Reverse Parade
New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation (NOTMC)
Issue 43 | June 2017
Agency
360i
Creative Team
Dustin Woehrmann – Communify – Creative Director / CEO Ryan Cochran – Communify – Development / Marketing Manager Marshall Jackson – Communify – Assistant Marketing Manager
Production Team
Trent Jaklitsch – Gravy Films – Director Brent Stoller – Gravy Films – Executive Producer Maury Strong – Gravy Films – Producer John Schmidt – Gravy Films – Director of Photography Eddie Ringer – Wax Editorial – Editor Jean Taylor – Wax Editorial – Ass. Editor Evan Meeker – Wax Editorial – Executive Producer David Torkanowsky – Skoringwerks – Musical Director Brian Goodheart – Sonic Union – Mix Engineer
Other Credits
Agency: 360i Client: New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation Production Company: Gravy Films Post Production: Wax Editorial Mark Romig – NOTMC - President / CEO Jeremy Cooker – NOTMC – VP Marketing & Special Projects Lea Sinclair – NOTMC – Director of Communications Pierre Lipton – 360i - Chief Creative Officer Fabio Seidl – 360i – Group Creative Director Megan Skelly – 360i – Group Creative Director Corel Theuma – 360i – Creative Director James Rogala – 360i – Creative Director Sharon Harte – 360i – Director of Content Production PJ Sibille – 360i – Account Director Alisha Farmer – 360i – Group Media Director Corey Martin – 360i – Head of Influencer Marketing Hannah Epstein – 360i – Associate Marketing Manager Kelsey Rohwer – 360i — PR & Communications Manager
Date
February 2017
Background
In early 2017, a wave of conservative politics began to quickly permeate through the United States with actions like the reversal of rules protecting transgender Americans. New Orleans, as one of the most open minded and welcoming destinations in the United States, wanted to send a message to the nation and the world. To show that it is, and always has been, open to people of all backgrounds and beliefs. Specifically, the New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation wanted to target the LGBTQ community to show that the city stood behind everyone in fighting to maintain equal rights for all.
Idea
The largest gathering of the LGBTQ community occurs in New Orleans' popular Mardi Gras season. Parades march through the city, showing off both pride while making political statements. The Reverse Parade was a pride parade that marched backwards — essentially stripping away its pride to symbolize where the country might be headed. This was the perfect opportunity to rally the LGBTQ community in an event that demonstrated the true concern of its participants while showcasing the support of the city.
The New Orleans Tourism board reached out to the local community and LGBTQ groups, who earnestly volunteered, lending credibility and authenticity to the project. In addition, tourists became spectators, demonstrating in real-time the very virtues of the city the campaign was aiming to deliver. Ultimately, 14 LGBTQ groups, together with the local community — over 400 individuals — volunteered to march. Participants showed up on Sunday February 12th to what spectators believed would be a regular pride parade. The group marched backwards instead, removing items like costumes, wigs, wedding rings and makeup. Marchers disappeared down alleys, into buildings – leaving the parade route virtually empty. After a pause, the band led the group back in defiant celebration. Led by a "we're never going back" banner, the band played lively music as masses of spectators joined in the festivities. The entire parade was filmed and later released as an online video, through social and paid media channels.
Results
The Reverse Parade generated over 20 million earned media impressions, with over 6 million views online during Mardi Gras alone. Major media outlets covered and shared the project, including TIME, ABC, and FOX, along with hundreds of global LGBTQ organizations. In all, over 55 million individuals were exposed to the campaign in the first month alone.