Kentucky Proud

Kentucky Proud, the Commonwealth of Kentucky's agricultural marketing brand, enjoyed a high degree of brand recognition. But what we learned in our Pathfinder workshop was that recognition didn't translate to understanding: many consumers saw the brand as a stamp of certification, nothing more.

So we built a strategy around a single shift: from Stamp to Story. We identified three core audience archetypes, giving the Kentucky Proud team a shared vocabulary for who they're talking to and why. From there, we built a series of ad campaigns rooted in curated products and stories, spotlighting the farmers and makers who make Kentucky worth being proud of.

The results show the approach is resonating. Our holiday campaign earned a 4%+ click-through rate, and our Thanksgiving push drove 50,000 real visits to Kentucky Proud makers. Our work has become more than a brand strategy. Our partnership with Kentucky Proud is helping Kentucky tell its own story.