Salt Lake rebrands as "America's Mountain City"
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Visit Salt Lake is rebranding the Salt Lake area as "America's Mountain City" in the lead-up to the 2034 Winter Olympics.
Why it matters: The new campaign is designed to establish Salt Lake as a top destination — where urban meets mountains — as it prepares to welcome a global audience for its second Winter Games.
- It highlights how visitors can travel between downtown and the Wasatch Mountains in about 40 minutes.
State of play: The inspiration came after a reporter for Fodor's Travel published a piece last year titled "Sorry Denver, This Is America's Best Mountain City."
- "It immediately resonated with us because it perfectly articulated something we've known and marketed for a long time but hadn't quite captured," Visit Salt Lake president and CEO Kaitlin Eskelson said in a statement to Axios.
- "Our urban and mountain proximity is truly our key differentiator as a destination, and we want to brand it as such."
- Eskelson noted that all Olympic venues are within an hour of Salt Lake.
Between the lines: Visit Salt Lake is a private nonprofit corporation that aims to boost conventions and tourism in Salt Lake County.
- The organization is currently working on registering the new slogan with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Zoom in: A video ad for the campaign features outdoor recreation and nightlife.
- Snowbird Ski Resort, the Natural History Museum of Utah, Loveland Living Planet Aquarium and the Delta Center are also showcased.
Flashback: In 2021, Visit Salt Lake launched its "West of Conventional" campaign, promoting the area's post-pandemic economy after experiencing a dip in tourism, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.
The big picture: Cities have long used branding campaigns and slogans to shape how they're perceived and boost visitation.
- Sacramento rebranded itself as "America's Farm-to-Fork Capital" in 2012, highlighting its dining scene's local ingredients and proximity to farms and ranches. Before that, it was known as the "City of Trees."
- Austin adopted the slogan "Live Music Capital of the World" in 1991, touting its number of venues per capita.