Discover Oshkosh had recently launched a new brand and needed a dynamic awareness and storytelling campaign to highlight its refreshed identity and tagline, "Anything But Ordinary." Their goal was to create a standout marketing campaign that celebrated Oshkosh’s hidden gems—highlighting unique experiences that both visitors and residents might not have discovered yet.
We loved their vision and saw a great opportunity to bring it to life, so we jumped in with enthusiasm. To kick things off, we hosted a project visioning session with the Discover Oshkosh team to align on campaign goals, brand voice and tone, and creative direction. Discover Oshkosh had a desire to boost digital engagement through impressions, likes, and shares, while also sparking positive online conversations about everything Oshkosh has to offer.
From the start, we knew social media videos would be the cornerstone of the campaign - our showcase content. Discover Oshkosh had already identified the perfect ambassador: a local with a background in travel and a genuine passion for the brand.
The result? "Why I Love Oshkosh,” featuring 30-year resident ambassador Patrick Tracey as "The Tour Guide You Never Knew You Needed." With his high-energy and fun approach, Pat takes viewers on a journey to explore Oshkosh’s hidden gems and offers off-the-beaten-path recommendations, encouraging everyone to be a “tourist in their own town.”
The social media videos were just the spark - we knew we wanted the campaign to be fully integrated and give people more ways to engage and explore Discover Oshkosh. We recommended blogs and a dedicated landing page on the website to house all video and blog content in one place. The blogs featured insider tips and behind-the-scenes photos, adding depth to the campaign. Between videos, Pat took on a public relations role, making appearances on local radio stations to amplify the campaign’s reach and bring even more visibility to “Why I Love Oshkosh.”
Our efforts paid off in 2024. Why I Love Oshkosh was a standout success on social media, drawing 539,100 views and 8,981 engagements while showcasing the city’s charm. The campaign also fueled audience growth, with Discover Oshkosh gaining 4,300 new Facebook followers and 2,100 new Instagram followers.
The top video, "Drive-Ins" featuring Ardy & Ed’s and Leon’s, reached 88,462 people, earned over 1,000 reactions, comments, and shares, and racked up 141,421 plays.
The Discover Oshkosh website saw a massive increase, with the campaign bringing in significant increases in page views, traffic, and engagement. Blog views alone jumped 75%, showcasing the power of the campaign’s impact on audiences looking to learn more.
"We knew we needed a fresh campaign to elevate awareness of our new brand at Discover Oshkosh, and Showcase Communications was the perfect partner to bring it to life. They thoughtfully handled every detail- coordinating the team, solidifying the creative vision, and refining key metrics. The Why I Love Oshkosh series, featuring Pat the tour guide you never knew you needed, has been such a fun and engaging way to showcase our local businesses and events. We’re thrilled with the community’s response and couldn’t have asked for a better collaborator!"
