CASE STUDY

Changing the story of manufacturing careers
in Western North Carolina.

The Made in Henderson County campaign used authentic video, targeted media and strategic messaging to help regional job seekers see the technology, opportunity and variety behind today’s manufacturing careers.

Client

Henderson County Partnership for Economic Development
Made in Henderson County Campaign

Services

Strategic Communications
Marketing Campaigns

891,977 impressions

10,500+ YouTube video views

11,319 clicks

Manufacturing changed. Perceptions had not.

The Henderson County Partnership for Economic Development (the Partnership) needed to close the gap between perceptions and the reality of today’s manufacturing careers. Many potential hires perceived manufacturing jobs as old-school, boring and unsafe.

Shifting industry perceptions meant more than promoting available jobs. The Partnership needed a new narrative for manufacturing workforce recruitment to reach people across the region and invite them to reconsider what a career in manufacturing could look like.

The answer was to show a different reality.

Formation PR & Brand began by examining the misconceptions of potential workers. Rather than building a campaign to refute each one, the team shifted the frame: Show modern manufacturing as it really is.

Authentic footage highlighted advanced technologies, engaging roles and the safety, variety and rewards in manufacturing careers. The creative helped viewers picture themselves as part of the workforce instead of simply telling them their assumptions were wrong.

A modern, video-led manufacturing workforce recruitment campaign changed industry perceptions.

For the Made in Henderson County campaign, Formation developed the messaging, creative concept, video and media strategy needed to reach a broad regional audience.

Ads across Facebook, Instagram, Google, YouTube and Spotify directed viewers to the Made in Henderson County webpage to explore local opportunities.

The work included marketing strategy, messaging, creative concept development, media planning and placement, measurement and optimization.

The campaign outperformed industry benchmarks.

Over 16 weeks, the campaign generated:

891,977 impressions

More than 10,500 YouTube video views

11,319 clicks

3x the average click-through rate for Google search ads

4x the average click-through rate for Google display ads

721 landing page engagements

“The Made in Henderson County campaign was serendipitous in timing and beautifully orchestrated. The team at Formation thought of the details of timing, design, and audience to assure our reach was impactful. We saw tremendous touchpoints following the campaign.”

Brittany Jones Brady president and CEO, Henderson County Partnership for Economic Development

What outdated perception is holding your audience back?

Formation starts by understanding why people think and act as they do, then develops the communications and marketing strategy, message and campaign to expand their perceptions of what’s possible.