Madrid is putting its invisible heartbeat at the centre of a new global tourism campaign, as Madrid Turismo by IFEMA MADRID launches “Madrid Beats” to position the Spanish capital and its surrounding region as a premium destination for long-haul travellers.
Developed by Havas Creative Spain, the campaign introduces an “invisible heart” as a new symbol for Madrid’s energy, lifestyle and cultural identity. The platform will roll out across 13 markets spanning North America, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America, including Singapore, China, Japan and South Korea.
At the centre of “Madrid Beats” is a two-minute film following a tourist who discovers Madrid’s invisible heart and is swept along by its rhythm across the city’s streets, landscapes and history. Along the journey, the protagonist encounters figures such as Ava Gardner, Ernest Hemingway, Francisco de Goya and Diego Velázquez, who are portrayed as having found their own connection to the city’s energy.
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The campaign aims to move beyond conventional destination marketing by turning an intangible quality of Madrid into a recognisable brand asset. The invisible heart will also live beyond the campaign, with a large-scale sculpture inspired by rock types found across the Region of Madrid planned as a physical manifestation of the new icon.
Juan Manuel Sánchez, marketing director at IFEMA MADRID, said the campaign forms part of a broader strategy to strengthen Madrid’s positioning among increasingly global audiences by connecting the city, its wider region and its cultural energy.
Carmina Serrano, director of Madrid Turismo by IFEMA MADRID, said “Madrid Beats” was designed as a long-term communication platform rather than a one-off campaign.
The new approach also marks a shift in how Madrid Turismo manages its international marketing. Rather than working with 17 different international agencies, the organisation has consolidated the creative and media operation under a single agency network managed directly from Spain.
This allows the campaign to maintain a consistent creative direction while adapting its media strategy and execution to local market insights, according to Serrano.
Havas has also built out the campaign across multiple touchpoints. Alongside the hero film, the visual campaign features 17 creative executions developed by Chilean photographer Rocío Aguirre, who offered her interpretation of Madrid’s “invisible heartbeat” across different locations in the city and region.
The campaign’s visual identity was created by T.O.T. Studio, drawing on details from Madrid’s streets, including shapes, colours and historical typography.
The film was produced by ROMA and directed by Nono Ayuso, with American actor Walton Goggins providing the voiceover. The original soundtrack was composed by Paulo Gallo, while cinematography was led by Ana Francesca Solano.
On the media side, Havas Media Network is prioritising video through Connected TV and YouTube, supported by OOH, social media, cinema, influencer marketing and branded content partnerships with publications in each market.
For Madrid Turismo, the international rollout is intended to strengthen the destination’s position among high-value travellers while building a distinctive identity that can be carried across tourism, culture and business communications.
“’Madrid Beats’ is a new communication platform built to endure over time, with the goal of positioning Madrid as a top destination for high-value travelers. Our purpose is to bring consistency to this ambitious campaign across all touchpoints in 13 target markets,” said Carmina Serrano, director of Madrid Turismo by IFEMA MADRID.
“To execute the project, we introduced a new working methodology — shifting from a model involving 17 different international agencies to consolidating everything under a single agency network managed directly from Spain. This allows us to craft the creative vision using local insights while executing a global media strategy tailored to each country,” she added.
In addition, Jesús Rasines, CCO of Havas Creative Network Spain, said the challenge was to translate Madrid’s distinct identity and energy into a symbol that could be recognised beyond Spain.
“Madrid has a distinct identity and energy, but the challenge was finding a concept that could synthesize them and make them recognizable beyond our borders. That’s why this campaign stems from a simple yet powerful idea: turning what makes Madrid unique—its lifestyle, character, and the energy you feel when exploring it—into a symbol strong enough to transcend traditional tourism advertising,” said Rasines.
“Our goal wasn’t just to talk about Madrid to the world, but to build a distinctive, recognizable brand territory capable of driving the city’s positioning as one of the world’s leading urban destinations,” he added.
With “Madrid Beats”, the agency is positioning that energy not simply as a message about Madrid, but as a visual and cultural territory that can continue to evolve beyond the campaign itself.
Madrid’s approach comes as destination marketers across Asia Pacific also look to build more distinctive, ownable identities for their cities. Hong Kong Tourism Board, for instance, is set to launch its “Only in Hong Kong” global platform, using the city’s neon lights, colours and cultural character to spotlight experiences that can only be found in Hong Kong. The platform will replace its “Hello Hong Kong” campaign and continue to sit alongside the city’s “Asia’s World City” positioning.
Meanwhile, Singapore Tourism Board’s “We don’t wait for fun” campaign takes a similarly experience-first approach, targeting younger travellers with short-form content built around unexpected, distinctly Singaporean experiences. Rather than selling the destination through a single landmark or tourism proposition, the campaign showcases how visitors can move between neighbourhoods, entertainment, food and adventure with minimal friction. Its always-on approach, spanning social, digital, OOH and partnerships across nine markets, reflects the growing emphasis among destination marketers on keeping cities culturally relevant and top of mind beyond traditional tourism advertising.
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