Behind the Scenes of Visit Newport Beach with Ashley Johnson
What does it take to market Newport Beach to the world?
On this episode of Duffy Chats, Kym Whitney and Mandy Huntsman welcome Ashley Johnson, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Visit Newport Beach, aboard to talk about the organization behind the destination.
Ashley shares her journey into destination marketing, what Visit Newport Beach actually does, how it differs from the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce, and the important role tourism plays in supporting local businesses, jobs, and the local economy.
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Mandy: Welcome back to Duffy Chats. Today we're joined by Ashley Johnson, Senior VP and Chief Marketing Officer for Visit Newport Beach. Ashley, welcome aboard. We're so excited to have you.
Ashley: Thank you so much for having me. This is going to be fun.
Kim: I know. We can't wait to learn a little bit more about you and a lot more about Visit Newport Beach. So, to get started, let's go back a little bit. Where were you born and raised? Where did you go to college? And then how did you get into destination marketing and ultimately to Visit Newport Beach? I know that's a lot. I just asked you to give us the whole rundown.
Ashley: Absolutely. So, I'm a California native. I grew up in Orange County—specifically Irvine and Newport Beach. I went away for college to the University of Arizona. Bear Down!
I came back, and I've always had a hospitality heart. I've been working since I was 13, whether it was in food service or dry cleaning. I always loved that front-facing, customer-service aspect.
I majored in journalism, and my family is in the newspaper industry, so I always thought I'd work for a newspaper. Well, it turns out newspapers were becoming obsolete when I graduated, so I kind of had to pivot and shift.
I was really interested in marketing and PR. I worked at South Coast Plaza for a little bit and at a PR firm. Then this opportunity came to me to work for what we used to refer to as a convention and visitors bureau, which is today's destination marketing organization.
So, I started working at Visit Laguna Beach about 20-plus years ago as a marketing coordinator. Fast-forward 16 years, and I ended up as the president and CEO there.
It was a great opportunity to learn all the facets of the tourism industry.
Then the opportunity came up to be the CMO and vice president at Visit Newport Beach, and I could not say no. It's a much bigger destination with so much more room to play. It's just such an incredible destination, and growing up here, I felt like I was home.
Mandy: It went full circle in a way, right?
Ashley: Absolutely. Absolutely.
Mandy: Can you elaborate a little bit on what your role is and what your day-to-day looks like, in case there's anyone who wants to explore that field?
Ashley: Yes, absolutely. I think the fun thing about my job—and everyone's job at our organization—is that no day is the same.
So many destination marketing organizations are siloed into one job function or one duty, and we do everything in-house. Every day is different.
My job really is to lead the strategic vision of the marketing department, and then we carry that out through my incredible marketing team. We have a director of digital, social media, communications, a brand team—and, unlike most destination marketing organizations, we do everything in-house.
We do everything from concepting to execution. So every day is fun, and it's really my job to lead that strategic vision, invigorate the team, come up with some really cool consumer-facing concepts, and ensure that we generate economic impact for the community.
Kim: Right. Sounds cool. So, a lot of people have heard of Visit Newport Beach, obviously, but they don't really know everything the organization does. You touched on it a little bit, but can you give us a deeper dive into all the different facets of what you guys are doing over there?
Ashley: Yes, absolutely. Our organization is really this bifurcated organization. We have a marketing facet, which I run, and then we have a meetings facet, which is really group sales and group business for our hotels.
For the marketing side, it's really those leisure, consumer-facing ad campaigns and consumer campaigns. Again, it's to encourage potential visitors to keep Newport Beach top of mind, so when they're planning a vacation, they come here, stay in our hotels, and spend money at our restaurants and retail establishments.
Then, from the meetings side, we have a group of about 10 sales directors who are traveling around the country selling group business and working with the meetings market and clients.
It's really exciting because, for instance, this last year our meetings team had a goal of 112,000 room nights, and they surpassed that.
So that's in addition to the leisure marketing side. There are so many different facets, but again, our reason for being is to generate economic impact for the destination of Newport Beach.
Mandy: Awesome. I also have a question. I know a lot of people get confused about whether you guys are part of the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce or your own entity. Can you explain your relationship, how you're different, and how you work together, just so we can all understand?
Ashley: Yes, absolutely. As far as I know, I think we were one organization back in the day—way back when. At that time, we probably had a woman stuffing envelopes with visitors guides and mailing them off.
Since then, we've separated. We really have two different missions.
Ours is outward-facing to the consumer and to the meetings market, again, to get people to spend overnight and generate economic impact.
