To Patrice Bradley, Superior isn’t a city that needs reinventing. It simply needs more people to see what has been there all along.
Today, Bradley speaks about Superior less like a marketing consultant and more like a town ambassador.
When the City of Superior issued a Request-for-Proposal for its tourism marketing campaign in 2021, Bradley, CEO and Creative Director of Duluth-based marketing agency Swim Creative, took the fun approach. Rather than relying solely on research reports and statistics, she gave her staff a stipend and a mission: spend a week exploring Superior as visitors.
What they discovered, they loved.
“I didn’t know much four years ago,” Bradley admits. “I knew I had to go to the Anchor Bar and get a burger, but that was about it. And it’s been a blast learning about it. To this day, I’ll talk about Superior to anyone who wants to listen.”
That week of exploration uncovered a city full of unexpected treasures. They wandered through the Municipal Forest’s 4,400 acres, where solar-powered lighting illuminates the trails after dark. They sampled their way through Superior’s thriving restaurant scene and browsed locally owned boutiques like the Shabby Shed and learned about specialty excursions.
The more she learned about Superior, the more enthusiastic she became. Superior’s remarkable concentration of restaurants, abundant outdoor recreation and growing small-business community caused her to rethink many of the assumptions she had held before exploring.
“The things to do in Superior are mind-blowing,” she says, laughing.
For Bradley, what began as a professional assignment evolved into a genuine appreciation for a city that continues to reveal new surprises with every visit.
Tale of a Campaign
The creative process behind the “Gotta Be Superior” campaign didn’t begin in a boardroom. It began with the authentic, lived experiences of the community. In mapping out the city’s identity, the team leaned into Superior’s unpolished charm, its down-to-earth locals and welcoming LGBTQ+ community.
Even the campaign’s visual palette was pulled directly from the landscape, using greens inspired by the local wilderness and deep rust tones pulled from the historic iron ore docks, railroads and shipping hulls.
For those living outside of Superior and Douglas County, the area can easily be misunderstood. Visitors driving the main roads often see only an area dominated by industry, missing the natural beauty past the ore docks.
“Get off those [roads] and you’ll be blown away,” Bradley enthused, admitting she and her team were shocked by the sheer volume of outdoor activities available in the area.
When first researching Superior, Bradley admits she had little idea of just how much the city had to offer. Today, that discovery has turned into genuine enthusiasm.
“Superior has Manitou Falls, which is just shy [in height] of Niagara Falls,” Bradley said, still sounding amazed by the area’s natural beauty. She has become such a fan of the region that visits there and to Amnicon Falls are now regular destinations.
The natural attractions are only part of what impressed her. Bradley points to the care invested in the community from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ stewardship of local parks and bridges to the city’s commitment to accessibility for residents and visitors with disabilities.
For those seeking an authentic North Shore experience, she highlights Wisconsin Point, where miles of undeveloped shoreline offer a rare opportunity to enjoy a beach free from rows of homes and crowded streets.
Beyond nature, the true heart of the city lies in its local pride, historic architecture and a lingering, centuries-old rivalry. As the original Port City, Superior boasts a rich heritage, one famously disrupted when Duluth dug its ship canal in 1871. That history remains etched into the downtown skyline.
Shining a Light on Superior Businesses
Swim Creative’s work promoting Superior is just getting started. After winning the city’s tourism marketing contract in 2022, the agency has continued to build on its success. The contract was first extended through 2025 and has since been renewed for another two years, keeping the team at the helm of Superior’s tourism campaign through 2027.
The woman-owned agency specializes in advertising, branding and web design, and its creative work has earned recognition beyond the Twin Ports.
In 2024, Swim Creative received one platinum and two gold awards from the Association of Marketing and Communications Professionals for its campaign promoting Superior-based Vee’s Produce and its Brown Bag Potatoes brand. The agency also drew attention that year for adopting a four-day summer workweek, a move that reflected its commitment to creativity and employee well-being.
For Bradley, though, the awards are secondary to the work itself. She’s excited about what’s next and the opportunity to keep telling Superior’s story.
“Everyone is so excited to continue working on this project,” she says.
One of the team’s goals for the coming years is to introduce visitors to businesses they may have otherwise overlooked.
“We want to shine a light on them,” Bradley says. “We’re looking for whatever is best for tourism.”
“It’s Gotta Be Superior”
During the research period, Bradley and her Swim Creative team became so used to hearing about more interesting, unique and beautiful places, they started saying “It’s gotta be Superior.” Eventually the phrase stuck and they designed the campaign around the slogan.
The soul of the early campaign, however, rested entirely on a chance encounter with a Duluth-based actor named Stuart Gordon. A joyful, fun-loving figure whose genuine affection for the city made him the perfect, quirky spokesperson, Gordon anchored the brand’s presence for its first two years.
Yet, the early advertisements exposed a classic marketing divide. Not all locals appreciated the content. The agency, however, stood its ground, recognizing a fundamental truth in tourism advertising: locals are not the target market. Instead, the ads resonated deeply with the city’s actual targets in Eau Claire, Madison and Chicago.
“[Gordon] was so critical in building that brand and the persona of what that brand is,” says Bradley. “To me, that is a great success… But we hear the feedback. We’re listening,” says Bradley
Other than fun, additional themes arose of not only the attractions, but the people. “The people are so authentic,” says Bradley. “If you’re craving a vacation that reminds you of when you grew up, this is it.”
Candy stores like Sweden Sweets, roadside bars and the ATV trails are about enjoying yourself, focusing on fun, family and friends and being in natural environments.
