The Johnson City Convention & Visitors Bureau (JCCVB) recently received international recognition for its new ad campaign for the Southern Dozen, a guided destination tour of scenic motorcycle rides in the East Tennessee region.

The Southern Dozen ad received the Gold Award from Graphis, and will be published in the annual Graphis “Design Annual 2018” publication in early 2018. The Graphis Design Award competition is highly regarded as one of the most prestigious global recognitions an ad campaign can attain. The competition receives submissions from the top advertising agencies around the world. To have such a prestigious award is truly an accomplishment for which to be very proud.

The ad is a two-page spread that features a large, picturesque image of a beautiful East Tennessee road. In the lower section of the ad is a first-person view of a motorcycle with the handlebars extended to the extreme edge of each side of the magazine. When the reader holds the magazine to read the ad, their hands naturally fall on the handlebars—giving the immersive impression of being one with the ad.

Brenda Whitson, Executive Director of the JCCVB, was excited to receive the news about the award. “I knew that we had created something special when I first saw the ad concept. Now that the ad is appearing in magazines we are witnessing the results of its effectiveness. We have seen a significant increase in inquiries from motorcycle enthusiasts who are planning their trips to include rides along our Southern Dozen. Our advertising partner, Creative Energy, did an exceptional job at understanding our target audience for the campaign.”

Creative Energy helped to further develop the concept of suggested motorcycle routes that begin and end in Johnson City and branded it as the Southern Dozen for the JCCVB. The branding has resulted in millions in dollars in new tax dollars to the city and county through overnight accommodations, dining, shopping and entertainment venues here.

Tony Treadway, founder/president of Creative Energy, said, “I’m very proud. It is great to see our creative team receive this kind of international recognition for the great work they do. I love knowing that there will be many readers of the Graphis Advertising Annual having to take a double-take as they look through all the works from the large design cities around the world, and there is Johnson City, Tennessee. It just makes me smile with pride.”

The ad will be featured in national motorcycle enthusiast publications as well as tourism publications. The Graphis Design Annual 2018 will be published in early 2018 and will be circulated to graphic designers and advertising agencies around the world.