Summer is upon us, and so too is the 2024 Olympics. Not that we needed a reason to tune in, but it’s always delightful to see longtime client USA Fencing take the international spotlight. Swing by our office the week of July 29, we might just have the bouts pulled up in the conference room all week.
Here’s where we’ve been, what we’ve been up to and what we’re looking forward to.
Home of the Brave
Timed to Independence Day, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts announced a partnership with its Gatlinburg neighbor, Ole Smoky Distillery, to raise additional funds for its Veteran Scholarship program. The program provides veteran servicemen and women the opportunity to experience the healing power of hands-on making. We’re proud to have supported the development of the school’s “Crafting a Heritage for Heroes” campaign through the creation of a landing page, mark, anthem video and additional marketing materials.
Speaking of freedom, we also paid a visit to our friends in Sioux Falls at the South Dakota Governor’s Office on Economic Development to kick off the start of a new multi-year contract and the extension of its well-received and highly successful “Freedom Works Here” campaign.
And what better way to exercise your freedom, than to get out and vote? Our research team recently partnered with Ballot Builder, an organization that helps others create non-partisan voter guides with the goal of (better) informing voters, creating a stronger turnout and aiding Get Out To Vote campaigns. We’ve collaborated with its team on custom research, strategy and message development to better position its technology as it sets its eyes on the upcoming election.
Turning our attention back to Gatlinburg, our research team has also been busy assisting Ole Red to better understand its visitors, as the department recently conducted intercept surveys at the popular attraction.
Fly on Over to See Rock City
Two other projects we’ve been hard at work on recently are new websites for McGhee Tyson Airport, our beloved hometown airport, and See Rock City. Rock City is a major and iconic (those barns, IYKYK) tourism attraction in the area, nestled atop Lookout Mountain in Georgia. But it’s far more than barns, gnomes and a scenic seven-state overlook, and we’re excited to bring its new site to life.
We love TYS, and we recently flew out to an activation in Milwaukee for Marcus Theaters to promote the recent Gosling-Blunt film The Fall Guy — 5 stars, by the way. Staying true to the storyline in the film, we worked with Wisconsin-based motorcycle stunt drivers, Twinstunts, to take over a theater parking lot and put on a show before the show.
Now, to turn our sights to a different kind of biking—mountain biking. We’ve partnered with WildSide in Pigeon Forge, a new property offering guided UTV tours and expansive mountain biking trails, to support its grand opening and beyond with a staged paid media campaign.
Team Updates
Senior Art Director Katie Marshall is slipping out of the office for a few weeks to use our Remote Plus policy (work anywhere remotely for two non-consecutive weeks) from Sicily. Don’t be surprised if our creative work has a bit of a Mediterranean flair for the next few weeks.
Back at HQ, we’ll be celebrating a few folks (Katie included) who are coming up on milestones with the agency. It seems summer is a time we’ve been more inclined to expand our team. So, if you see these DSers pop up in your email, please help us congratulate and celebrate them on their work anniversaries.
- Stephan Zerambo, 13 Years
- Hunter Foster, 9 Years
- Brad Carpenter, 6 Years
- Katie Marshall, 6 Years
- Ryan Lee, 6 Years
- Madelyn Cunningham, 5 Years
- Caroline Duggan, 3 Years
- Chelsea Penticuff, 3 Years
- Courtney Borgers, 3 Years
- Jessica Thompson, 3 Years
- Allie Torres-Lopez, 2 Years
- Cole Pawlaczyk, 2 Years
- Shianne Warner, 2 Years
- Lindsay Jones, 1 Year
- Yojna Katre, 1 Year
As always, more to come — and we can’t wait.
