Ventura appears to be everywhere at this year’s X Games from the medals handed out to competitors to the merchandise sold at the event to scenes of the city on the broadcast.
It’s no accident.
Marlyss Auster, the president and CEO of the tourism bureau Visit Ventura, went to Minneapolis in 2019 to see how the X Games embraced the host city.
“That was really attractive to us because this is the type of marketing that can’t be purchased,” Auster said.
Last year, the name of the event was X Games California because it was the first time the X Games had returned to the state and Ventura had to prove itself, Auster said.
After last year's event was successful, she said remembered the Minneapolis event and pushed for the X Games Ventura name.
"When it was locked in, it was a happy day," she said of the Jan. 22 date. "We might have opened Champagne that day."
Viewers couldn't get away from the name either. Commentators on the X Games Ventura live broadcasts on ABC, ESPN2 and YouTube also repeated Ventura over and over again, putting the city front and center.
"Sixteen and a half hours of live broadcast and then they replay, replay, replay all year long is just tremendous," Auster said.
The branding went further. She learned about the Ventura logo on the medals a couple of months ago from X Games officials when they asked if it could be used.
“I just about screamed,” Auster said. “I said, ‘Are you kidding? Absolutely, that would be amazing.’”
Auster said she was “sworn to secrecy” about the medal design and did not tell anyone until it was confirmed.
“I was really excited to see it come to fruition,” she said.
'I love Ventura'
The Ventura name wasn't just for medal winners. Fans and visitors of the game had plenty of merchandise to buy.
Unlike the medals, Auster said she and her team had the chance to see the designs before the process was completed. T-shirts, hats, tank tops and jerseys are covered with Ventura in different styles, colors and images with California poppies, sharks and cartoons.
“They always look for things being a little bit edgy and not perfect,” Auster said. “So we knew how they used Ventura was going to be different, and we embraced it and we’re excited about it. It fits with our culture here.”
Fans at the X Games on Saturday said they liked the branding — and the city.
Monique Cardenas, 32, of Los Angeles was with her boyfriend Dennis Lim, 32, of San Gabriel on Saturday night near the X Games Musical Stage.
The two were waiting for the Kaskade performance to start and Lim wore an X Games Ventura shirt with the artist’s name on the back he purchased at the event.
“I think they market their city really well,” Lim said.
Cardenas said the use of Ventura aligned with her views of the city.
“I love Ventura,” she said.
When Los Angeles has weather of more than 80 degrees, Ventura has much cooler temperatures, she said.
“I try to visit every summer for sure,” she said.
Mayor Joe Schroeder said the exposure was a way to attract more conferences, sporting events and visits to the city's hotels. The revenue will allow the city to pave more roads, he said.
"It's like having four aces in a poker game. It's fantastic," Schroeder said on Sunday.
Wes Woods II covers West County for the Ventura County Star. Reach him at wesley.woodsii@vcstar.com, 805-437-0262 or @JournoWes.
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