Most destinations tell you what to do when you get there. The Petoskey Area wanted to be defined by something else entirely: how you feel when you leave.

PETERMAYER created an entirely new brand world for the Petoskey Area Visitors Bureau back in April, alongside the launch of the destination’s “It’s Kinda Unreal” campaign. Rather than sell a checklist of things to do, “It’s Kinda Unreal” sought to leave audiences with the feeling of renewal the area provides. Over the summer, the campaign was responsible for $51 million in direct spending from 27,000 trips attributed to the work.  

Now, the effort shifts to winter, but the promise remains the same: the Petoskey Area is where you come to reset your inner compass. That means the snow paints the area in shades of wonder, blanketing the region’s vast backdrop of the surrounding Lake Michigan. “It’s Kinda Unreal” has one core idea: a place you have to see to believe needs to be seen more than once, and in more than one way.

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Credits:

Agency: PETERMAYER

Dave Damman—SVP, CCO

Joe Grundhoefer – Producer  

Greg Johnson—Studio Lead

Emily Bond – Studio Designer

Greta Besser—Senior Motion Designer

Tony Calcao – Creative Lead/Design  

Tom Adams – Creative Lead/Writer  

Kristy Baird – VP of Brand Management

Michelle Edelman – CEO, Chief Strategy Officer

Hezekiah McCaskill – Strategy Director

Mary Rose Kesser – Media Director

Caitlin Condy – Director of Project Management

Client:  

Jim Powell, Executive Director, Petoskey Area Visitors Bureau

Sarah Wiese, Marketing and Communications Director, Petoskey Area Visitors Bureau

Ellen Hillier, Digital Content Manager, Petoskey Area Visitors Bureau