Flying the Flag of West Virginia’s Flagship.

Background

According to a January 2024 brand survey, WVU’s presence, particularly in smaller towns, has declined. This out of home creative campaign aims to revitalize local pride in the university, increase brand awareness, and improve brand sentiment among West Virginians.

The Approach

To keep WVU top of mind in a rural state, we needed a tactile direction. We distributed large, WVU-branded flags to selected individuals and small businesses across key locations in every West Virginia county, reinforcing WVU’s role as the state’s “flag”ship institution. We developed a website to share user generated content, created videos and gathered a huge number of photo assets while traveling across West Virginia. And, of course, we climbed a mountain or two.