The city of Dallas, Texas, had an image problem. The stereotypes built by the Dallas TV show from the ’80s and the old “everything’s bigger in Texas” mantra weren’t helping. But with a sprawling arts district, acres of parks and plenty of things to see and do, our clients mandated that we find a new identity—one about more than size. But when we asked our residents, the only thing they could agree that the city stood for was one word: BIG.

BIG is timeless, ownable equity that defines who we are. So we made the decision to embrace it but also give it a new meaning.

Idea: BIG isn’t just about size anymore—it’s about unforgettable moments.

Changing the perspective of the city had to start right here with our residents. We helped them regain city pride and inspired them to share it with business and leisure travellers alike.

When countless BIG moments began to echo across the web, people started to listen. Letting people become the I in BIG helped them experience the city in a way they never had before. By inspiring them to step into the middle of a BIG moment, we were able to turn a physical representation of our campaign into an emotional response—all the while letting our residents become our BIGGEST brand ambassadors in a way that felt natural to them.

Results were measured on VisitDallas.com, across social media and by the number of hotel rooms booked.

· Facebook fans grew 713%

· Twitter followers grew 110%

· VisitDallas.com traffic increased 67%

· Unique visitors grew 30% year over year

· Engagement: over 12K photos posted to #DallasBIG

· Consumer sentiment score: 84%, + 50% improvement over general chatter = changed perception

· 1,504,229 hotel rooms booked, a 5% increase from previous year

Dallas BIG was created to change how the city was perceived, starting with its residents and growing to include visitors. Because traditional advertising alone couldn’t change the way people viewed Dallas, we put the campaign in the hands of our residents, inspiring them to capture and share their BIG moments.

Print: Launched the campaign. Ran nationally and internationally to show that BIG moments happen in Dallas.

Billboards: Billboards were used locally and in national markets.

Transit: We created a bus shelter in downtown Chicago that put people in the middle of a BIG moment.

Social: Six-foot-tall B & G letters were placed at popular locations around Dallas. People stood in-between to make themselves the I in BIG and shared using #DallasBIG.

Digital: Banner ads and preroll videos ran nationally.

TV: 30sec. spots ran in Dallas as well as nationally.

Radio: Spots ran regionally, inviting people from neighbouring states to visit.