'All Inclusive Boston' campaign promotes equitable recovery from COVID-19

Building on her commitment to put equity at the center of the City of Boston’s recovery from COVID-19, Mayor Kim Janey today launched the "All Inclusive Boston" campaign. With the travel and hospitality sector devastated by the pandemic, this initiative showcases Boston’s diverse tourism assets, across all Boston neighborhoods, as part of an equitable recovery initiative. Tourism and hospitality is the third largest industry in Boston and the Commonwealth. The sector employs a large percentage of workers of color, making it critical to an inclusive economic recovery. This campaign aims to renew and reimagine how Boston is perceived locally and across the globe.

Guided by public health and safety measures, the campaign will target an expanded audience, as the city safely reopens. The goal is to curate new narratives and aspirational content about Boston, enticing a broader and more diverse set of consumers to visit later this summer or fall.  The local focus is a vital part of "All Inclusive Boston". The vibrant small businesses, local attractions and eclectic neighborhood offerings across the city are pillars of this campaign. Ultimately, "All Inclusive Boston" will reposition the City to a new demographic of visitors while spotlighting its rich cultural and commercial assets, including those beyond traditional tourist sites. Mayor Janey is dedicated to supporting all of Boston’s communities throughout the recovery.

The campaign was developed by the City of Boston’s selected vendors for the Visit Boston RFP: a partnership between Colette Phillips Communications and Proverb — Team CPC-Proverb — and the Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau (GBCVB). The local tourism campaign has been designed to draw diverse tourists to take advantage of each of Boston’s unique neighborhoods and small businesses, as the City responds to the impact of COVID-19 by supporting its hardest hit industries and communities. As visitors discover the neighborhoods, they are asked to continue to follow COVID-19 public health guidance.

The full campaign launches tomorrow, April 6, as an integrated digital marketing blitz that will include print, radio, video, and social media components. The digital content and collateral associated with the "All Inclusive Boston" campaign will spotlight the neighborhoods, businesses, eclectic cultural offerings, and diverse communities across Boston that reveal the breadth and depth of all that the city has to offer visitors and residents alike.

“The 'All Inclusive Boston' tourism campaign is an important part of our agenda to safely and equitably reopen and renew every neighborhood in the City,'' said Mayor Kim Janey. “By promoting the City of Boston as a vibrant and welcoming place that embraces public health guidance, we will boost local visits now and influence travel plans for the future.” Mayor Janey continued, “I want to thank former Mayor Marty Walsh for commissioning this campaign. I also want to congratulate the partnership between Colette Phillips Communications and Proverb –– Team CPC-Proverb –– and the Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau (GBCVB), and the many subcontractors, on all of their hard work and contributions.”

The 'All Inclusive' campaign is showing visitors that Boston has it all—by highlighting the city’s many sides, stories, shops, small businesses, festivals and flavors. It is running locally—on billboards, bus shelters, bike shares, bus wraps, radio, social media, print, and digital publications—to encourage Bostonians to try new restaurants or explore new neighborhoods. The 6-week campaign is targeting a drive market of people searching for a safe stay-cation. The preview video tells the story of those who live and work in the City of Boston, and features communities and businesses beyond traditional tourist sites. It will direct people to allinclusivebos.com, a microsite full of curated resources: restaurants, events, itineraries, hotels, neighborhoods, and experiences both known and unknown. 

“Together, the tourism industry is one of Boston’s largest employers, offering opportunities for many young people, immigrants, and people of color,” said Midori Morikawa, Interim Chief of Economic Development. “Unfortunately, the tourism industry has been hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic, with high unemployment rates exacerbating existing disparities in our labor force. This calls for bold measures to help the industry and workers to recover, and to do so with equity and inclusivity that will make Boston proud.”



Together, Colette Phillips Communications, Inc. (CPC), an award-winning marketing and communications firm, and the first minority and woman owned public relations firm in the City of Boston; Proverb, a Boston-based, minority owned, award-winning creative branding, design, and advertising agency made up of 25 talented, diverse, and strategic creatives; and the GBCVB, the city's primary marketing and visitor services organization created the campaign. It highlights Boston’s multicultural, local economy and promotes the city as a welcoming and diverse destination with rich cultural enclaves and many untold stories.



The goal of the campaign is to increase awareness, and drive trips to Boston’s neighborhoods from diverse local and regional visitors, while supporting the public health guidance that is in place. The team was charged with highlighting attractions and events that speak to the experiences of people of color in Boston, and the campaign highlights many local minority-owned and run businesses and organizations.

A diverse mix of small businesses worked on this project, including a significant number of Minority Business Enterprises (MBE’s), Women Business Enterprises (WBE’s), and companies with LGBTQ+ ownership.

