Annually, the Sioux Falls Development Foundation coordinates workforce recruitment marketing campaigns. In the past, the objective has been to recruit new residents from out-of-state to move to Sioux Falls.
In late 2023, the SFDF’s annual strategic planning with our board of directors and community stakeholders yielded an idea for a new strategy: to inspire the Sioux Falls community to talk with their friends and family who’ve moved away and hopefully inspire them to come back to Sioux Falls.
That idea became the Wish You Were Here campaign. Directed to the Sioux Falls market, the Wish You Were Here campaign ran through November and December 2024, a time where families and friends were home for the holidays. The campaign’s media mix was comprised of print, social, and video ads, as well as Wish You Were Here postcards to mail to family and friends.
To boost engagement with the campaign, the Foundation held a giveaway for a $1,000 Downtown Sioux Falls gift card for the winner to use to experience all that the city has to offer. Individuals from 34 states entered the giveaway.
Below is a look at four video ads that ran throughout the campaign.