Bringing the Tri-Valley to San Jose
Summary
Visit Tri-Valley needed people to finally understand where the community sits and why it’s worth exploring. We teamed up with GDX Studios to create the Tri-Valley Portal at Santana Row, giving passersby a doorway into the region’s wineries, trails, and small-town ease. Augmented Reality placed visitors on Mount Diablo with a clear view of all four communities, turning confusion into curiosity and giving people a memory linked with the name “Tri-Valley.”
Client
Visit Tri-Valley
Scope
Experiential
Campaign Title
Visit Tri-Valley Portal Activation
Results
270+
QR scans
365+
AR Engagements
39s
avg dwell time
199%
increase in direct traffic
2.9M+
Total Digital Impressions
5K+
Clicks
Seen, Felt, Remembered.
Most people didn’t know where—or what—the Tri-Valley was. Four towns, one name, little clarity. Visit Tri-Valley wanted more than ads, they wanted recognition. So we teamed up with GDX Studios and helped the destination bring the region to life at Santana Row, making sure people saw it, felt it, remembered it.
Location, Location, Location
The Portal sat beneath a picture-perfect oak tree at Santana Row—an ideal blend of beauty, buzz, and foot traffic. Between boutiques and wine bars, this spot ensured top-tier visibility in Tri-Valley’s key drive market without yelling for attention. Cinematic, intentional, and magnetic by design.
Mall Walk to Mountaintop
Guests stepped through a real door into the Tri-Valley. AR turned an ordinary walk into a “whoa” moment atop Mount Diablo, showing all four towns in one sweep.
Four Towns, One View
We told one shared story. The Portal helped people see where the Tri-Valley lives in California—connected, unique, and often missing from maps. Because no banner explains geography like experience can.
A Digital Campaign That Bookended the Buzz
Before the event, we hit Santana Row screens with teaser ads targeted at outdoor lovers, culture chasers, and people who value a good glass of wine. During the event, we geo-targeted devices nearby, and after it wrapped, we kept the momentum going with a geotargeted retargeting campaign aimed at those same devices we spotted on-site.
“People couldn’t resist stopping, pulling out their phones, and stepping through the enchanting doorway to get a glimpse of what makes the Tri-Valley special. And now, not only are we winning awards for this activation, we’re inspiring new visitors who never realized we were just 40 miles away. We brought the Tri-Valley to San Jose… and now they’re coming to us. Pure creativity, pure impact, and an incredible amount of fun.”
– Robin Fahr, VP of Marketing and Communications