I would say the Chamber of Commerce really works with the local businesses, facilitates introductions, and ensures that the local businesses thrive among each other.
Kim: Yeah, networking opportunities among each other.
Ashley: Exactly. We work very closely with them on various events. For instance, the Christmas Boat Parade, which happens every winter.
Mandy: Which is great.
Ashley: Yes, it's so much fun.
We work with them, and we're tasked with marketing the event. They handle the operations of the entire weeklong event, and then we're charged with all the marketing—again, outward-facing—to get people to come here and spend the night.
So we work on various projects and programs with them.
Kim: Yeah, that was a good clarification because I didn't know. I assumed you were still connected.
Ashley: Completely separate.
Kim: So you talked about the economic impact. I don't think a lot of people realize how much tourism, or the business and conference side, contributes to the community. Can you explain a little bit deeper about that economic impact on the community and how it's helping?
Ashley: Yeah. It seems obvious, but sometimes we're not very good at patting ourselves on the back and sharing that information, so I appreciate the opportunity to share that.
From a consumer marketing standpoint—again, my facet—last year visitor spending totaled more than $1.2 billion locally.
Mandy: $1.2 billion?
Ashley: $1.2 billion. It's pretty incredible.
Plus, another $140-plus million in local and state taxes were generated by the visitor.
I think sometimes there's confusion that residents are paying for Visit Newport Beach, and I love to clarify that when I have the opportunity.
Basically, if a visitor stays overnight in a hotel, they pay a transient occupancy tax that goes to the city. That money is fed to us and works for our operations and marketing—again, that outward marketing message.
So, the visitor is basically paying for our reason for being, and we just want to continue to push out that message.
Everything we do from a consumer standpoint is rooted in data and research. We're looking at potential markets that we may want to talk to. We may want to see if there's an opportunity there. Maybe it makes sense; maybe it doesn't.
But for every single consumer campaign that we run, we generate an economic impact report of who came, how many people came, what the dollar amount was, and what the ROI associated with that campaign was.
So we can always prove the success of it and determine whether it makes sense to do it again or if we should pivot accordingly.
Kim: Well, I think overall, when you talk about those numbers, we don't necessarily have anything to relate that number to. So I guess I have two questions. When you say that billion-dollar figure, maybe in comparison to where you were before, is that a significant—
Ashley: Significant, significant, significant.
Kim: Okay. So it's a big, big, big number.
Ashley: Big deal.
Mandy: So we need to get you a raise.
[Laughter]
Ashley: Get a raise.
Kim: And then aside from what you said, obviously you're filling more rooms. Then those people who are coming are spending money not just at the hotels, but maybe renting boats—
Ashley: Yeah.
Kim: —all the things, right? And it helps employ people. So there's a bigger picture.
Ashley: Absolutely. I would say, too, a few years ago, just post-pandemic, hotels and different communities were really looking at increasing occupancy, which is the number of people staying in the rooms—the rooms occupied.
Our hotels have really stabilized at that occupancy, which is pretty much equal with other destinations, but our average daily rate highly surpasses all of our competitive destinations.
It's more than Huntington Beach. It's more than Laguna Beach. It's comparable with Dana Point, but we have a higher occupancy.
So it's very interesting to see. Our hotels are able to charge what they're charging and fill the rooms because they're such a great experience.
Mandy: Yeah, great. So when you're marketing, who is your ideal person—or ideal tourist—that you're trying to reach to bring to our city? What are some of the attributes you're looking at?
Ashley: Absolutely. That's a great question.
In our marketing, our demographic really is this holistic woman. She sort of lives at the center, and then we want to meet her wherever she's at in her journey.
Maybe she is corporate jet-setting as a CEO or married to a CEO. Maybe she's doing a girlfriends' getaway. Perhaps she's doing a multigenerational travel trip.
We really want to continuously provide that content and that marketing messaging to, again, meet her where she's at in her journey—to ensure that we're top of mind for her, that we're engaging with her appropriately, and hopefully converting her to be a visitor.
In everything we're doing, we also really try to be very fresh in our content approach and our digital marketing approach because the repeat visitor is so high.
We want to continue to show them all the new things to do, whether it's through messaging, all of the product offerings, the renovated hotels and those opportunities, or all of our incredible restaurants that we've welcomed in the last year and the ones in the pipeline, which is so exciting.
So we're really ensuring that we're creating this ever-changing messaging to maintain engagement.
Kim: Has the person you're trying to reach evolved over the years? Has it always been that person?
Ashley: It's really evolved.
I think destinations got stuck in the past with, "I want to market to families," or, "I want to market to couples." But how does that differentiate? There are so many families and so many couples.
