Haywood County Branding Campaign
Insight: So, get the picture: In 2017, Haywood County, North Carolina’s quirky, award-winning “Hay Now” campaign made its way into the vocabulary of the marketplace and the local community, helping drive visitation significantly over its first four years. Entering the TDA’s 2022 budget year, there was a consensus that the campaign was due for a refresh coming out of the pandemic. The challenge was how to build on the campaign’s equity and take it to an even higher level that reflected the easygoing, whimsical personality of the original “Hay Now” campaign.
Vision: Walking away from the ”Hay Now” line was not an option, so the strategy was to develop a campaign theme that was anchored by the line and its distinctive logo. For ”Hay Now 2.0,” a headline convention that used the words, “Haywood you..” in every headline was developed. A fresh new look put the focus on visuals that highlighted the abundance of outdoor activities and in-town fun that can be had year-round in Haywood County.
Outcome: The campaign rolled out in the summer of 2022 and achieved three key objectives:
It was in keeping with the brand personality.
It tied into the previous campaign.
It reinforced the name of our destination in every headline we used.
We saw immediate results through dramatic increases in digital advertising CTRs and equally dramatic decreases in CPC. Website traffic? Up. Occupancy Tax revenues? Up. By every measure “Hay Now 2.0” moved the needle and contributed to taking the brand to a higher level. The campaign was an ESTO award finalist.
