Drum Awards – Animation
Telly Awards  – B2B & Digital Environments
Palmetto Award
NAGC Awards

The Challenge: Reversing Decades of Outdated Perception

South Carolina was booming economically, but the brand hadn't caught up. Perceptions among global investors still lagged, leaning toward "old economy" instead of the reality of advanced manufacturing, life sciences, and tech. The challenge was to secure buy-in for a comprehensive economic repositioning that would reverse outdated perceptions and align business, government, and public opinion around a powerful, modern story.

​

The Pitch & Action: Conceiving the "Shoulders of Giants" Strategy

As Group Creative Director, my role was to serve as the conceptual authority, selling and executing this massive shift. I was the creative strategist, the pitch leader, writer and the creative director.

• Selling the Narrative & Talent Strategy: I conceived and drove the high-level strategy, "The Shoulders of Giants," to prove the state's new identity through authentic executive voices from BMW, Nephron Pharmaceuticals and Sonoco. Crucially, I designed the creative strategy around talent attraction, coining the core theme: "work where you love." This reframed South Carolina not just as a location for manufacturing, but as a hub for the "new economy," directly addressing the C-suite's most pressing need: attracting top talent away from the established urban centers.

• Designing the Future: This wasn't only a campaign, but an entire brand positioning and identity during a make or brak moment for the state's economic growth.

• Persuasion & C-Suite Execution: I successfully persuaded the Governor’s office and C-suite leaders (including BMW executives) to star in the campaign—unscripted—to prove the state’s authenticity. I managed the logistics of filming these busy, high-profile figures.

• End-to-End Production & Craft: I directed a technically complex cinematic anthem to ensure the state's image matched its ambition, coordinating live-action with technocranes, compositing, and CG integration.

• Strategic Alignment: I personally managed the alignment of sensitive messaging across the Governor’s office, commerce partners, and international investors, ensuring the creative output was politically sound yet creatively fearless.

​

The ROI: Redefining Economic Identity and Driving Investment

This complete brand overhaul redefined the creative standard for economic development marketing, translating conceptual bravery into measurable economic growth:

• Measurable Growth: Generated a year-over-year surge in relocation and investment inquiries, leading to South Carolina's strongest economic growth in decades.

• Multiple award-winning campaign that helped secure over $20B in economic investments and 15K new jobs within two years.

• Global Reach: Secured 65M+ global impressions across business and trade media.

• Cultural Adoption: The Launch to Legacy platform was adopted internally as the official state platform for economic storytelling.

• Validation: Earned top honors from The Drum Awards and Telly Awards, validating the creative risk as industry-leading.