Everything we do really hones in on that high household income. We want to make sure it's quality over quantity.
We would rather have someone who comes here, spends those high average daily rates, patronizes our high-end restaurants, comes out on the harbor and rents a Duffy boat, or charters a yacht.
So we really want to ensure that we're talking to the right person who, again, really helps generate that adequate economic impact for the community.
Mandy: So, are there certain markets that you're targeting that have the strongest growth? And I guess what I mean by that is where they're coming from to here.
And then, are there any trends that you're seeing that are surprising you? This could be what people are wanting when they're here, trends in terms of age demographic, or geographic location—where they're coming from.
Ashley: We're very lucky as a destination.
Again, I use my experience from Laguna Beach, which is a completely different destination even though it's coastal.
In Newport Beach, we're so lucky because we're a luxury destination, and the luxury market is so resilient. We saw that post-COVID. It did not drop off whatsoever from a luxury standpoint.
But we also have the ability, because we do everything in-house, to turn those levers on and off as needed.
Our fly markets—people coming in on an airplane—are really the Phoenix-Scottsdale areas, Utah, Dallas-Fort Worth, Las Vegas.
Then our drive market—our intrastate drive market—is tops for that.
Most recently, with everything going on in the world from an economic standpoint, airfare is through the roof and gas prices are rising. However, we're really focusing right now on that regional drive market.
We have 40 million people in our backyard that we can talk to who can jump in a car, come stay here, and stay for a long weekend.
So we really look at the research, the data, what's happening in the world, and pivot accordingly.
We're always nimble. Again, because we're doing things in-house, we can turn those levers on and off.
Kim: And is that just tourism, or is the business side of it different?
Ashley: I would say it's overarching, but what I'm talking about is mainly the marketing for the tourism side of things.
Kim: So the business conference side, are they reaching more globally, even with the economy?
Ashley: They're really national. Definitely national.
It's a lot of similar markets, and then I would say Chicago, New York, the Pacific Northwest, the Northeast. We have a representative there, boots on the ground in our office.
So it's really nationwide.
Mandy: Nationwide, not so much internationally?
Ashley: Correct. Nationwide.
And I would say those more high-end, smaller groups, because we don't have a big convention center.
The meetings and sales side can really hone in on that high-end business traveler who, again, is going to spend money in addition to the hotel room—to come out and do a scavenger hunt on a Duffy boat or what have you.
Kim: Yeah, cute.
Mandy: So, Ashley, there's constant change, as we know. Are there any specific markets that you've seen evolve and change in any sort of way over the past couple of years?
Ashley: Yes, absolutely.
We've always had our consistent fly markets. Interestingly, about three years ago, we saw an opportunity in Dallas-Fort Worth.
They were about number nine in search intent. So they were searching Newport Beach, but they were not converting.
We really started heavily investing in that market, and now they are our number-one out-of-state fly market, which is really interesting, just to see the needle move.
I would like Visit Newport Beach to take all the credit, but a lot of Californians have moved there and relocated, and they still love coming here.
But it's been really fun to see the needle move by investing further in a specific market.
Kim: Are you able to share maybe your number two and three?
Ashley: Yeah. Phoenix-Scottsdale is number two, Vegas, and then we're seeing an uptick in Utah, which is really exciting.
Mandy: That's fun.
Kim: Do you run campaigns in all these places digitally? I saw TV when I was at the first Formula 1 race in Vegas. We were in our room, and I was like, "Oh my gosh, this is Visit Newport Beach on my TV screen." I didn't realize.
Ashley: Yeah. We do five seasonal campaigns a year, and then, in addition to that, we'll have various activations, projects, and programs that align with our audience—that high-end demographic.
Formula 1 is a great example.
We actually took over all the TVs in the Las Vegas market. We had out-of-home advertising, so billboards between McCarran Airport and Formula 1.
Then we also did a really fun geotargeting campaign where we were able to highly target—with Big Brother and everything technology-wise—the people we wanted with a high enough household income that we knew we could market to when they went back home.
We were actually showing ads on their phones for three weeks after they went home.
Kim: Wow.
Ashley: So we could see that conversion, too, which was really fun.
Mandy: Wasn't that the sun-to-ski campaign? Was that the campaign you ran?
Ashley: We actually recreated a campaign specifically for Formula 1, but I think you're thinking of Après Sea.
That's really our winter campaign that we're going to evolve this year.
We like to say we're the most festive coastal destination in America, and that's a slower time for our hotels and our businesses.
So we're trying to encourage people to stay at sea level during the wintertime, and we're trying to share some fun messaging.
