PRIDE AND PASSION

» LAST YEAR, TRAVEL SANTA ANA hired an agency to conduct surveys and interviews with locals to gauge the identity of the city before the launch of its first brand campaign to the public.

“We realized there was something really special about Santa Ana,” says Wendy Haase, president and CEO of Travel Santa Ana. “There is a lot of passion and pride in the community.”

During the first stage of the campaign, the DMO partnered with four local artists representing various cultures to create four different signatures, or logos, for the Travel Santa Ana brand rather than using a traditional corporate logo. These signatures are seen interchangeably throughout DMO’s marketing efforts and exemplify the city as a diverse mecca of ideas and cultures.

The second stage was the Proud Santanero campaign. “We recognized that Santa Ana is made up of a lot of different characters and smallbusiness owners, and we wanted to share their stories,” says Haase. This campaign highlighted local business owners and their answers to two questions: why they were proud to be a Santanero and what they would recommend to visitors.

These interviews were used to create a video series documenting local business owners to offer insight about the city to visitors. “We’re here to share Santa Ana’s story,” notes Haase.

As the new year takes off, Haase says that Travel Santa Ana plans to build on the Proud Santanero campaign to bring tourism to the city by interviewing more business owners and locals to create a brand that’s genuine and true to the city. –Amanda

Christensen

A Cut for a Cause

» SPA PECHANGA, at the Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, hosted its eighth annual Mane Campaign last October. In collaboration with the Hair We Share organization, a program that creates wigs and gifts them to those suffering from medically induced hair loss, the Mane Campaign is an initiative that encourages people with long hair to cut and donate it to Michelle’s Place, a cancer resource center.

“The feeling of giving, helping those patients in a time that may be their lowest, [putting] a smile on their face, and [providing] them with a wig is why we do it,” says Rachel Patane, manager of Spa Pechanga. “It’s priceless.”

Spa Pechanga has collected more than 690 ponytails, which is enough hair to create 140 wigs. (It takes approximately four to six ponytails to create just one wig.) This year, with the help of 94 donors, they acquired nearly 80 feet of hair. To donate, participants had to have at least 8 inches available to chop—and following the cut, a voucher was awarded for a complimentary cut and styling by either the Smith Salon or the 11:11 Salon. “Pechanga is a great giver for our community and then some,” Patane says.

Spa Pechanga scored an additional 24 donations after taking the campaign on the road to visit SoFi Stadium last fall. All fans of the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers that partook in the campaign received hairstyle vouchers and tickets to a future game.

“It is great to see the guests wanting to do this for their family or for a loved one, they are just so proud to be here, and it makes our hearts so happy,” Patene says. –Ava

Diaz

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