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The 100th anniversary of the NC State Parks presented an opportunity to reflect on a rich and historic past, a time to rejoice in the natural beauty of North Carolina, and an opportunity to renew a commitment to preserving these priceless treasures. It also presented an opportunity to rebrand for the future. When the NC State Parks set out to find a marketing partner to help them elevate the overall brand by leveraging the Centennial, their search led them to MSA.

• Increase visitation to each park
• Drive tourism in each park’s surrounding community
• Foster optimism and ongoing support of the parks system to ensure fiscal stability and its overall future
• Instill public pride in North Carolina’s natural resources and historic heritage
• Boost the economy across the state

With over 14 million visitors annually, the NC State Parks has captured the attention of audiences statewide and solidified foot traffic throughout the park system. Even with millions of North Carolinians venturing through the parks every year, public and private donations are staggeringly low. 

We began the project with an extensive brand discovery process designed to unearth the challenges facing the NC State Parks, determine current brand perceptions and identify opportunities presented by the Centennial.

Using stakeholder interviews and consumer surveys, we found some of the biggest challenges facing the NC State Parks were: 

• Maintaining an appropriate balance between preservation and recreation
• Securing consistent public and private support
• A general lack of awareness of nearby parks among North Carolina residents and visitors

Other key findings from our research included:

• The NC State Parks are seen as treasures and gems of North Carolina
• The NC State Parks and their unprecedented natural beauty are key differentiators in setting North Carolina apart from other states
• The wide variety of the NC State Parks with unique natural characteristics provides “something for everyone”
• With no entry fees and many locations across the state, the NC State Parks are accessible to everyone

A prevailing theme throughout our research was that early family memories of the NC State Parks seem to be a crucial catalyst in growing lifelong park enthusiasts. In addition, we found that enjoying nature and spending time with family and friends were key visitation motivators for the NC State Parks.

The Centennial presented an opportunity to foster a personal connection with the public and instill a sense of pride in North Carolina by telling the story of the NC States Parks system. A concerted marketing effort behind the Centennial would increase awareness, drive visitation and garner much-needed financial support. More importantly, the Centennial was an opportunity to engage new and younger audiences and nourish a lifelong love of the NC State Parks.

Fueled by research and core brand values, we explored several creative executions that communicated the story of the NC State Parks from different perspectives

The “Timeless Wonder” campaign was ultimately selected for its unique visual appeal that communicates natural beauty, family and friends, early memories, multi-generational appeal, pride, timelessness and the first hundred years—all within the boundaries of a single ad.

Media Strategy

To ensure the campaign message aligned with the media environment, we utilized:

• Lifestyle/travel magazines to provide a beautiful environment alongside relevant contact and to target North Carolina residents.
• Outdoor boards to provide an opportunity for contextual advertising and promotion of outdoor activity for people on the go.

We also targeted high concentrations of the population with:

• Strategic outdoor boards in heavily trafficked areas.
• Digital media specifically targeted to metro areas in North Carolina.

100,000 Likes For 100 Years

To promote the NC State Parks Centennial, MSA also created a social media campaign designed to grow overall brand awareness and build community. Over the summer of 2016, we encouraged social media users to both “share” and “like” the NC State Parks Facebook page. Our goal was to achieve 100,000 “likes” for 100 years. To incentivize this effort, the NC State Parks included both a weekly prize and a grand prize. The Parks promoted the contest across all social media outlets, pushing consumers back to the Facebook page with a direct link.

By utilizing social media, we were able to tap into the pride North Carolinians have in the parks system—a research finding uncovered by both a consumer survey and stakeholder interviews. This effort pushed the Centennial Celebration to the forefront of social media messaging, and increased overall brand awareness by reaching untapped social media audiences.

By reaching—and exceeding—our goal of 100,000 “likes”, the social network for the NC State Parks grew exponentially larger with more people talking about the Parks, engaging and sharing their posts, and bringing more people into the fold. Ultimately, the increased following allowed the Parks to foster relationships with potential partners and sponsors. In the end, we succeeded in building a more engaged social media community on Facebook for the entire parks system.

In addition to the campaign, MSA explored a new graphic identity to update the look and feel of the logo for the new century ahead. 

Despite destruction wreaked by Hurricane Matthew on the coast, and unprecedented wildfires that closed state parks in the western part of the state, the NC State Parks saw a record number of visitors in 2016. The 18.8 million visitors that year represented a 9% increase in traffic over 2015. In addition, the NC State Parks secured a number of new strategic partnerships including Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC), Subway Restaurants, REI, and the Outdoor Provisions Company.