Today's creative partner is Alma Ascencio from the Gaslamp Quarter Association. Our team has partnered with Alma on multiple video campaigns, from the "New Normal" post-pandemic reopening initiative to the ambitious "It All Starts Here" transportation campaign, along with coverage of annual events like the Gaslamp Pet Parade and Taste of Gaslamp. In our conversation, we discuss the importance of trust and communication in creative partnerships, how Blue Barn has become an extension of her team, and the value of building a professional media library over time.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
Carlos Foster (Co-Founder, Creative Manager, Blue Barn Creative): Hey, Alma. Thank you for joining me today. To get started, tell us what is the Gaslamp Quarter Association and your role.
Alma Ascencio (Marketing Manager, Gaslamp Quarter Association): The Gaslamp Quarter Association is a business improvement district. We're here to promote Gaslamp Quarter businesses, bring the locals down here, highlight the best parts of the district and bring a good atmosphere to our visitors. My role is the marketing manager. I run the social media channels, basically, showcasing the fun and creative parts of the Gaslamp Quarter and bring the visitors to our restaurants and merchants.
CF: The folks that you're working with, it's not just limited to businesses that sell things, right? You also work with the restaurants, venues, and event spaces? As the association, you touch on everything right in the Gaslamp.
AA: Yeah, when I say our merchants, our businesses, we also represent over 400 restaurants, including hotels, restaurants, retail, museums. We promote obviously within San Diego, but also work to bring visitors from outside of San Diego, including partnering Tijuana or other border cities. The mission is to highlight this place and make it a fun entertainment destination. You can stay here, you can shop, eat, there's nightlife, so it's basically a whole one-stop shop. Basically we're trying to promote that.
CF: And you personally know everybody in the Gaslamp now, right?
AA: It seems that like when we've walked the streets, and everybody's saying "hi". When I started, it was literally weeks before we had the Coronavirus shutdown. I started that February, we shut down in late February or March. The task became to continue promoting the Gaslamp Quarter, but also connecting with our business owners and introducing myself and being more proactive about engaging with the people around here.
I was on the streets and knocking doors and saying, Hey, I'm here. I'm here to help you. And it's free. Come here and reach out. Use our resources. Use what I'm providing you. It's free to promote your business.
CF: I think that's a great segue into how we first started working together; it was about a year into the shutdown when you started reopening the Gaslamp, under new guidelines. That's when McFarland Promotions, who was working with you on the outreach effort, contacted us to talk about a video they wanted to produce to let everyone know that the Gaslamp's coming back, and here's some new guidelines to keep it safe and fun for visitors. Let's talk about why a video was needed for that campaign.
AA: When the pandemic hit, it kind of correlated with the street closures. My boss, Michael Trimble, had this big project planned for creating a Promenade in the Gaslamp Quarter. It was kind of in a trial run when the whole pandemic happened. We were able to close down the streets so people could have the space to walk and feel somewhat safe and obviously follow the guidelines that were mandatory at that time. So we thought, why don't we educate the public that we're doing this promenade project, but also highlight the safety information component of it.
We looked at a few production companies, and McFarland presented us with your site, where I saw your videos. I did my little bit of intel of my own on Blue Barn, and I really liked the team's perspective, how you highlighted other businesses, the camera angles, so we said, let's go with them! You created a storyboard for us to share with our board members and with the city. That helped us convey what we were trying to do and ask the city for support. It was also to acknowledge that the pandemic happened, but we're still Gaslamp strong and welcoming people in, we're going to get through this and support our city and our businesses that were struggling at that moment.
"Gaslamp: The New Normal" — the post-pandemic reopening film we made together.
CF: I remember that project being pretty ambitious in the amount of businesses you wanted to showcase in the video. We had to find a way for a small crew to move quickly from business to business on these tight shoot days, along with respecting COVID guidelines. You were instrumental in making sure that the businesses knew we were coming and that they were aware of everything we were filming so we could just slip in, film what we needed as fast as possible, and move on to the next one. From what you remember, what was it like working with our team? And how did we help you accomplish your project goals?
