Finding The ‘Real Cajun’ In South Louisiana
Located between New Orleans and Houston, Louisiana’s Acadiana region was rapidly diversifying and looked to build its presence on a national stage among talent and business executives. DCI worked with the region to create a brand that emphasized the region’s strategic location and took a modern twist on its cultural roots.
Home to the maker of legendary TABASCO® hot sauce, the nine-parish Acadiana region located midway between New Orleans and Houston was red hot for business. The region was rapidly diversifying with cutting-edge manufacturing and technology companies, but it lacked perception on the national stage among target audiences – talent and business executives.
Through perception research, DCI helped One Acadiana – the economic development organization formed out of the Lafayette Chamber of Commerce – understand that Acadiana had no name recognition among its target audiences. With this information, DCI got to work on creating a new brand, messaging and marketing strategy for the Acadiana region.
DCI’s creative team developed the “South Louisiana: Real Cajun” brand and a marketing strategy to promote the region, rather than the organization. The brand established the region’s strategic location and took a modern twist on its cultural roots. The tagline, “Real Cajun,” is flexible and can be adapted for various uses and campaigns to promote the region: “Real Cajun. Real Business.” or “Real Cajun. Real Opportunity.” DCI’s research and development of the South Louisiana: Real Cajun brand identity provided One Acadiana with a variety of tools to begin sharing their story with potential talent and businesses.