Kim: Yeah. And with that messaging, we have so much here—the harbor, the beaches, great restaurants, shops, arts, a ton of outdoor recreation.
With so much to showcase, how do you decide what to showcase and who you're targeting? I guess you already answered who you're targeting.
Ashley: It's really about meeting this holistic woman in her journey and sharing content that makes sense for who she's bringing, what she's looking to achieve, and what she wants to engage with.
But the harbor—I tell people all the time, if you're coming to Newport Beach, you must get on a boat. You must be on the harbor.
It's just so special, unlike anywhere else.
Mandy: With that being said, what are the three things you would recommend to a tourist coming here? The top three things that showcase our town?
Ashley: That's a really hard question because I want to say everything.
I love that our destination has 10 different neighborhoods, all with different vibes to explore.
But I would say the top three: again, getting on the harbor and exploring via Duffy boat. It's so great because you can be your own captain, or you can charter a yacht if you don't feel comfortable driving. It's such an easy harbor to navigate, which I think is so fun.
I think high-end restaurants and retail at Lido Marina Village and/or Fashion Island.
Then I would say maybe a walk or stroll down Balboa Island and getting a frozen banana where it was created.
I think those are three fun experiences I would suggest.
Kim: Going back to campaigns—sorry to shift gears back to that—but I feel like, looking from the outside in, since you've come on board—which was how long ago?
Ashley: Four years.
Kim: Okay. It went fast, I believe.
It seems like the marketing has leveled up tenfold, in my opinion, so congratulations. I'm sure that's a testament to your expertise and your team's.
With all the creative campaigns that you've had—and there have been quite a few—is there one that you like the best? What do you feel made it successful? Can you even pick?
Ashley: That's tough. I honestly don't know that I can pick one.
I think I'm so excited about every campaign that's in the pipeline, and then it becomes my favorite in that moment. Then we go on to the next, and that becomes my favorite.
I really love our "Luxury at Your Leisure" campaign. That was extremely high-end. We utilized yachts, helicopters landing on yachts. We were really trying to target that high-end visitor. That was really fun.
I think our 120 Years campaign that we're currently in is really fun.
We're celebrating Newport Beach's 120th birthday this year, which is so exciting.
We really wanted to pay homage to the history of Newport Beach and how it came to be through the lens of tourism.
We've had some really fun activations, whether it was a Guinness World Record that we set—
Mandy: Tell us a little bit more about that and how that—
Ashley: Yeah. That was really exciting.
We were looking at creating activations each month that coincided with the year.
So, in the '40s, the Balboa swing was invented in Newport Beach. It was actually invented and happened at the Rendezvous Ballroom, which was adjacent to the Peninsula. It burned down way back when.
We really wanted to pay homage to the history that happened there, so we worked with Guinness and had the biggest swing dancing competition, which was really, really fun.
I think the community loved it. We were blown away by the attendance and everyone who showed up and wanted to be a part of it.
It was every age, every demographic. It was so much fun to see.
We have a fun activation this weekend with Fashion Island as part of their Live on the Lawn series. It'll be a '60s band celebrating the launch of Fashion Island, which happened in 1967.
We have so much happening. We'll have a birthday party for Newport Beach in September. We'll have a Y2K night with the Lido Theater.
Kim: Yeah!
Ashley: You guys are invited to it all.
But I think the really fun thing was, again, reminding the local community how Newport Beach came to be through that tourism lens.
It's been really fun to create this sense of pride among the community and have so many people coming out of the woodwork who want to partner with us on activations.
It's been very community-focused and community-driven, with some outreach and marketing, but it's really been local.
Mandy: I loved the highlight you did on Marshall and the Duffy boat. That was really cool to see. And then the drinks at Pendry.
Ashley: Yes.
Mandy: The different named—
Ashley: Yes. They have cocktails that highlight the last 120 years.
Balboa Bay Resort has a really fun 120th birthday overnight-stay package.
Our hotel partners, restaurants, and retail have really partnered with us to create this really fun programming and packaging that we can then push out digitally and on social media.
Kim: So, a question. As one of the organizations responsible for bringing so many visitors to the area, what do you say to residents who are concerned about the changing landscape and how things are evolving?
How do you maintain that balance between bringing so many people in but preserving the lifestyle that the residents love so much?
Ashley: Absolutely. That's a great question.
Again, it goes back to quality over quantity.
We're not looking to have tens of millions of visitors come just to come with their coolers, pull up on the beach, and litter the sand.
We're looking for those high-end consumers who are going to convert, who are going to stay overnight at VEA, Pendry, Lido House, Balboa Bay Resort, or Pelican Hill.
We really focus everything we're doing on that audience.
