Speaking to TTG, NYC & Company president and chief executive Fred Dixon said Swift’s passion for New York was genuine.
It comes after the city faced criticism for choosing an ambassador who isn’t a native New Yorker, with even talk show host David Letterman questioning her motives during an interview with the singer.
However Dixon defended the decision to appoint Swift, explaining that it came about after a chance meeting with her manager, which led to an invite to Swift’s Tribeca apartment.
While there, Swift offered Dixon her iPod to listen to a song she had penned about moving to the city, which he said encapsulated the “New York dream”.
“Her song entitled ‘Welcome to New York’ is written from the perspective of a newcomer, that starry-eyed optimism and overwhelming energy you feel when you first come to New York, and she wanted to share that,” he explained.
“It’s like we wrote it for our own brand.”
“‘Welcome to New York’ is written from the perspective of a newcomer. That optimism and energy you feel when you first arrive”
Swift is the face of the year-long campaign “Welcome to New York – it’s been waiting for you.” Its content will feature all five boroughs and will have a strong social media focus.
“Taylor has one of the largest social media presences in the world, and she has a huge millennial following, which is very important to us. They can be difficult to reach in an authentic way, and she does that for us. It’s something money just can’t buy,” Dixon added.
Indeed, Taylor is not being paid for her services – Dixon said she is donating her time, her image and her song to the campaign, and proceeds from the sale of the single are being donated to education services in New York City.
He hit back at critics who said that Swift - a Pennsylvanian raised in Nashville - should not represent New York City. “Her passion for New York is very genuine and she wants to tell the world about it. New York is a city of immigrants, not many of us were born in New York – we’ve all followed our dreams there.
“We’ve done the traditional New Yorkers view of the city – this was an incredible opportunity for us to take one of the world’s biggest pop stars and use her to talk to people about that dream of coming to NYC.”
The high-profile signing comes towards the end of another record-breaking year for NYC & Company. The city is predicted to hit 55.8 million arrivals in 2014, up from 54.3 million in 2013.
It’s also on course to hit a record 32 million room nights this year.
