The Boar\u2019s Head Inn in Charlottesville, Virginia occupies a particular position in the Mid-Atlantic hospitality landscape \u2014 a AAA Four Diamond country resort affiliated with the University of Virginia, set against the Blue Ridge Mountains, with an Old Mill Room dining room that had earned 16 consecutive Four Diamond awards, an intimate spa, championship golf, and meeting facilities capable of hosting groups that demand both professional-grade conference infrastructure and the kind of unhurried elegance that only a genuine country inn provides. The positioning line said it plainly: a country resort at the University of Virginia. The creative challenge was to make each of the inn\u2019s distinct offerings feel like the primary reason to go \u2014 without any of them contradicting the others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Serving as creative director, account executive, and photography director as a contractor through The Meridian Group, I developed and produced a segmented print advertising campaign system built around a single unifying campaign line: \u201cIt\u2019s at the heart of our charming inn.\u201d The line did precisely what a good campaign line should \u2014 it answered every question the campaign asked while reinforcing the inn’s essential character with each repetition. Each ad led with a direct question addressed to a specific audience motivation, then answered it with the same quiet confidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For the leisure escape market: \u201cLooking for a Captivating Blue Ridge Resort Escape?\u201d For the meetings market: \u201cLooking for an Unrivaled Resort Meeting Destination?\u201d For the dining market: \u201cLooking for an Epicurean Destination?\u201d \u2014 with the Old Mill Room\u2019s 16 consecutive AAA Four Diamond Awards doing the persuasion work in the body copy. For the spa market: \u201cLooking for Your Own Personal Oasis?\u201d \u2014 accompanied by a $99 Lavender Salt Body Scrub promotional piece that made the spa feel accessible as well as luxurious. Rate promotional executions \u2014 Summer Midweek Rates from $139, Summer Sunday Brunch at $49 \u2014 completed the system, giving the campaign direct response capability alongside the brand advertising.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Photography direction was conducted on location at the resort \u2014 a more extensive production than the parallel Kingsmill Resort engagement, involving both property photography and model setups across the guest rooms, the Old Mill Room dining room, the spa treatment areas, the fireside sitting areas, and the grounds. Each setup was directed to carry the warmth, intimacy, and unhurried quality that the campaign line promised. The photography didn’t illustrate the ads. It was the ads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n