ESD ILNY Tour 2023-2024

Over 313K impressions, 56K+ engagements, 12:24 dwell time, 16K+ emails collected.

In 2022, Empire State Development launched the “I LOVE NY” Tour as part of its statewide initiative to reignite regional travel after the pandemic.

By 2023, the goal was clear: keep the momentum alive while modernizing the experience for speed, scale, and storytelling.

As Associate Creative Director at Jack Morton, I helped lead the next evolution of this multi-year effort and designing a format that could flex between large-scale festivals and intimate local gatherings, while preserving the warmth and authenticity of New York’s 10 regions.

Execution

We completely re-architected the tour’s spatial and digital ecosystem.

Modular Experience Design: Every zone from welcome to exit was rebuilt as a self-contained unit, allowing faster load-in and flexible configurations.
RFID Engagement: Visitors received RFID tags that tracked their “journey” across touchpoints, triggering region-specific content and capturing participation metrics for ESD.
VR Adventure Pods: Guests could virtually explore destinations from the Adirondacks to the Finger Lakes that offers an immersive way to preview future travel.
Visual Storytelling: Updated wayfinding and region-specific imagery tied together the diversity of landscapes into a unified “I LOVE NY” narrative.

Suitcase Tour

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Suitcase Tour *

Recognizing the need for deeper local presence, we designed the Suitcase Tour; a condensed pop-up version that carried the same brand story in a smaller footprint. Built for community events and smaller markets, it was a mobile storytelling kit that turned any sidewalk or town green into an I LOVE NY moment.

Results

The refreshed tour successfully ran through two summer seasons, earning strong feedback from both ESD and the public for its elevated design, seamless operations, and engaging tech touchpoints. The client renewed the tour framework for 2024 with minimal creative updates a clear indicator of confidence in the system’s performance and scalability.

Impact Snapshot:

Tour renewed for 2024 based on positive client and public response
Operationally smoother setup across 10 regions
Interactive tech deepened visitor engagement and measurability
Modular design increased event flexibility and brand consistency

Measurement Plan (forward-looking):

Integrate RFID analytics for visitor flow and dwell time
Track unique vs. repeat scans to quantify engagement
Add post-tour survey touchpoints for sentiment and regional interest
Capture social amplification via tour-specific hashtags

My Role & Decisions

As Associate Creative Director, I led brand storytelling and interactive design for both the main and Suitcase Tour experiences. My focus was ensuring technology served the narrative not the other way around. I oversaw:

Experience architecture and interaction design
Creative direction for RFID and VR touchpoints
Visual narrative alignment across the ten regions
Collaboration between design, tech, and production teams to ensure feasibility under ESD’s compliance standards

Over 313K impressions, 56K+ engagements, 12:24 dwell time, 16K+ emails collected.

In 2022, Empire State Development launched the “I LOVE NY” Tour as part of its statewide initiative to reignite regional travel after the pandemic.

By 2023, the goal was clear: keep the momentum alive while modernizing the experience for speed, scale, and storytelling.

As Associate Creative Director at Jack Morton, I helped lead the next evolution of this multi-year effort and designing a format that could flex between large-scale festivals and intimate local gatherings, while preserving the warmth and authenticity of New York’s 10 regions.

Execution

We completely re-architected the tour’s spatial and digital ecosystem.

Modular Experience Design: Every zone from welcome to exit was rebuilt as a self-contained unit, allowing faster load-in and flexible configurations.

RFID Engagement: Visitors received RFID tags that tracked their “journey” across touchpoints, triggering region-specific content and capturing participation metrics for ESD.

VR Adventure Pods: Guests could virtually explore destinations from the Adirondacks to the Finger Lakes that offers an immersive way to preview future travel.

Visual Storytelling: Updated wayfinding and region-specific imagery tied together the diversity of landscapes into a unified “I LOVE NY” narrative.

Suitcase Tour

*

Suitcase Tour *

Results

Impact Snapshot:

Tour renewed for 2024 based on positive client and public response

Operationally smoother setup across 10 regions

Interactive tech deepened visitor engagement and measurability

Modular design increased event flexibility and brand consistency

Measurement Plan (forward-looking):

Integrate RFID analytics for visitor flow and dwell time

Track unique vs. repeat scans to quantify engagement

Add post-tour survey touchpoints for sentiment and regional interest

Capture social amplification via tour-specific hashtags

My Role & Decisions

As Associate Creative Director, I led brand storytelling and interactive design for both the main and Suitcase Tour experiences. My focus was ensuring technology served the narrative not the other way around. I oversaw:

Experience architecture and interaction design

Creative direction for RFID and VR touchpoints

Visual narrative alignment across the ten regions

Collaboration between design, tech, and production teams to ensure feasibility under ESD’s compliance standards

Over 313K impressions, 56K+ engagements, 12:24 dwell time, 16K+ emails collected.

In 2022, Empire State Development launched the “I LOVE NY” Tour as part of its statewide initiative to reignite regional travel after the pandemic.

By 2023, the goal was clear: keep the momentum alive while modernizing the experience for speed, scale, and storytelling.

As Associate Creative Director at Jack Morton, I helped lead the next evolution of this multi-year effort and designing a format that could flex between large-scale festivals and intimate local gatherings, while preserving the warmth and authenticity of New York’s 10 regions.

Execution

We completely re-architected the tour’s spatial and digital ecosystem.

Modular Experience Design: Every zone from welcome to exit was rebuilt as a self-contained unit, allowing faster load-in and flexible configurations.

RFID Engagement: Visitors received RFID tags that tracked their “journey” across touchpoints, triggering region-specific content and capturing participation metrics for ESD.

VR Adventure Pods: Guests could virtually explore destinations from the Adirondacks to the Finger Lakes that offers an immersive way to preview future travel.

Visual Storytelling: Updated wayfinding and region-specific imagery tied together the diversity of landscapes into a unified “I LOVE NY” narrative.

Suitcase Tour

*

Suitcase Tour * Suitcase Tour *

Results

Impact Snapshot:

Tour renewed for 2024 based on positive client and public response

Operationally smoother setup across 10 regions

Interactive tech deepened visitor engagement and measurability

Modular design increased event flexibility and brand consistency

Measurement Plan (forward-looking):

Integrate RFID analytics for visitor flow and dwell time

Track unique vs. repeat scans to quantify engagement

Add post-tour survey touchpoints for sentiment and regional interest

Capture social amplification via tour-specific hashtags

My Role & Decisions

As Associate Creative Director, I led brand storytelling and interactive design for both the main and Suitcase Tour experiences. My focus was ensuring technology served the narrative not the other way around. I oversaw:

Experience architecture and interaction design

Creative direction for RFID and VR touchpoints

Visual narrative alignment across the ten regions

Collaboration between design, tech, and production teams to ensure feasibility under ESD’s compliance standards

AI Fest

ESD ILNY Tour 2022

Suitcase Tour *