The Mission

During the darkest days of the pandemic, the Downtown San Francisco Partnership launched a safe, socially-distanced nighttime activation that has now put the district on the map. Every December the district comes to life for ten nights; transforming iconic structures and luring residents, regionals and visitors our into the streets to celebrate. Now, with five iterations of Let’s Glow SF under their belts, the CBD takes pride in knowing its efforts directly impact their communities with impressive economic results!

The Approach

As a newly formed Community Benefits District (CBD), the Downtown San Francisco Partnership endeavored to make itself known to the community at large, including ratepayers and stakeholders suffering from the dreaded “Doom Loop” narrative. Bright Brothers worked hand-in-glove with the new district brand the inaugural event, assist with graphic design of digital and IRL assets, develop the marketing plan, and we launched an attendee intercept survey to better understand the impacts of the event.

The Result

Over the last five Decembers, Let’s Glow SF has grown radically year-over-year, and the cumulative impacts underscore the necessity of building on momentum in placemaking, and the importance of signature events that define a district. 

From a placemaking perspective, the event has hit its mark and done so much more. Because we’ve polled and tracked attendees since year-one with a digital intercept survey disseminated via QR codes in the public realm, we’re able to see the growth in numbers, metrics and KPIs for the Bay Area benefits district. 

YEAR      ATTENDEES             ECONOMIC IMPACT

2021       36,000                       $2.1MM

2022       51,000                       $3MM

2023       67,000                       $8MM

2024       87,000                       $13.2MM

2025       128,300                     $17+MM

TOTAL     369,000                    $43.3+MM

While the event itself has grown in size and scope from projections on four local buildings to over eight iconic buildings (including partnerships with neighboring districts and their building stock), Let’s Glow SF has earned multiple awards and press, including an acknowledgement of “Best Practice” from the International Downtown Association. Let’s Glow SF is now the nation’s largest FREE holiday projection arts festival!

📸: Images courtesy of Downtown San Francisco