The Challenge

Anchored by Beavers Bend State Park, this beautiful, mountainous area of southeastern Oklahoma was too much of a well-kept secret. McCurtain County needed to make it easier for visitors to know and love it.

The Goal

Attract overnight visitors to 800-plus cabins in the woods.

The Solution

We tackled the rebrand from the ground up, targeting select audiences in nearby Dallas-Fort Worth. We created and executed the brand’s identity and omnichannel media campaigns, developed photo and video libraries, and rebuilt the website from scratch, including a searchable database of properties.

The Results

With a small staff and limited resources, McCurtain County Tourism Authority entrusted us with the brand in 2013, and our partnership has spurred growth in the area ever since. McCurtain County now boasts more than 2,600 cabins, bed tax revenues of more than $1.3 million per year — up from less than $500,000 — and overnight visitors have spent more than $500 million. By 2018, more than 1,700 people — 14% of total employees — were employed in the tourism industry there.

160%

Increase in bed tax revenues

$500 million

Spent by overnight visitors, 2013-2018

225%

Increase in overnight cabins

In the Client’s Words

“Differentiation is key in our business. We believe we have a unique community, and we needed to find a group of creative thinkers who could quickly understand how to take our brand to the next level and allow us to compete regionally and nationally. The experience, passion, and creativity exerted on our account was exactly what our community needed.” — Charity O’Donnell, executive director, McCurtain County Tourism Authority