skip to content
Primary navigation
Crowd with art installation at Northern Spark / Credit: Dusty Hoskovec

Livability Marketing

The new Livability campaign from Explore Minnesota begins March 4, 2024 and answers a new question: “What can I be a part of in Minnesota?” Star of the North takes an unscripted, documentary-style approach, following residents as they explore the places and people that make Minnesota rich with character and optimism.

We’ve created multiple longform videos that tell the story of newcomers to the state who have come here for a job opportunity but stayed because of the quality of life. The stars of each video come from all walks of life and are from large cities, suburbs, and rural Minnesota. They also will feature target industries including technology, high-tech manufacturing, education, as well as health & wellness. Longform videos will range from 3-4 minutes and will be supported by :15 and :30 second spots that highlight MN for use in mass media channels.

Media tactics will include digital and video partnerships with Condé Nast, Wired.com, connected TV, social media, and digital audio. There will also be digital out-of-home campaigns with mobile retargeting in Boston, Silicon Valley, and Seattle. The Livability campaign markets will include:

  • Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY (MA-NY-VT)
  • Austin, TX
  • Baltimore, MD
  • Bend, OR
  • Boston, MA (MA-NH-VT) 
  • Butte-Bozeman, MT
  • Cheyenne-Scottsbluff, WY (NE-WY)
  • Columbus, OH
  • Denver, CO (CO-NE-WY)
  • Eureka, CA
  • Fort Wayne, IN (IN-OH)
  • Grand Rapids-Kalamazoo-Battle Creek, MI
  • Green Bay-Appleton, WI (MI-WI)
  • Hartford-New Haven, CT
  • Kansas City, MO/KS
  • Lafayette, IN
  • Lima, OH
  • Madison, WI
  • Missoula, MT
  • Rockford, IL
  • San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA
  • Santa Barbara-Sanmar, CA
  • Seattle-Tacoma, WA
  • South Bend-Elkhart, IN (IN-MI)
  • Springfield-Holyoke, MA
  • Washington, DC (DC-MD-PA-VA-WV)
  • Zanesville, OH (IN-MI)
  • We're also nationally targeting those we've identified as having similar Minnesota values in target  industries and those who have a digital footprint indicating a willingness to relocate.

 The Livability campaign will have brand new landing pages on ExploreMinnesota.com/live that will have a similar style and message compared to tourism campaigns. Whether it's Livability or Tourism, each campaign supports and amplifies each other and will link between each other throughout the website.

Two additional videos are in production and will be introduced later in the year.

back to top