With such an incredible bounty of food, music, history and culture, there’s no other state that can feed your soul quite like Louisiana. And that’s exactly the message the state will convey to the world under a new brand unveiled today by Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser at the Louisiana Travel Promotion Association’s Annual Meeting in Lafayette.
The Louisiana: Feed Your Soul strategy will target travelers who are in constant pursuit of enjoyment by showing them how easy that is to attain in Louisiana – and how it can be found in so many different forms. The brand’s key takeaway is that Louisiana isn’t just for spectators, but rather active participants who truly want to feed their soul. Those who don’t want to only live in the moment, but BE the moment.
The new Louisiana: Feed Your Soul brand was created after six months of research, testing and analysis led by Miles Partnership, a strategic marketing company focused exclusively on travel and tourism. It replaces the previous brand, Pick Your Passion, which had been used for the past seven years and wasn’t resonating as strongly within the state’s target markets.
“I am thankful for the hard work of Miles Partnership, the marketing firm we tasked with rebranding Louisiana,” Nungesser said. “They approached the task of creating a new brand like a business, with research driving the entire campaign and leading every strategic decision. Louisiana: Feed Your Soul will be a highly effective call to action, because it appeals to both locals and visitors alike.”
Today’s launch of the new brand is the culmination of six months of rebranding research and analysis. That process began in July 2017 with a Louisiana Image Study conducted by Longwoods International, the world’s foremost travel research company, and led by Longwoods chairman George Zimmerman, the former State Travel Director from Michigan responsible for the successful Pure Michigan campaign. The results of that study showed Louisiana had a strong image across a number of attributes when paired against competitors like Texas, Tennessee, Georgia and South Carolina.
During the next phase of work, 11 on-camera interviews of influential travel industry stakeholders were conducted, and an online survey was sent to all members of the Louisiana Travel Promotion Association. An additional Google online consumer survey sent to 250 prospective travelers gathered their insight on how brand assets were perceived.
In September, Downs & St. Germain Research conducted two focus groups in Dallas, Atlanta, Denver and Toronto to gain a deeper understanding of the perceptions consumer had of Louisiana by having them review the new brand description, mood boards, logos, taglines, fonts and sample ads. One of the Toronto groups also was conducted in Mandarin to survey non-English speaking participants as well.
“We tested six logos and the winning logo scored highest in every single focus group and in every single demographic,” said Downs & St. Germain Senior Partner Phillip Downs. “In our 30 years of research experience, no logo for any destination or brand has achieved this level of dominance against all other logos tested.”
Added Lt. Gov. Nungesser: “This exciting new brand will offer travelers a new outlook – that you may come to Louisiana hungry, but you’ll leave with your soul full of all the rewarding experiences we offer. There is truly nowhere else in the world that can feed your soul like we can.”
The new brand will be rolled out on Mardi Gras Day in a big way, with branded Louisiana: Feed Your Soul food trucks serving a taste of Louisiana in Atlanta, Houston, Dallas and Washington, DC. While it may be just another Tuesday in the rest of the country, these Louisiana-wrapped trucks will hand out king cake, beads and cups to promote the new brand while creating unique, memorable and high-profile experiences in these markets.
The trucks and their Louisiana ambassadors will be stationed in high-traffic locations for the lunch rush and happy-hour crowds, and will move around to maximize exposure while in each city. Food truck guests will also be able to register for a chance to win their own trip for two to come feed their soul in Louisiana.