AA: It was a good process working with you. I loved the professionalism, the great attitude. And when we were requesting edits or changes, you knew how to make it work. You know how to handle different personalities, which is very important. The Gaslamp Quarter Association is basically Michael and me. And I know your business — we're both small but mighty. I felt that you had a passion for the project, which is the most important thing. When you're passionate about something and you show it to the client, it makes us feel confident in the work, like, okay, they get it. Everything's gonna work out.
CF: Now fast forward about a year and we're in the midst of another production project, which was the "It All Starts Here" transportation campaign. Remind us what that campaign was for.
AA: We're part of the City of San Diego, and we're partners with MTS. My goal is to make the Gaslamp Quarter a destination people think of automatically when they think of San Diego. With this video, we wanted to promote transportation and the Association being the first place people go to for information on everything transportation-based in the city.
We were building an interactive online map, and we needed a visual component that included our partners. We wanted people to visit the page and have the Gaslamp Association be the source of telling people where they can go and how to use transportation from buses to trolley to walking to biking. So it was an ambitious project! And it was a project that was much needed because there's no other district that has that kind of page with a video and interactive map with all the active lines and routes and everything. Mike is very passionate about transportation so we had to take a subject that's not always so attractive and make it fun and quirky and catch the eye of the audience that we wanted to target.
CF: When McFarland came to us we gave them a couple of different ideas. And of course, we thought, oh, this one's the crazy pitch, they'll never say yes to this, but we'll just throw it in there. And of course, that's the one they chose! Besides the logistics of organizing the participants and performing artists, we also had to work with the city and MTS. I'd love to hear from you how Blue Barn was able to help bridge those relationships, and even get the first shot off, because we were filming with road closures, in downtown, and there was a lot of red tape and bureaucracy we had to navigate to make the shoot work. How did we support you in making this happen?
AA: Well, the first thing I think of is organization. Blue Barn came prepared, lead the way on the creative side with the people that we had there to perform, such as the dancers and other performers. I was there behind the scenes and you were the leader telling them, now do it this way, and do it that way. But respecting the performer and giving them pointers, and making them feel good about the experience. When the Blue Barn team was onsite, you were the face of the Gaslamp Quarter Association, talking with the MTS people, especially when we were filming the trolley — just being there and representing us. It was great having Blue Barn handle the logistics of it all. And it was great to see how you talk to people. I think it's one of the components that I most appreciate about Blue Barn.
"Gaslamp: It All Starts Here" — the transportation campaign film with MTS and the City of San Diego.
CF: Now we're at another stage in our partnership where we're not just doing the big campaigns, but we're filming and photographing annual events in the Gaslamp Quarter for you. Why is it important to you to have that level of professionalism and commercial-ready visual style for your smaller events? What's the rationale behind having us cover those as well?
AA: Each year, I am excited and passionate about different projects and I see what's trending, what's needed to catch people's attention, what's needed to bring more people down here and create bigger brand awareness, more engagement. For example, the annual Gaslamp Pet Parade. When I first started, I was doing basically everything, the photos and videos and sometimes handling the logistics with the merchants. And at some point, you need help. I reached a point where I needed someone to help me take the photos and capture video — obviously, on another level, like what your team does.
We need high quality content. We need help. We need a commercial. We need something that we can send over to the TV stations. And it looks nice. It looks pretty. It looks engaging. It makes people want to say, "I want to go there. I want to do that." So that's why I asked, hey, can you give me the green light to continue working with Blue Barn? And like I said, I really enjoy working with you and every member team that I come in contact with. It's been great. And I was very happy to have you back and continue doing this for other small projects internally with me.
CF: We're grateful for that because I think that over time, we're able to establish not only a shorthand in the way we can communicate with you, but also a visual style for the Gaslamp Quarter itself. Beyond the finished projects, we're also building a professional media library that you, being a content creator yourself, can now pull from. What is the added value in that?
