BELLE FOURCHE, S.D.—Brand USA, the destination marketing organization for the United States, has launched United Stories, a mobile content creation lab that will travel the United States capturing stories told from local perspectives to inspire international travelers to visit the United States. Content creators, storytellers, and influencers will visit various points of interest, events, and attractions across the country in visually arresting vehicles branded with #UnitedStories.
To successfully execute this storytelling strategy, Brand USA has partnered with Beautiful Destinations, the world’s largest tourism community on social media and a global media brand dedicated to capturing best-in-class travel content. The partnership will allow Brand USA to continuously generate content at the speed of consumption and showcase the breadth and depth of the country.
To kick-off the campaign, Brand USA is collaborating with French street artist Etienne Bardelli to create a high-impact design for the content creation vehicles. Inspired by iconic American graphics such as state flags and vintage National Park posters, the pattern creates an instantly identifiable, uniform design.
“As a nation, we want to share our stories with the world and invite them to experience our people and destinations first-hand. United Stories will help travelers understand places more deeply, meet real people, and uncover local perspectives to activate their wanderlust,” said Tom Garzilli, chief marketing officer of Brand USA. “Global travelers are increasingly looking for local experiences that can’t be found in travel brochures. This campaign is an open invitation to visit the USA, experience the warmth of the American people, and engage with the vast diversity of our destinations. A trip to the United States is perpetually new.”
United Stories will launch in South Dakota, where the town of Belle Fourche is the geographic center of the United States. To further amplify the narratives of South Dakota, United Stories has teamed up with six travel influencers who collectively reach an audience of more than 7 million social media followers worldwide. They include: Jack Morris, from the UK, @doyoutravel; Lauren Bullen, from Australia, @gypsea_lust; Jacob Riglin, from the UK, @jacob; Jordan Hammond, from the UK, @jordhammond; Max Muench, from Germany, @muenchmax; and Alyssa Lynch, from Canada, @alyssalynch.
The campaign will emphasize that the United States is a collection of places and experiences whose spirit is found in the diversity of its people, as well as those visitors who have explored its culture, roots, and roads.