By virtue of doing that, we know that they're coming here, they're going to be more responsible, and they're going to leave Newport Beach the way they found it.
That's really part of everything we're doing and our marketing messaging—what we're trying to achieve.
Pre-COVID, we had about seven million visitors annually coming to Newport Beach, and the spend was a little bit lower annually.
Now we're at about 4.1 million with a higher spend.
So it's lower visitation, higher spend, which is great.
Mandy: You learned that in the DCP class.
Kim: DCP is so great. I came back and I'm like, "Kim, we've got to have Visit Newport Beach on." You learn so much.
Mandy: Yeah, I can't wait to take that.
Ashley: The Newport Beach Foundation is wonderful, and I love that class. I went through it a couple of years ago. It's phenomenal. You learn so much.
Kim: So much.
Mandy: Looking ahead, what excites you most? Are there any fun campaigns on the horizon that you can share with us? We're all very excited to hear more. Spill the tea.
Ashley: Yes. We've just started our new budget cycle, so we have a lot of fun campaigns in the pipeline that we're concepting right now.
I think the thing I'm most excited about is the constant investment in this community by folks like Eagle Four, Bob Olson, and the Irvine Company, who are really taking this destination to the next level.
With the renovation of The Resort at Pelican Hill happening and the new flag, that is so exciting.
We're the only destination that I know of—especially coastal California—where all of our hotel owners are local.
They live, work, and invest in this community to make it better for all of us.
It's really exciting because when I was just down the street in a different destination, it wasn't like that. You had a lot of operators who were international and didn't really have that vested interest in the day-to-day amazingness of this community.
That's what I'm most excited for.
I think the restaurants that are coming in the pipeline are so exciting, but really it's the constant reinvestment in Newport Beach.
Kim: Yeah. I think it's important to our community and the residents, too. We're such a tight-knit community, so I do think having all of those hotel owners and operators be local is a big deal.
Ashley: It's fun to run into them, and they're always willing to lend an ear and listen.
Mandy: Definitely true.
Ashley: We're very lucky.
They all sit on our Hospitality Council, which is essentially our board of directors, and they're so supportive of everything we're doing.
It's great to have a seat at the table with them.
Kim: We're not going to put you in the hot seat because you represent, in a way, all the hotels, restaurants, and stores. We're not going to ask you your favorites because the ones you leave out will be upset.
Instead of that, if you could describe Newport Beach in three words?
Ashley: Newport Beach? I would say aspirational—
Mandy: Okay.
Ashley: Sophisticated and welcoming.
Kim: Oh, I love it.
Mandy: Good options.
Kim: Yeah. And Mandy has our signature question.
Mandy: Signature question. If you have a Duffy boat—or if you could acquire a Duffy boat—what would you name it, and what would be the story behind it?
Ashley: When I acquire a Duffy boat, let's start there.
That's such a hard question.
I remember as a kid driving up and down PCH growing up and always looking, as I passed the Duffy rental area, at their sign for the "boat name of the week." I loved it. It was always so much fun. I'd always look forward to it.
I would say something maybe like The Next Chapter.
I don't know why that just pops into my head, but I feel like the best storytelling and the best memories really happen through shared experiences.
I was just telling someone recently, I was out on a Duffy three weeks ago with friends and had an incredible day. Normally, I'm the one entertaining, and it was so fun just to be a tourist—to slow down, take a breath, enjoy friends, family, all of the things.
You start with this blank canvas, and it's just kind of the next chapter of your day, maybe of your week.
I don't know. That just popped into my mind.
Kim: You could use the watts, too, like all the electricity.
Ashley: Yeah. But I don't know. I would say something like that.
Mandy: And it's fitting, too, with your world. I feel like it is ever-evolving and changing. While you're respecting the past and relishing in the past, you're always looking ahead.
Ashley: Absolutely, because nothing's constant. Everything is continuously evolving, which makes it exciting.
Kim: Yeah, totally.
Mandy: We're so thankful for all that you're doing in our city.
Ashley: Thank you.
Mandy: Thank you for sharing. We appreciate you taking the time. We know you're busy.
And we have to tell everyone—we're repping Visit Newport Beach. You can't really see it right now, but if you go to VisitNewportBeach.com, they have a shop, a storefront with hats, T-shirts, sweatshirts. Go check it out.
Ashley: Thank you for that. Yes, new label.
We actually launch a capsule collection for every single one of our consumer campaigns, so we always have new merch, new gear.
So, yes, check it out.
Mandy: Great.
Ashley: Well, thank you, ladies, so much. I really appreciate the opportunity.
Kim: Likewise.