Sonoma Launches New Tourism Platform

Sonoma County Tourism has a new brand platform—“Sonoma County: Life Opens Up.”

The new campaign, logo and visual identity aims to get to the heart of the destination and showcase Sonoma, California, as a place for freedom of thought and expression.

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“To succeed, we need to connect with our customers on an emotional level and create a compelling set of reasons to visit Sonoma County,” said Claudia Vecchio, president and chief executive officer of Sonoma County Tourism. “Our new brand helps us to evolve from simply talking about the destination’s assets to showing how those assets provide transformational experiences.”

The new branding effort was spearheaded by research by branding agency MMGY Global, which conducted a survey of more than 1,000 consumers and found that people connect with the destination on an intimate, organic and engaging level.

“We are eager to show how ‘Life Opens Up’ in Sonoma County,” said Vecchio. “Sommeliers let wine breathe or open up to better taste the flavor and this is the perfect metaphor for what Sonoma County does. It calls us to open up and experience the subtleties of life that people often take for granted.

“We want people to know that when they come to Sonoma County, they will feel like part of something bigger,” she continued. “It’s a place for people who want to immerse, engage and connect, whether it be with the earth, nature or, most importantly, with each other.”

The new branding features warm rustic gold, tan and brown hues that exhumed a natural aesthetic. Other colors, such as olive green, rusted red and light blue look to be plucked from the landscape.

“We are excited to help the world understand that Sonoma County is a place made for and by people who go their own way,” said Vecchio. “We are a place of growers, creators and artisans, whose open-mindedness, inclusiveness and hospitable nature is matched only by the people who come here. Everyone is welcome to the table and encouraged to make it their own. It’s just real people doing what they really love.”

Keep an eye out for the transition. The new brand campaign will be rolled out in late October and will incorporate all assets of Sonoma County Tourism, including advertising, PR, mobile, social and web assets.