Mayor Mike Spano and Celebrity Chef Christian Petroni Officially Kick Off New Generation Yonkers Campaign at Special Reception at Fortina Restaurant in Yonkers

/in /by
New Marketing Campaign Showcases Why Yonkers
Has All the Right Ingredients for Business Success

 

YONKERS, NY (October 24, 2018) – Celebrity Chef and 2018 Food Network Star Christian Petroni today joined with Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano to officially kick off the next generation of the Generation Yonkersmarketing campaign.

And they did so with plenty of dough!

To celebrate the kickoff of the Gen Y campaign, a special reception was held today at Chef Petroni’s popular Fortina restaurant at the Boyce Thompson Center in Yonkers, where Mayor Spano donned a chef’s apron, rolled up his sleeves and helped Chef Petroni make the “Gen Y Pie” — a new pizza pie which will be on the menu of Fortina.  Ingredients for the Gen Y Pie include: Butternut Squash, Fresh Mozzarella, Kale, Red Onion, Aleppo Pepper and strips of Speck Prosciutto in the shape of a Y.

Chef Petroni, who was recently named co-winner of the hotly contested 2018 Food Network Star competition, is no stranger to fame.  He’s also won Season Four of the Food Network’s “Chopped” series and served as a judge on that show and on “Beat Bobby Flay.” And just this week it was announced that Chef Petroni will be a judge on the Food Network’s “Ultimate Thanksgiving Challenge.” Fortina restaurants are also located in Rye, Stamford, Armonk and Brooklyn.

Chef Petroni is among the small business owners and residents of Yonkers who appear in the Generation Yonkers marketing campaign that is positioning the city as the region’s next hot urban center to live, work and play.

Others appearing in the campaign include:

Jay and Jen Gorinson, new residents who recently moved to River Tides at Greystone luxury rentals on Warburton Avenue in Yonkers;

Ray Wilcox, Managing Partner of ThePowerLab, an innovative co-working space in Southwest Yonkers;

Tameka Breaux, a Registered Nurseandresident of Hudson Park luxury rentals who recently moved from Brooklyn to Yonkers;

Emanuel Arenas, owner of The Little Ranch, a western apparel store on South Broadway in Yonkers;

Brent Delman, owner of the The Cheese Guy, a Yonkers-based business whose cheese products are sold in stores locally, regionally and nationally including Whole Foods and Fairway.

In the ads running on TV, radio, digital and print, Chef Petroni says, “Yonkers is in the center of a renaissance. That same energy that started happening in Brooklyn about 10 years ago is happening here.”

 

Here are what others featured in the campaign are saying about Yonkers:

  • “Living in Yonkers you get the best of both worlds. It’s right in the middle of everything. ”

— Jay and Jen Gorinson

  • “Yonkers is a great place to run a business. It’s the hub of innovation.”

— Ray Wilcox

  • “Yonkers is like the best-kept secret. It’s going to be the new Brooklyn.”

— Tameka Breaux, RN

  • “Yonkers is a wonderful place to do business. We’ve partnered up with other small startups.”

— Brent Delman

  • Yonkers is a very welcoming city. It’s a really central location. ”

— Emanuel Arenas

 

“The Generation Yonkers campaign has transcended our local community. Since we started this campaign in 2015, it has helped our city attract new residents and businesses and contributed to the transformation now under way in Yonkers,” said Mayor Spano. “Our message has reached new businesses, young families and millennials across the region because they can relate to those who have invested in Yonkers and can attest to the burgeoning renaissance happening here. The latest iteration of our GenY campaign is the next step in telling our story of how Yonkers has arrived and is THE place to live, work and play,” he added.

Now in its fourth year, the Generation Yonkerscampaign, which was created by the Westchester-based advertising agency Thompson & Bender, is an integrated mix inclusive of broadcast, digital/mobile and event marketing. Media partners include Altice, News12, iHeart Radio, Verve, Inspiria, Facebook/Instagram and Yonkers Progress. Media activation includes :30 second TV spots that will run on News 12 and across Cable Networks such as Bravo, Comedy Central, CNBC, ESPN, TLC, TNT and Food Network, to name a few; :30 second radio spots on Z100 and WHTZ-FM, along with an endorsement campaign led by Skeery Jones of the Elvis Duran Morning Show; Video/Pre-Roll tactics; Metro-North Interior Car Cards along the Harlem Line; Facebook/Instagram ads; and targeted print.

The majority of media activity will run consistently for 7 – 8 weeks. This includes all broadcast and most Digital/Mobile media. Events are flighted throughout the campaign timeframe. The campaign’s MTA (Metro North) activity will start on November 15thand run through the holiday timeframe.  As the Generation Yonkerscampaign evolves, the media mix has expanded to now include a mobile location media partner as well as emerging media such as IP Addressable Digital media and OTT Digital Smart TV media. In addition, the Generation Yonkerswebsite (www.generationyonkers.com) has been updated with new videos and other features.

The City of Yonkers is currently undergoing a remarkable economic renaissance with $2.5 billion in commercial and residential projects under construction including more than 5,000 multi-family residential units.

 

Media Contacts:

Christina Gilmartin

Communications Director, Office of the Mayor

City Hall: 914-377-6208

Cell: 914-512-4017

Christina.gilmartin@yonkersny.gov

 

Dean Bender

Thompson & Bender

(914) 762-1900 ext. 13

Dean@thompson-bender.com