Santa Cruz Mission State Historic Park Embarks on New Chapter

On behalf of Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks, Miller Maxfield elevated the profile of the Santa Cruz Mission Adobe State Historic Park in the community and repositioned the space as “Your State Park Downtown.” The strategy involved a combination of publicity and promotion efforts beginning in 2012, when Friends established an operating agreement for the park in order to save the park from closure by the State. We marketed Mission events through earned media, video, advertising and outreach materials, as well as social media (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube).

Our comprehensive promotional effort focused on the annual Summer Series, which culminates with the Mole & Mariachi Festival. Thanks to the overwhelming success of the second annual Mole & Mariachi Festival, held in September 2014, Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks was able to fund an increase in the hours of operation at the Mission Adobe to five days a week, providing school children and the public with great access to “Your State Park Downtown.” Miller Maxfield’s effort with the Mole & Mariachi Festival was honored by the Marcom Awards.