Q&A With New DSA VP of Communications and Marketing Chris Copacino

Chris Copacino, who begins his tenure as the Downtown Seattle Association’s vice president of communications and marketing on Sept. 8, sat down for a Q&A ahead of his start. Get to know Chris:

Welcome to DSA. Can you tell us a little about your background and what brought you to this role?

I am Seattle born and raised. All provinciality aside, I have always loved our city, and especially downtown. After several years working in an advertising agency on some of our city and region’s most iconic brands, I was interested in leveraging my talents and skills in making more impact. I have always admired the DSA, so my desire to give back to the city I love, while utilizing my professional abilities to help drive the mission, were a perfect match.

What excites you most about this position?

Downtown Seattle has momentum. The team at DSA has led post-pandemic revitalization masterfully, working with the city, local partners and others to return our city to a safe and vibrant hub. And with that said and with all respect to the great progress made to date, we still have potential to realize and improvements to make happen. It’s impact that is exciting to be part of and help lead.

How will your vast communications and marketing experience shape your approach to telling downtown’s story?

Everyone loves a good story told. In marketing and communications that is often what we’re tasked to do: tell a story in service of driving an action, change perception and make an impact. And DSA has great stories to tell. I look forward to helping shape those stories, ensuring they come to life in the best manner and then direct them through the most appropriate channel(s). Starting every initiative with the simple, powerful framework of what do want our audience(s) to think, what do we want them to feel and what do we want them to do can provide the strong strategic foundation for effective stories to come to life.

What’s your vision for how DSA communicates with members, ratepayers, the public and other stakeholders?

I think the main focus is value. What is DSA’s permission to be speaking with these different audiences and what is the value we are offering? That needs to be piercingly clear. Attention and engagement is a value exchange with audiences and we need to deliver that in each touchpoint by making sure the story frame, channel and delivery all create high value for the message receiver. When they click, read, engage or do the action we want, we know we have been successful in this value exchange.

What are some of your favorite things to do downtown?

I personally love downtown Seattle and all it has to offer. My favorites are going to see the Mariners (my team) or another Seattle sports team play. Going to one of downtown Seattle’s many great restaurants — my favorites being The Pink Door, Il Terrazzo Carmine or Metropolitan Grill. I love walking the waterfront, especially now that it’s complete. And a stroll through Pike Place Market to pick up fresh ingredients for a dinner at home is an awesome experience.