Oakland County is one of the Midwest’s most economically influential regions, home to 1.27 million residents. It’s also a destination with real range: 1,400+ lakes, 60,000 acres of parkland, and dozens of distinct downtowns and cultural districts across 62 communities, and a globally recognized cluster of advanced manufacturing, innovation, and culture.
DELIVERABLES
- Brand Strategy + Positioning
- Tourism Messaging Frameworks
- Integrated Creative Direction
- Community Engagement Assets
- Project Landing Page Design
- Advertising Templates
- Social Media Assets
- Stakeholder Workshop Presentations
- Data Visualization Support
With regional visitation rising alongside Detroit’s growth, the County saw a clear need for its first-ever Tourism & Attraction Strategic Plan. Through destination stewardship, they sought to strengthen visitor experiences, elevate cultural assets, and position the County as a destination of choice for visitors, residents, and business investors.
Working with Think Place Agency and Tourism Economics, BLKDOG served as the creative and brand strategy arm on a deeply collaborative, research-intensive initiative.
Over 10 months, we helped identify the County’s true visitor drivers, clarify how Oakland County fits within the Detroit metro landscape, and shape a unifying destination identity that supports visitors, residents, and investment.
Detroit Zoo, located in Oakland County
ABOUT
Oakland County’s goals were ambitious and future-oriented:
- Enhance public perception of Oakland County
- Strengthen visitor experiences and extend trip length
- Increase visitor spending, economic vitality, and tax revenue
- Foster collaboration across 62 communities and regional partners
- Align tourism with business attraction, placemaking, and quality of life
- Determine sustainable governance models for long-term tourism management
To deliver on these goals, the County needed a destination development strategy grounded in data and community voice. This effort produced Oakland County’s first Tourism & Attraction Strategic Plan, now publicly available and celebrated as a benchmark for regional destination stewardship.
Our role centered on translating complex research into clear, actionable creative direction. We supported brand exploration, messaging and positioning, public-facing communications, and engagement design.
All creative components aligned with the County’s strategic goals, multi-industry audiences, and the diverse character of their destination assets, which included urban, suburban, rural, historic, cultural, and natural.
Destination Development Strategy
The final strategic plan functions as a 10-year roadmap for sustainable tourism growth and destination stewardship. It’s data-driven, community-centered, and gives Oakland County a framework that supports tourism outcomes and broader economic development goals.
BLKDOG developed brand concepts rooted in the County’s distinct mix of natural beauty, cultural legacy, downtown variety, affordability, and accessibility, which shaped messaging to simultaneously connect with outdoor enthusiasts, families, cultural travelers, Main Street wanderers, and business audiences.
Key impacts include:
- A unified destination identity that works across 62 communities while respecting local character
- Clear messaging frameworks that can guide future marketing, partner communications, and investment storytelling
- A practical foundation for placemaking priorities, including downtown vitality, mobility considerations, and experience improvements
- A pathway toward a long-term tourism governance model to sustain coordination, funding, and performance measurement
The result is a destination development strategy that helps Oakland County compete as a regional destination, strengthen community pride, and support long-term economic vitality through tourism.
YOUR PROJECT COULD BE NEXT.
LET’S GET STARTED TODAY.
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