Toledo Guide

Reimagining the Toledo Guide

As the city of Toledo’s official Destination Marketing Organization, Destination Toledo promotes Lucas County and the greater Toledo region to draw meeting, convention and tourism business, enhancing the local economy and well-being of the region. The Toledo Guide, an annual publication formerly known as the Toledo Visitors Guide, was completely re-imagined for the 2025–2026 issue to amplify community voices and inspire both exploration and relocation.

Challenges to Overcome

• Expand the size and scope of the publication from 48 pages total with 30 pages of editorial to 76 pages total with 54.33 pages of editorial — an editorial gain of 24.33 pages.

• Convert a listings-heavy directory into an inspirational magazine that promotes all 300+ Destination Toledo partners through storytelling, photography and minimal business listings.

• Create a beautiful, multi-purpose Toledo Guide that balances the needs of visitors, residents and advertisers while showcasing life in Toledo in new, authentic ways and uplifting local voices.

Our Strategy

Using the full list of Destination Toledo partners, we divided the guide into practical sections that serve all readers. From there, we allocated members to sections and determined story direction for balanced coverage in a variety of storytelling styles. 

We identified local and regional travel writers to create high-quality and authentically Toledo content. Within the guide, we profiled more than a dozen influential community members, asking about their own Toledo experiences and favorites. We also collaborated with local organizations, including Midstory and the University of Toledo, to produce engaging content that encourages relocation.

We outreached to local photographers, businesses and social media users to source over 150 eye-catching photos that show off the greater Toledo region.

Results

The former Toledo Visitors Guide, a 48-page travel directory with 8 feature pages and 20 listings-only pages, underwent a total transformation. The new Toledo Guide is a 76-page travel and community magazine with 46 feature pages and 5.33 listings-only pages. 

Digital flipbook reads for the 2025 Toledo Guide are nearly double those from last year. In the first month alone, the guide had 599 reads, up from 336 in 2024.