AA: Oh, it's a tremendous value from both the quality of it and the fact that as I continue to grow in this role, I have more things to do and I don't have the time to be everywhere. I wish I could be everywhere sometimes, but I'm getting more into the logistics, the planning, the decision making. I'm so grateful to Michael because he has given me the project manager role on each of those projects. He lets me say, I want this, or I don't want this. He trusts the vision of what I want because I have an internal love for Gaslamp Quarter. But, I need help! I need help and I want high quality content that I can use for social media, for my ads, for any distribution that I need to present to our board. The board was extremely happy when we presented the transportation video. They were in awe, like, oh, this is a great video. Even a smaller project, like the Taste of Gaslamp video we worked on. Usually the board is very quiet and they don't say much, but for that Taste of Gaslamp video, they were like, oh, great video! It makes me feel like I'm doing a great job. We're doing a great job. The partnership is continually leading me to make Gaslamp Quarter's brand bigger and more authentic and have a voice behind that. And you're helping me do that, and I'm really grateful to continue doing that.
CF: What would you say to someone who came to you and said, I'm thinking of hiring Blue Barn Creative for our own project or campaign. What would you tell them?
AA: First of all, Blue Barn are great people to work with. That's my first takeaway from working with you guys. There's this quality of communication that makes me feel comfortable. We have created a trust bond that I feel is very important to create with a partner who you're working with. That's the first thing I would say. It's great to work with you guys. You are awesome. You're friendly. You're nice. You're polite. You're professional. You know you're here to do your job, but also give your insight for what is needed, and what works best. You can see the results by the quality of the video and the turnaround as well — you have pretty quick turnaround time. The team says hi to you. They're nice. They're friendly. They interact great with the public. For example, at the Holiday Pet Parade, I saw how the team was interacting with the pet owners, and they were great, and they made them excited. So it's great when I see people doing their job, but they're excited about doing it, and they're having fun. It's amazing working with Blue Barn. And I'm happy that I continue working with you.
Gaslamp Quarter Pickleball — an annual event we cover for the Association.
Gaslamp Quarter Cinco de Mayo — another annual event in the partnership.
CF: You said something earlier that stuck with me when we were talking about the transportation campaign: that there were times where you couldn't be present either on the set or in certain meetings with the MTS. And so Blue Barn acted as kind of a stand-in for you and Michael. I would love to explore that because I think for a lot of clients, video production teams have a bad rap. Like some think, "I would never let them talk to my client," you know? I think that that means a lot that you said you felt a confidence that we could speak on your behalf, that we were in tune with what you wanted and what needed to be gained from those meetings. Can you talk about the confidence and trust you had?
AA: It's just the way you talk to people, how the team talks. You don't talk down to anyone. I appreciate that. You get the responsibility of representation. I know that you're professional, but at the same time you're friendly, you're optimistic, and finding solutions to situations, not seeing them as a problem, but having a "let's figure it out" approach. I think most people sometimes lose that kind of authenticity and come off — you know, you can have a title, you can have that, but if you come off kind of as mean or bossy, people will decide I don't think I want to work with them.
Since the first project that we did together, I felt comfortable. I got the sense when I first met everyone, like, okay, they're great. They understand the client, first of all. And they are trying to build a trust, which is the first thing that you have to do with a client. Even when we were working and I was walking alongside the crew, I saw how you talk to each other, with respect. I saw consistency in communication with us and consistency with other crew members. And I've told my other colleagues they know how to do their job. That's why in other smaller projects, I just give you the premise of what we want. I give you the creative freedom to do your thing, whatever best works for you, because you're the professional in this realm. You're the master of what you think is going to look good. I trust you. I knew you were going to do a great job. For the Taste of Gaslamp, I didn't give you much direction. I just gave you a list of spots to hit. But I kind of like to give the freedom of creativity because I have freedom of creativity in my job with Michael. So why not? I want to do it for other people too.
CF: That's great. Thank you so much for agreeing to do this and opening up about our partnership.
AA: Anytime! I know that Michael is aware of everything we do. I share everything with him and he knows how things are lining up and trusts me when I tell him, This is good. And we need to do this. We have great partners, like the Blue Barn team, it's awesome. I like to have a good attitude and I like to partner with people that have great attitudes and a good vibe, a good aura. I felt that with your team and everyone has been so lovely and very nice. Thank you for working with us.
The partnerships Alma describes — the ones that compound over years, where the team becomes an extension of yours and the work builds a real visual library — are the kind we're built for. If that's the kind of collaboration you're looking for, start with one call.
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