In 2021, Novant Health was looking for tactical approaches to reach new nursing talent across the United States and entice them to move to North Carolina to work for the hospital system. One approach decided on was to run a series of hyper-focused out-of-home billboards outside of hospitals and clinics in Oklahoma and Kansas, two land-locked states far from any coastline with relatively flat topography. The billboards were to contrast this with North Carolina, home of Novant Health, a state with both mountains and beaches within a few hours' drive of most of the state. Specifically, the system was trying to attract talent for a specific hospital on North Carolina's coast, with the beach just ten minutes away.
I was tasked with developing the banners. Art direction was easy as I was working within the system's brand guidelines, so I stretched my creative muscles by writing the copy for the banners myself.
I wrote the copy for these banners, attracting nursing talent using North Carolina's mountains and beaches.
I don't typically serve as a copywriter on projects but I do enjoy writing, certainly enough to appreciate special opportunities (like this project) when they come along.
Being a small-scale campaign (by design) running halfway across the country, I didn't hear much about how these generated talent acquisition leads after they were launched, but in general I understood them to be successful and leadership was pleased with them.
This OOH campaign (and a corresponding social media campaign) was one contributing part of our creative team's efforts winning Novant Health the HRO Today award for the 2021 Most Admired Employer Brand in the Healthcare category.
