Challenge
Kentucky Proud had near-universal recognition in the state, but recognition without comprehension is a fragile thing. Most Kentuckians couldn’t articulate what the brand actually was or did. Before any awareness campaign could work, the strategic foundations needed reworking.
Approach
I led a Pathfinder workshop with the Kentucky Proud leadership team and developed a strategy centered on a shift from Stamp to Story. We wanted to shift perception of Kentucky Proud as a passive gatekeeper to an active storyteller, and a Sage archetype guiding Kentucky to all the diverse products grown, raised, and made by Kentuckians.
We began this repositioning with a Thanksgiving and Holiday awareness campaign in late 2025. The campaign focused on products and tied them directly to values that drove three main audience segments: discovery, tradition, and nostalgia. I developed all three creative concepts for the campaign, wrote all creative and ad copy, contributed directional sketches that informed final executions, and provided creative strategy and direction all the way up to delivery.
