For a funky good time,
Come See Augusta.
Come See Augusta
Covid-19 hit the travel industry like a ton of Augusta bricks. Luckily for the Augusta Convention & Visitors Bureau, they already had a new campaign in the works at W/S. Even with all the restaurant closures and hotel vacancies this summer, Augusta has a lot to be proud of. If you don’t believe us… come see us.
Agency Services
Strategy
Branding
Perception Surveys
Visual Identity
Campaign Development
Paid Media
Collateral Design
Merchandise Design
Custom Illustration
What’s the deal?
For years, we’ve seen the landscape in Augusta evolve. Sure, we still have some vacant buildings downtown, but we also have Noble Jones, Bodega Ultima, the canal, the river, Frog Hollow, the Miller, the Imperial, Edgar’s Above Broad… You get the picture. We have plenty of stuff to create an AWESOME weekend itinerary in Augusta.
What can we do?
After surveying past visitors and doing our industry research, we found our challenges. Most folks were coming to Augusta to visit friends or family. They obviously weren’t coming for a beach, an amusement park or a zoo. They were coming to spend time with friends enjoying brunch on the patio, drinks on a rooftop, outdoor attractions, etc. So how do we send them to the places the locals enjoy most?
Plain and simple. We asked the people.
Tons of local Augustans completed an online survey telling us their favorite restaurants, attractions and activities. Their responses heavily directed this campaign.
The Strategy
A glance in the Augusta Convention & Visitors Bureau mirror. In March of 2020, W/S developed three brand perception surveys to better understand ACVB’s audiences: leisure travelers, community partners and event planner contacts. The online surveys were deployed via email and social media. All data collected informed our strategies and communications from that point forward. The original survey was sent to a list of 3,956 existing email addresses.
“You have to embrace the idea of people being downtown and living there. That means art, different art, CULTURE , DIFFERENT CULTURES, AND WORLD CLASS FOOD. The food is what people talk about. When the food is great people will talk. And you compound that with the biggest tournament in the world and there you have it. Nobody will go anywhere if they don’t have a reason to. Shine that light for me to make these decisions to go downtown.”
— Survey Respondent
The Perception
Only 2.5% of travelers surveyed described Augusta as “youthful”. Followed with only 4.7% describing the destination as “trendy” or “fresh”. Only 1 of every 5 respondents described Augusta as “fun”. We personally know tons of fun stuff in the city. Clearly, we’ve got a perception issue. Some good news, 40.2% of respondents described Augusta as “charming” and 29.7% called it “authentic”. And only 1% said Augusta was expensive. Now we’re getting somewhere…
The Purpose
Our research showed that most folks are coming to Augusta to visit family and friends (41.4%) or to enjoy the restaurant scene (39.2%). The vast majority of those travelers arrived by car (84.5%), not a bad way to get around during Covid. In fact, in April of this year, reports showed air traffic down by 95%. People began taking road trips when planes felt too risky. Cars were the top transportation choice, favored by 97% according to a study by AAA.
The Path
As soon as we knew who our target was and what they were coming here for, we knew our message should focus on our biggest asset – our people. The diverse, fun, energetic, vibrant, charming, authentic folks that call this city home. They’re bringing our visitors here, so let’s amp up these defacto tour guides. Their personally curated weekend itineraries take the spotlight in this campaign.
The Creative
That’s the plan.
In order to get our talent secured, we asked the CVB’s social followers to send in their ideal weekend in Augusta’s River Region. From fishing and family-style buffets, to fancy rooftop cocktails and dancing the night away, the itineraries submitted reminded us of the diversity this city offers. After perusing all 150 entries, we identified a few standout locals to help tell our story.
The locals are on display.
From bars and restaurants to history, art and special events, our locals do a great job inviting potential visitors to come check us out. Ads lead to individual landing pages highlighting our locals’ curated itineraries, along with links to other popular Augusta attractions.
Get Up Offa That Thing
The campaign launched in September 2020 with a live-streamed Press Conference, out of market media buy, local billboards and a Covid-friendly online giveaway for locals to win free swag, mailed directly to their homes by our friends at Showpony.
Bennish Brown, CEO – Augusta Convention & Visitors Bureau
“With this new campaign we’re building the destination brand for the benefit of locals and visitors. We’re highlighting what separates Augusta from other destinations saying loud and proud what we can authentically promise and deliver. Our community will benefit from having this exciting and defining identity and campaign to rally behind.”
All in the family.
Over time, we expanded the Come See Augusta campaign to include a variety of submarks to represent different events and initiatives under the main campaign umbrella. Authentic Augusta launched in 2022—a curated collection of experiences representing the best attractions Augusta has to offer.
The Takeaway
That felt good.
We gotta say.
“Consumers today can sniff out inauthentic content in a heartbeat. The perception surveys and local feedback were a big part of making that connection with this campaign. ”
— Beth James / Account Director
“Digging into Augusta’s visual history was the best way to bring an ownable and relevant style to this campaign. Bright colors and loud typography reference our heritage, and when integrated with photography of our city’s vibrant citizens, showcase Augusta as a can’t-miss cultural destination.”
— Rachel Baker / Designer
“It's no secret we're huge fans of Augusta. It's been incredible to work with the talented team at the Augusta CVB to create a campaign that truly gets to the heart of the matter...our city's SOUL is defined by the people who live here. And, we believe that's a key component to telling our story and attracting visitors to experience what we love about our home.”