Justworks:
Small Business, Big Journey
This campaign covered the Justworks takeover experience at South by Southwest ‘25. Inspired by SxSW’s theme, Forge New Frontiers, I leaned into both the Western tone of voice to present our brand as an exciting partner and trustworthy product for prospective customers.
The
Brief
The Process
The
Finale
As an events campaign, every line of copy gets printed out into the real world. I was tasked to create unique, engaging, and Western lines that promote our products without sacrificing professionalism. From murals and cup sleeves for a week-long cafe takeover to the renowned SxSW Expo, I led the charge on creating copy from ideation to print.
The trickiest balance for this campaign was to write copy that clearly adhered to our wild wild west/cowboy/new frontiers theme without sounding corny. The messaging also has to resonate with our core audience, small business founders and HR reps, in a way that’s empowering, meaningful, and elevated.
I worked closely with Gerard, Senior Advertising Designer, to create assets that would result in a seamless and exciting experience for everyone at South by Southwest.
From hours of searching Western iconic lines and digging through movie archives, I landed on the tagline: Small Business, Big Journey — this tagline talks directly to our core customer while tapping into the “new frontiers” theme without feeling forced or cringe-worthy. It acknowledges that the journey isn’t easy, just because a founder owns a small business, doesn’t mean that the journey is any less big and monumental than a “big business.”
This high-level line built the sandbox borders to have a lot more fun with specific assets.
Some of my favorites were witty, clever, and clearly communicate our product solutions:
Small business problems? This ain’t our first rodeo.
From a lone star to a team of trailblazers.
For the perfect hire beyond the horizon.
For the dream wrangler. For the trail boss.
Each line provides a sense of trust and excitement towards the possibilities of partnering with Jusworks.
Proven by data-driven insights and the influx of leads during SxSW, this event attracts and converts our customers when done right. I wrote for every asset that went live throughout the week of SxSW, including:
SxSW Expo: 10x20 booths, swag, digital monitors
SxSW Education Expo: 10x10 booths, swag, digital monitors
Cafe takeover at Revolucion Coffee: co-branded cups, stickers, table tents, mural with local muralist Fabian Rey, signage, muralist plaques
SxSW Customer party: digital monitors, party collateral (branded table tops, napkins, signage)
Private customer event at Franklin’s BBQ: invites, signage
Email: invites to current and prospecting customers
