Every October, cities across the country take part in National Arts & Humanities Month, a time to spotlight creativity, culture, and community. In our hometown of San Luis Obispo, we saw an opportunity to elevate the celebration into something even more vibrant. With Visit SLO’s support, ARTober became a month-long showcase of the organizations, performers, and stories that make our city an arts destination throughout the year.
This year, our goal was simple. We wanted to build awareness, drive engagement, and highlight the nonprofits that bring creativity and community to SLO. Through a thoughtfully branded, multi-channel campaign and coordinated efforts, we helped ARTober stand out across the community this fall.
A Strategic Approach Rooted in Community
To bring ARTober to life, we developed a unified content and media strategy designed to reach people where they already were. That included online platforms, television, radio, and the VisitSLO.com experience.
Our first priority was storytelling. We produced weekly features for local news station KSBY that highlighted a different local art nonprofit each week. These features offered a deeper look at the passions and people behind:
- SLO Symphony
- OperaSLO
- SLO Comedy Theater
- SLO Civic Ballet
This series introduced audiences to organizations they may not have known about and strengthened the connection between locals, visitors, and the creative institutions that make SLO such a dynamic place to live.
Alongside this content, we refreshed Visit SLO’s Arts + Culture landing page to support the program. The updated section served as a hub for everything ARTober and it drew 95 unique QR code scans and 3,882 page views throughout the month.
Amplifying the Message Across Multiple Channels
To build broad awareness, we launched a paid media campaign across digital channels, radio, and television. This mix helped us reach audiences of all ages and interests, ensuring the ARTober message was widely visible and easily accessible.
This coordinated approach gave ARTober a strong presence. It reinforced the value of the arts and encouraged residents to explore organizations they may not typically engage with.
Weekly segments on KSBY featuring each of our four nonprofit partners created even more visibility. These on-air spotlights brought each organization’s story directly into homes across the Central Coast.
A Month of Creativity, Collaboration, and Community Spirit
By pairing thoughtful content with a robust media rollout, ARTober 2025 celebrated the essential role of arts and humanities organizations in San Luis Obispo. The results reflected a celebration of creativity and also the people and partnerships that make it all possible.
We are already looking forward to next October and to finding new ways to elevate the arts in SLO even further.
Interested in other case studies? See what we did for SLO’s Restaurant Month. Want to take your marketing to the next level? Let’s talk! For more information, email Mary at [email protected].