To highlight the Superior hotspots, Swim Creative used a mix of old- and new-school advertising. First, they created a website (gottabesuperior.com) designed to help visitors find activities, restaurants and hotels. They increased their social media content, targeting other Wisconsin cities. They partnered with Wisconsin comedian and influencer Charlie Berens to create and produce 10 short videos and photo content spread across TikTok, YouTube and Instagram. And they created television ads and designed bus billboards in their target cities.
Why target Eau Claire and Madison?
Bradley says they picked locations in Wisconsin that were close enough for tourists to make a weekend out of the trips. And with rising gas and hotel prices, they anticipate vacation budgets to decrease. Also,“Wisconsinites like to travel in their state. There is so much pride in their state,” says Bradley.
“It’s Gotta Be You!”
As the campaign moves into 2026, the strategy is evolving away from a single spokesperson and toward personal agency. Backed by a fresh, modern soundtrack, the new phase, titled “Gotta Be You,” shifts the spotlight directly to the travelers, inviting them to design their own rugged, authentic vacation.
With subthemes like “Gotta Be Bold and Free,” “Gotta Make Memories” and “Gotta Feel the Love,” the “Gotta Be Superior” ads showcase all age groups enjoying Superior’s beautiful trails, local restaurants, canoeing down the beautiful Brule River and even goat yoga.
Superior Guide
One challenge her team identified during the research process was that many of Superior’s attractions are spread throughout the city rather than concentrated in a single destination.
“[Duluth’s] Canal Park is a one-stop shop,” Bradley explained. “Attractions in Superior are kind of spread out.”
To help visitors connect the dots and discover everything the city has to offer, Swim Creative developed the Gotta Be Superior Guide. Available online through the Gotta Be Superior website, the interactive guide includes games, trivia and activities designed to encourage exploration.
Whether you’re a family with children or an adult looking for a new adventure, the guide turns discovering Superior into part of the experience itself.
Tourism Development Commission
According to Wisconsin State Law, 70% of hotel taxes must be given to a local tourism commission. To determine how this money should be spent, The Tourism Development Commission (TDC) was created in late 2021. For more than100 years the Chamber of Commerce had been responsible for tourism marketing.
“Taylor Pedersen [at the Chamber] did a really good job there,” says Bradley.
The City of Superior then created a position that, in part, would be the liaison between them and Swim Creative. Mary Osborne is now the City and Tourism Communications Coordinator for the city of Superior. She splits her time between working in the Mayor’s office and working with the Tourism Development Commission. With a background in Communications from Luther College in Iowa, she is that liaison. She creates the social media content, writes press releases, updates the website and communicates with members of the press.
New to the role, Osborne began working for the City of Superior in early 2026 and is still learning the duties of her position. She’s also learning how to balance communicating with residents and promoting Superior to visitors. She does that by highlighting the people behind the local businesses. “Superior is proud of the businesses that are local, so I try to uplift them.”
Inspired by the passion Superior Mayor Jim Paine and Lindsay Graskey, Councilor and Chair of the Tourism Development Committee, have for the city of Superior, Osborne says she is excited to continue highlighting the businesses, restaurants, hotels and natural attractions of Superior.
Splitting the Tasks
Swim creative handles the campaigns, the photo shoots, blogs and other tasks, while Osborne gets to visit with local business owners and promote their wares and sales on the city’s social media pages. “It’s so fun to see people reacting to the posts. I love it when they tag the owners and friends of the stores or places [we’re promoting].”
Locations like the Bong Museum, historic sites like the Fairlawn Mansion and the new SS Meteor Bar have connected well with audiences on the city’s Instagram, Facebook and the Gotta Be Superior’s TikTok pages. And she loves it when residents share stories about seeing the campaigns.
“Someone told me they were in Madison and enjoyed seeing the bus wraps,” says Osborne.
Osborne agrees with Bradley that many of Superior attractions are underrated. “We have the very last whaleback ship, a museum that has the largest collection of accordions, and a state park that houses the tallest waterfall in the entire state…It’s cool that these are here in town!”
Osborne feels the Gotta Be Superior message has become clearer and more community oriented. “Superior is a place where you are welcome to be yourself. It’s open to all types of people from all types of backgrounds,” says Osborne.
To keep aligned with the campaign’s mission of authenticity, Osborne keeps the social media posts and communications language very truthful and not performative. Her goals are to drive engagement and continue spreading the reach. She looks forward to continuing watching the numbers rise along with more tourists appreciating the beauty of what Superior has to offer.
Running the Numbers
Hotel tax revenue in the City of Superior offers a clear snapshot of growth. According to city data, total collections have climbed from just over $688,000 in 2021 to more than $1 million in 2025, an increase of roughly 45 percent in just a few years.
While those numbers reflect lodging activity alone, they point to a broader shift in how visitors are engaging with the city. More travelers are not only coming to Superior, but staying longer, filling hotel rooms and spending time exploring what the community has to offer.
That growth carries ripple effects across the local economy. Increased overnight stays often translate into more foot traffic in restaurants, coffee shops, retail stores and attractions, helping support small businesses and seasonal employers throughout the city. For local leaders and tourism partners, the steady rise in hotel tax revenue signals continued momentum in Superior’s efforts to position itself as a destination.
Really Fun
The “Gotta Be You” Campaign has taken off and is a fun way to promote Superior. For Patrice Bradley, she’s thrilled about the success of the campaign and learning about all this unique city has to offer.
“It’s just been really fun, “says Bradley of getting to know the city. “The more you learn about Superior, the more you just love it!”
Rose M. Fife is a freelance writer and musician. She lives in Duluth with her family and still mostly feral dog.
