locals were already browsing: a family of Willamette Week display units, sized to sit inside an editorial page without disappearing into it.
Digital Advertising
Portland events, food, and weekend things to do
Merch
Take-home pieces for locals and out-of-town guests alike: a tote for the farmers market run, a sticker sheet for the water bottle, and a sweater for when the staycation runs into fall.
Tote Bag
Apparel
Stickers
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