Northwest Arkansas Council's Tempting Campaign Convinces People to Relocate

This campaign from the Northwest Arkansas Council and full service creative and media agency Walrus, sets out to enlighten people to the idea that Northwest Arkansas is the place where ambitious people go to craft a fulfilling life.

Bearing the tagline, 'Life Works Here,' the campaign takes an honest and light-hearted approach to highlighting all that Northwest Arkansas has to offer – a more progressive way of living, working, and playing – promoting the region to STEM, tech, creative and entrepreneurial types who may not have NW Arkansas on their radar. This is not a tourism campaign, but a relocation campaign; an integrated effort launching with a series of TV spots that paint a picture of NW Arkansas (three Fortune 500 companies, start-ups, biking, aviation, art, food, etc) all playfully told from the standpoint of the relocator as they attempt explain their destination choice to their friends and loved ones who may not quite ‘get it’.

“For the films, we tapped into the mindset of somebody who is about to move to NWA. At some point, that person has to break the news to their family — a tough sell when many people outside the region have perceptions of the area that are stuck in the 1950’s. We used that imagined moment to meet our audience where they are, and to say that actually, it’s not what everyone thinks. It’s surprisingly really cool,” said Jillian Dresser, creative director, Walrus.

The TV spots (digital and connected TV), as well as OOH ads and short-form social videos, are rolling out across Seattle, Denver, Minneapolis and Austin markets. Two digital activations coming in October will support the relocation campaign in creative, participatory ways – one will be a slideshow generator allowing people to create a funny PowerPoint presentation to help them explain to friends and family why they are relocating to NW Arkansas, and the other will be a Zillow ‘Smack Down’ which is a website where people can plug in their current city and view a competitive Zillow home listing in NW Arkansas.  

This is the first major advertising push from Walrus for the Northwest Arkansas Council. They have been working with them since 2020 when they tapped them to lead all branding, logo and tagline for a regional moving incentive program created and launched in partnership with FleishmanHillard that encouraged people to consider NW Arkansas. It was a successful campaign that generated 30K submissions (and counting) and birthed the ‘Life Works Here’ platform. 

“We are excited to launch this new campaign and share with professionals in target markets the incredible qualities the Northwest Arkansas region has to offer. There is incredible momentum in the region right now and this campaign is not only a testament to the growth we’re seeing, but also a celebration of the culture, the people and the quality of life you can find here,” said Nelson Peacock, president and CEO of the Northwest Arkansas Council.