Continuing our look back on favorite ADDY Award winners over the years, today we look at a campaign chosen by Art Director Heather Young.
Abingdon, Virginia is located about two hours southwest of Roanoke, where our office is located and about 30 minutes from the Virginia-Tennessee border. It's a small town of about 8,000 residents in the Blue Ridge Mountains of southwest Virginia. From that quick description you might assume it is a sleepy little town with not much to do. You would be very wrong.
Abingdon is home to three extraordinary tourism draws that a city of any size would love to have.
• The Virginia Creeper Trail – a great rails-to-trails conversion that offers a scenic 35 mile route through the mountains.
• The Barter Theatre – a historic playhouse where stars like Gregory Peck, Patricia Neal and Ernest Borgnine performed.
• The Martha Washington Inn and Spa – a historic property that once served as a private residence, then a make-shift hospital during the Civil War and is currently a four-star hotel located on Abingdon's charming Main Street.
The 2014 award-winning entry that Heather chose is an integrated campaign that utilized several media. The creative work on this campaign was a follow-up to the branding strategy that we had recently completed, so our team had an in-depth understanding of the brand, its goals, its personality and all of the research behind it. The underlying message “It’s always play time in Abingdon” perfectly turns the truth of the brand into a fun consumer message. Reflecting on the campaign, Heather commented, “The Abingdon tourism campaign utilized a wide variety of Mikula-Harris’ capabilities – strategy, branding, print, web, online, out of home, video, etc. The different elements incorporated clever copy with vivid, energetic design,” she said.
There is one more reason why this creative work is a favorite of our talented Art Director. “This is very dear to my heart because it showcases the region where I grew up and lets others see some of the hidden gems of Southwest Virginia that I have always known and loved."
Note: Check out the branding case study and see the award-winning work on our website.
