Chad Stuckey

Most of my life, if I was heading east from Illinois, south from Michigan, west from Ohio or north from Kentucky, I’d see a sign telling me I was back home to Indiana. And it always came with a phrase under it, “Crossroads of America.” The slogan was actually adopted as the state’s motto in 1937 by a General Assembly resolution, so it’s got some mileage (pun very much intended). 

But three years ago, Governor Eric Holcomb unveiled a new tourism campaign, “IN Indiana.” Many of the nostalgic welcome signs were replaced with new, modern ones with the corresponding slogan, “More to discover IN Indiana.” I wasn’t against the new branding effort (although some Hoosiers certainly were). In fact, I thought it was a clever turn of words and appreciated the creative execution of it. But it also felt like the positioning was never quite right.

Now Governor Mike Braun has made a u-turn and decided we’re going back to being known as the “Crossroads of America.” And you know what? I’m pumped. Not because I’m a sucker for sentimentality. It’s because I think the old motto really WORKED. Here’s why.

When BIG does a branding project for a client, we consider three things:

What’s true?
What’s unique?
What’s relevant?

The point where those three attributes intersect defines the brand. And it doesn’t matter what your company or organization does. You could be providing healthcare, giving financial advice, or cooking tacos. To find out “who” you are, you need to figure out the “whats” about you— what’s true, unique and relevant.

For Indiana, the point where those three attributes meet highlights one fact: for decades, this state has been the junction point of movement—first via rivers and canals, then railways and finally highways. The crossroads of America. 

The new campaign expands that metaphor in a less literal direction, too. In his announcement, Governor Braun highlighted the state as being “at the crossroads of the nation’s leading industries, such as advanced manufacturing, life sciences, motorsports and defense.” That’s a smart turn in my opinion, because now the slogan can be applied in ways beyond tourism, such as attracting employers, job seekers, events and government contracts.

Here’s the tricky part, though: even though they’ve (again) got a slogan that’s a winner, they can’t stop there. They need to make sure the verbal and visual assets support the rationale. It’ll be interesting to see in the weeks and months to come if they can live up to that part of the branding work. Application is key.

What’s the moral of the story? Don’t simply rely on what sounds good and seems creative to be the strategy behind your brand. That’s not a strategy at all, and it will ultimately fail because it’s not rooted in what’s important. If that’s where you’re heading, I urge you: hit the brakes. Instead focus on what’s true, unique and relevant to your organization. In turn, you’ll find your brand and it’ll be smooth sailing.