• Anto Astudillo - Videographer (Chilean, LGBTQ+)
• Black Girl Digital - Influencer Marketing/Social Media (Minority/Woman-owned)
• BlackMath - Video Production
• Geoffery Jean Baptiste - Videographer (Black/Brown) 
• Harry Scales - Photography (Black/Brown)
• Heart + Mind - Research (Black/Woman-owned)
• Include Web Design - Microsite (Black/Woman-owned)
• Kelley Chunn and Associates - Community and Multicultural Media Engagement (Black/Woman-owned)
• Live Wire Collaborative - Social Media Strategy (Black/Woman-owned)
• MJM Advisory Services, Mary Jo Meisner - Project Management (Woman-owned) 
• Porsha Olayiwola, City of Boston 2019 Poet Laureate - Voice Over Artist for Video & Radio (Black/Brown, LGBTQ+)
• UNCOVr Media - Media Buying Team

“Colette Phillips Communications is proud to have won this first of kind contract, which represents a new model for economic inclusion and procurement,” said Colette Phillips. “This campaign was always about building an equitable recovery - given that 70% of those who work in the hospitality industry come from BIPOC communities. It was also an opportunity to change the narrative about Boston and to showcase the rich diversity and all that our neighborhoods have to offer. I could not be more proud of bringing together the creative genius of Proverb and our region’s premiere tourism marketing agency, the Greater Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau.” 

"Boston has so much to offer as a tourist destination, from our diverse restaurant scene to our vibrant cultural attractions and museums," said Kate Davis, Director of the Mayor's Office of Tourism, Sports, and Entertainment. "With this campaign, we welcome regional and local travelers to explore all that Boston has to offer, and invite Bostonians to explore their own backyard in a new way too."

“Advertising and branding is about creating the future. And in terms of where we are as a city and as a nation, we recognize that the stakes are incredibly high,” said Founder & Managing Director of Proverb Daren Bascome. “We wanted to create something our city can grow into. So much of this campaign is about representation — you’ll see some familiar faces and places, but it’s a portrait of Boston that is often left out of the frame.”

“This groundbreaking campaign will help set the stage for the recovery of Boston’s tourism sector and keep this city and its unique neighborhoods and tourism offerings top of mind for those wanting to book future travel,” said GBCVB President & CEO Martha J. Sheridan.

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has made great progress to slow the spread of COVID-19 and gradually re-open the economy, and all visitors and returning residents have a responsibility to help us keep transmission levels as low as possible. As of Monday, March 22, all visitors entering Massachusetts, including returning residents, are advised to quarantine for 10 days upon their arrival, unless they meet exemption. Travelers in the following categories are exempt from this quarantine advisory: travelers who have received a negative COVID-19 result on a test administered not more than 72 hours prior to their arrival in Massachusetts (travelers may also test out of the quarantine advisory after arrival in Massachusetts, as long as they quarantine until receiving a negative test result), anyone who is entering Massachusetts for fewer than 24 hours, anyone who is returning to Massachusetts after being out of the State for fewer than 24 hours, workers who enter Massachusetts to perform critical infrastructure functions (as specified by the Federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency) during required commuting to or from work and while at work, travelers who are fully vaccinated (i.e. who have received two doses of either the Moderna or Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines OR who have received a single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, 14 days or more ago) and who do not have symptoms. More information on the Commonwealth of Massachusetts COVID-19 Travel Advisory is available at www.mass.gov/info-details/covid-19-travel-advisory. All travelers are encouraged to consult and follow the CDC’s guidelines and requirements for travel.

This project was funded by CARES Act Relief Funding. In accordance with the regulations, the project must provide resources or assistance to mitigate effects on health and/or provide economic support.



Learn more about the "All Inclusive" Campaign and view more campaign collateral — on allinclusivebos.com, the dedicated website for this campaign maintained by the Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau. Follow along on social media with #AllInclusiveBos.

Colette Phillips Communications, Inc. (CPC) is an award winning marketing and communications firm, and the first minority and woman owned public relations firm in the City of Boston. CPC has received local and national awards and recognition for its work advancing diversity, equity and inclusion in the marketplace.

Proverb is a minority owned agency located in the South End that focuses on building powerful brands and creating a more thoughtful world around us. They partner with innovative real estate developers, cities, hotels, museums, architects, hospitals and other organizations that seek to transform the built environment. Proverb is fluent in brand and market strategy, identity and naming, interactive design, environmental design, and communication design. Proverb’s diverse creative team takes a deep, research-driven approach because the brands they create make an impact today, but also help form the culture and economic vibrancy of tomorrow.

The Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau (GBCVB) is the official sales, marketing and visitor services organization charged with the development of meetings, conventions and tourism-related business to enhance the economy of Boston, Cambridge and the metropolitan area. ​The GBCVB is a not-for-profit, membership-driven sales and marketing organization comprised of almost 1,200 member companies across New England that depend on the visitor economy for their own success and growth.