“Elgin Is Home” Video Series
The “Elgin is Home” video series showcases the authentic character of Elgin—its welcoming atmosphere, unique businesses, and family-friendly experiences—inspiring a sense of discovery and the reaction “Oh, I never knew all of that was in downtown Elgin!”
The video campaign aims to challenge outdated or inaccurate perceptions about Downtown Elgin by offering a fresh, honest, and inviting perspective. Through the Downtown Neighborhood Associations strategic plan (See Strategic plan report HERE) we identified 2 key target audiences and some of the barriers they identified that prevented them from engaging in our downtown:
- Middle-class mom’s – statistics show that mom’s often drive decision making for how families spend their free time. We want local moms to feel safe, confident and excited about the options that Downtown Elgin offers. We also recognized that many families visit the Library, Centre, and Hemmens, but don’t venture into the surrounding downtown blocks due to lack of familiarity.
- Hispanic Families – generational families remember times when they felt like outsiders in their own community or had less than welcoming experiences. We recognized an important opportunity to share that downtown Elgin is a place where Hispanic families will be welcomed and feel at home.
More than just an invitation to visit, “Elgin is Home” is designed to evoke a feeling that downtown is a clean, safe, active, vibrant, and historic place—where families feel welcome and there is a real sense of community.
Our Team
The DNA assembled a committee of volunteers and professionals who had important input guiding this project, as well as participating in video creation and distribution: