Case Study
Visit Black Hawk: Live a Little, or Play a Lot
CLIENT NAME: VISIT BLACK HAWK
SCOPE: CREATIVE, MEDIA
CAMPAIGN: Live a Little, or Play a Lot
The Situation
How do you change what people believe about a place without losing what they already love?
Black Hawk had built a strong reputation around gaming. And while the casinos were a major draw, they were also shaping how people saw the community. For many travelers, Black Hawk was a place to gamble, rather than somewhere to escape for a few days. With dining, lodging, wellness, and more to experience, there was a bigger story waiting to be told. The opportunity was to expand what people believed a Black Hawk getaway could look like, from the excitement of the casino floor to a relaxing spa day, while giving new audiences more reasons to visit, especially during the week.
The Approach
We saw an opportunity to build on Black Hawk’s gaming reputation while introducing travelers to everything else the community had to offer.
Research revealed people were craving an easy escape from their everyday routines, with a little indulgence along the way. Our strategy brought gaming, dining, lodging, and wellness together under one creative idea: “Live a Little, or Play a Lot.” Larger-than-life characters and a playing-card-inspired visual world gave the campaign its personality, while a connected media strategy brought the experience to new audiences across the Front Range and beyond.
Summary
Meet the Players: Bringing Black Hawk’s Bigger Personality to Life
We brought Black Hawk’s experiences to life through a cast of larger-than-life characters, from the Sovereign of Slots to the Duchess of Deep Relax. A playing-card-inspired visual style carried the excitement of gaming into a bigger story about everything the community offers. Tied together by “Live a Little, or Play a Lot,” the campaign invited travelers to experience Black Hawk their way.
A Creative Vision Built to Go Everywhere
We brought the campaign to life through a coordinated photo and video production. Working alongside our production partner, we captured stylized content for everything from billboards and print to connected TV and social, giving each channel its own way to tell the story. Planning the production together helped us make more from every setup while keeping the characters, personality, and creative idea consistent wherever audiences encountered Black Hawk.
Taking Black Hawk’s Story Further
With a bigger Black Hawk story to share, we built a media strategy designed to reach beyond traditional gaming audiences and turn curiosity into trip planning. Connected TV, out-of-home, and custom print introduced the campaign to key audiences, while online video, social, and display gave travelers a closer look at the experiences waiting for them. Expedia, Vrbo, retargeting, and search helped connect the excitement to real travel decisions, giving audiences a path from discovering Black Hawk to planning their own getaway.
Results
TOTAL IMPRESSIONS
CONVERSIONS
VIDEO PLAYS
VIDEO COMPLETION RATE
