Visit Oakland, the official destination marketing organisation for the city, recently unveiled its new branding and marketing campaign at its first Annual Tourism Breakfast at the iconic Paramount Theatre.

After a year of research on how to develop Oakland’s image, Visit Oakland has developed a new corporate brand identity, website, destination brand architecture, and targeted advertising. The objective of Visit Oakland’s brand and campaign is to provide a consistent, positive voice and brand platform for Oakland, and to rebrand the city as a culturally diverse destination with a burgeoning arts, fine dining and technology start-up scene.

“Visit Oakland is laser focused on elevating Oakland’s brand. With our research, marketing partnerships, and new brand architecture, all of the pieces have come together to create a strong image for Oakland. We are inviting visitors, local media and meeting professionals to really understand our city, and discover the unexpected,” said Alison Best, president and CEO of Visit Oakland.

The new Visit Oakland logo, pictured above, is designed to showcase Oakland’s diverse landscape and creativity, from yellows and greens of Oakland’s forests, parks and sunny skies, to urban grays and waterfront blues, the circles represent how united and connected the

destination is, and the playful font is a nod to its creativity and innovation. The new span of the Bay Bridge is used in Visit Oakland’s logo and throughout the brand as a new iconic entry point to Oakland from San Francisco.

Visit Oakland hopes to expand its budget in the next fiscal year, allowing for a broader campaign including the international markets. The organisation plans to maximise its international reach through media outreach, co-op marketing partnerships, leveraging larger tourism agencies such as Visit California and Brand USA, and hosting client events.