Eureka Mayors Coalition — “Eureka for the Holidays” Campaign

The Client

In 2025, the Eureka Mayors Coalition is prioritizing unity, accessibility, and community-centered celebration by uplifting existing local holiday events instead of organizing a new standalone experience. With economic challenges impacting many families and businesses, our shared aim is to help our community celebrate meaningfully, without adding strain to an already busy holiday season.

How Illuminated Marketing Helped

To amplify this vision, we created a seasonal marketing campaign that highlighted the many festive happenings already in motion. Our strategy centered on collaboration, streamlined communication, and storytelling that inspired participation and pride in Eureka. 

One of the best things about calling Humboldt home is our community’s enthusiasm for local businesses. We love to keep business and spending local, especially during the holiday season. This campaign captures the warmth, eclectic, and whimsy of Eureka with custom, handmade illustrations made by Cal Phillips (calcium_art on Instagram).

We created:

• A style guide with colors, fonts, and branded design elements

• A new “Eureka for the Holidays” landing page with an interactive community-submitted event calendar

• Press releases for local media and partner organizations

• Custom gift tags for businesses offering holiday gift wrapping

• Three poster designs for local storefront windows

• A complete media kit for businesses and organizations, including:

  • Newsletter swipe copy

  • Social media graphics and captions

  • Email templates

  • Email signatures

  • Printable mascot-themed coloring sheets

The Results

We’re so delighted with the overwhelmingly positive feedback we’ve received from this campaign. The campaign was well-received by everyone, including the Mayors' Coalition, community members and tourists. Choosing to personify Eureka with Kris Kringlefoot, Yule the banana slug, and Red the redwood tree helped with this campaign’s success, and were able to use these mascots as a vessel for storytelling, world building, CTAs, and imagery. 

The centralized calendar on the City of Eureka’s website made it easy for community members to discover events, plan their holidays, and support local businesses without spending previous family time searching social media for event information.

Illustrated holiday mascots Kris Kringlefoot, Yule the banana slug, and Red the redwood tree.

A call-to-action flyer inviting the community to submit holiday events.

Printable coloring sheet of Kris Kringlefoot.

The front of the gift tag.

The back of the gift tag.

After presenting this concept to the city council, one community member remarked that "These characters are so cute! What a great way to honor the different parts of Eureka."

Check it Out

• Visit the campaign online.

• Check out the custom illustrations.

• Print out some coloring sheets from the media kit.

• Post one of the social media graphics.

• Make your email festive with an email signature. 

Interested in learning more about what Illuminated Marketing can do for your community organization?

If you're intrigued by the ways we were able to help the City of Eureka’s Mayor Coalition, let's set up a call to see how we can help your community organization! Schedule your free consultation today to start the conversation!