Three Ultimate Playground media FAMs crisscross California

Visit California hosted journalists and influencers from France, Japan and Mexico across California, putting the state's abundant opportunities and unique experiences front and center. Combined, the three markets visited 11 destinations during their time in the Golden State.

In mid-March, a Japanese media group of four visited Big Bear, Huntington Beach, Los Angeles and Temecula. Hosted media included: Sachiko Suzuki, Mashito Kaneko, Aya Yoshikawa and Chieko Koseki. Landing in Los Angeles, the group fueled up after a long travel day before getting a behind-the-scenes tour of Dodger Stadium and then venturing to view a mural of Japanese baseball player, Shohei Ohtani. Cruising down the iconic Pacific Coast Highway, they reached Huntington Beach and ended the night with a sunset boat ride, dinner at Duke’s and a beachside bonfire. After a relaxing morning of beach yoga, the group continued the trip moving south to Temecula. They wine tasted over lunch before adventuring outside for horseback riding and finally having dinner at Ponte Winery. The next morning started early with a hot air balloon ride over the vineyards followed by multiple afternoon wine tastings. Closing out the day and their time in Temecula, they explored and shopped in Old Town, visited a speakeasy bar and had dinner at Small Barn. The group then departed for Big Bear and hit the ground running with lunch and a hike, followed by dinner and stargazing in the clear mountainous sky. The next day proved to be adventurous with snow tubing and an off-roading experience with Tourzilla. Finally, the group explored the shops at The Village and spent their final dinner together at Captains Anchorage.

Later in the month, a group of three French journalists, Audrey Tartarat, Nebia Seri and Pascal Douglas, visited Newport Beach, Santa Barbara and West Hollywood. After checking into the London West Hollywood, they started the itinerary with a casual dinner at The Roof at Edition. The next morning, the group saw the city via e-bike while on a tour with Bikes and Hikes before having an afternoon of relaxation with spa treatments at Sunset Marquis. The day concluded with shopping in the design district, dinner at Tesse, and a show at the Pendry’s Sun Rose. Heading to the coast, the group began their time in Santa Barbara with lunch at Convivo and a guided tour with Off Road. The group continued exploring the city and then hit the beach at East Beach. Finally, they created art with wine at a paint and sip class hosted by Danielle Renee Art. Moving further south, they ventured to Newport, where they explored Lido Marina Village, imbibed rooftop cocktails and enjoyed dinner at Joey. On the final day of the trip, the group experienced a tea bowl ceremony at Village Tea Hut before refueling with lunch at the Farmhouse. They then shopped at Fashion Island, perused Balboa Island and sailed into sunset on a Duffy boat before saying goodbye to the Golden State.

Douglas's story was published on Paul.E in April.

With an exciting itinerary featuring Lake Tahoe, Oakland, Sacramento and San Francisco, three influencers from Mexico traveled through a diverse array of experiences from bustling city life, culinary treasures, thrilling sports and serene nature. Hosted influencers include: Ariadna Rufrancos, Odemaris Ruiz and Roger Gonzalez. The group landed in SFO, dropped their bags and immediately visited the historic Fisherman’s Wharf, Golden Gate Park and San Francisco MoMA before having dinner in Chinatown. The next morning, they explored the city on e-bike before venturing to Oakland. While there, the influencers played like chefs, having lunch, then meeting Top Chef contestant and restaurant owner, Nelson German, for a mixology experience. They explored Lake Merritt and visited Oaktown Spice Shop, and ended the evening with dinner at Parche and a nightcap at Bar Shiru. After a good night's sleep at the Kissel Uptown, the group traveled inland to Sacramento. Gearing up for a Sacramento Kings basketball game, the group had lunch at Urban Roots and drinks near Golden One Center at Revival. They cheered on the Kings before ending the night at the Kimpton Sawyer hotel. For the last destination on the trip, they journeyed north to a snowy and serene Lake Tahoe. They hit the slopes of Sierra at Tahoe and closed out the day and trip with some apres bars and dinner at Riva Grill. Coverage from this trip resulted in 2.6 million impressions, 1.1 million plays and just over 56,000 engagements.