The Mississippi Tourism Association (MTA) is “talkin’ ’bout My City…”

In ceremonies held in Biloxi today, the statewide organization for tourism professionals honored Visit Jackson’s My City campaign as Social Media Campaign of the Year.

“Visit Jackson was at one time only a resource to our visitors, but, as we know, locals impact our tourism community, too,” said Jonathan Pettus, Vice President of Marketing for Visit Jackson, who accepted the award.

From Facebook and Instagram to an online weekly web series – My City TV, merchandise and other efforts, the concept was first introduced through a music video and song, “My City” by AJC and the Envelope Pushers, in 2017. A spoken-word commercial followed in 2019 and, in January of this year, the organization cemented its effort to reach locals with the launch of a dedicated informational blog, jxn.ms.

Whether you live in Jackson-proper or in one of our outlying bedroom communities, My City is a call to embrace a city full of life and culture.

“Separate and unique brands were imperative to create a lasting impact on our partners like restaurants and attractions,” Pettus said of the local My City identity and visitor-focused “City With Soul” brands. “At the end of the day, we want to drive people to experience the capital city” (Visit Jackson also earned an MTA award for overall social media strategy).

Modeled after Memphis Travel’s “I Love Memphis” blog (ilovememphisblog.com), Visit Jackson believes that My City is the first such effort in Mississippi. By introducing locals to JXN’s people, places and events, figurative barriers are broken, giving the curious a sense of familiarity, offering the chance to explore what’s right outside their front doors.  

“I couldn’t be more thrilled for us to receive this honor from the state tourism association,” said Paul Wolf, Visit Jackson’s Content Marketing Manager and daily editor of the My City brand. “We recognize how important it is for locals to celebrate JXN in the same way our visitors do. Being able to tell the stories of our people and the efforts they make to create a vibrant and creative Southern city like ours is the honor of my life.”

Visit Jackson also received the day’s top award for “Destination Marketing Organization of the Year.” Learn more here.