A new Pittsburgh-branded marketing campaign titled “Forge On” — including bus wraps — will take over the Washington, D.C., metro area this June.
Emily Hatfield, vice president of marketing and communications at Visit Pittsburgh, said Pittsburgh will undertake what she calls a D.C. “station domination.”
“We’ll be taking over Metro Center,” she said, referring to a central hub of the Washington subway. “We’ll also be having around 20 bus wraps.
“We’re going to bring Pittsburgh to D.C. in June.”
The Pittsburgh branding that will be visible in Washington is part of Visit Pittsburgh’s campaign “Forge On,” which officially launched Monday.
Hatfield said it’s the largest advertising campaign in Visit Pittsburgh’s history.
“This campaign is very strategic in that we’ve been designing it in tandem as we’ve been planning to host the NFL Draft because we knew that we had an incredible moment in time to make sure that when we had all all eyes on Pittsburgh — all 50 million viewers worldwide — that we were putting forth a new advertising campaign that was strategic and also very telling of the narrative of Pittsburgh today,” she said.
Since Visit Pittsburgh has known about the draft coming to town for almost two years, Hatfield said, planning the “Forge On” campaign started around 18 months ago.
Expanding reach
By launching “Forge On” alongside the NFL Draft, Hatfield said, Visit Pittsburgh will be able to capitalize on the giant event’s momentum. The draft begins April 23 and runs through the weekend.
Jerad Bachar, president and CEO of Visit Pittsburgh, said the campaign allows the community to “continue to ride the wave of all the publicity” the city’s getting aound the 2026 NFL Draft.
“Launching this campaign right now is by design,” he said. “ ‘Forge On’ is a great representation of Pittsburgh and Pittsburghers in general; it talks about the grit and the resilience of our city and how we continue to evolve in a really meaningful way.”
Hatfield said 78% of past visitors to Pittsburgh found the city appealing, according to the Future Partners’ 2025 Brand Tracking Study of 3,000 respondents and Madden Media-led stakeholder focus groups involving nearly 50 Pittsburgh visitor industry partners.
The research noted an awareness gap, she said, among those who haven’t visited. People’s most common reason cited for not visiting Pittsburgh is that the city “just isn’t on (their) radar,” according to the study.
Hatfield said Visit Pittsburgh’s core markets that are usually targeted are normally a 500-mile radius outside of Pittsburgh.
But “Forge On” is expanding Pittsburgh’s marketing reach — targeting new markets outside of that region, including Atlanta, Buffalo, Chicago and Detroit, said Hatfield.
“We’re really trying to be strategic and reach new visitors to drive ultimately economic impact for the community,” she said. “It’s incredibly exciting to finally have this campaign out into the local community.”
Also, for the first time, Visit Pittsburgh will also be launching regional marketing outside of the Allegheny County region, Hatfield said.
“We want to make sure that this is a rally cry that a lot of locals resonate with,” she said. “As you’re driving into work, you’ll likely be seeing some … billboards on your way in.”
The “Forge On” campaign materials, including a new commercial, could also appear as people are listening to their favorite podcast or streaming their favorite TV show, according to Hatfield.
“This is a campaign that is about Pittsburgh for Pittsburghers, and we’re really excited to bring it to light,” she said.
Bachar said through the planning process, Visit Pittsburgh listened to its partners and conducted research to fully understand what travelers think about Pittsburgh today and what they hope to see in the future.
In 2025, he said, Allegheny County saw an estimated 21.5 million travel consumers come into the market, and those consumers generated an estimated total of more than $7 billion in economic impact.
“So that direct economic impact is absolutely valuable,” he said.
The NFL Draft represents positive momentum coming into the Pittsburgh market in terms of tourism and also from an investment standpoint, according to Bachar.
“ ‘Forge On’ is much more than just a slogan — it is very much a rallying cry,” he said. “You’ll be seeing a lot of the contemporary aspects of Pittsburgh … across arts, culture, community (and) neighborhoods.”