Visit Bath County, Virginia, a place of tranquil beauty that restores both body and soul. We helped Bath position itself as an aspirational retreat where visitors can fully immerse themselves in the healing elements of nature.
Brand Strategy
Our creative team developed a brand strategy that positions Bath County as an aspirational retreat–a well-kept secret where those in-the-know can escape daily life. The tagline “Soak it Up” is a playful reference to Bath’s natural springs and an invitation to visitors to fully immerse themselves in nature’s healing qualities.
Brand
Identity
Bath’s new sophisticated, yet earthy visual identity helps carry its brand forward.
Photography
The rebrand included commercial photography conveying a sense of luxury, serenity, and natural beauty, in keeping with the county’s identity.
Marketing Plan
Our marketing plan for Bath reinforces its commitment to showcasing its natural beauty, heritage, outdoor recreation, and hospitality. It outlines a long-term strategy for innovative campaigns, destination promotion partnerships, and a public relations blueprint– all centered around attracting its ideal visitor.
Community Engagement
Community and tourism stakeholders helped contribute to the process through surveys and focus groups.
Destination by Design partnered with Bath County to create a new destination brand, “Visit Bath County,” positioning the county as an aspirational retreat centered on its storied natural hot springs and the tranquil Allegheny Mountains. The “Soak it Up” tagline invites visitors to fully immerse themselves in nature’s healing qualities, supported by a sophisticated yet earthy visual identity and commercial photography conveying luxury, serenity, and natural beauty.
In Virginia, community branding and destination marketing come together especially well for counties positioning themselves as a wellness retreat rather than a high-traffic attraction. Bath County’s rebrand reflects that pairing, using a long-term marketing plan built on innovative campaigns, destination promotion partnerships, and a public relations blueprint, all centered on attracting the specific kind of visitor drawn to natural springs and mountain solitude.
Not every destination brand needs to compete for the widest possible audience. Sometimes the strategy is to position a place as a well-kept secret for those in the know. Bath County’s brand does exactly that, using community surveys and focus groups with tourism stakeholders to shape a strategy that emphasizes solitude, healing, and hospitality rather than high-volume attractions, appealing to visitors seeking an intentional escape from daily life.
Community branding is the process of developing a visual identity, brand strategy, and marketing plan that captures a place’s unique character and communicates it to a target audience. For Bath County, that meant a badge lockup, state shape mark, and titlemark built around the “Soak it Up” tagline, paired with commercial photography and a marketing plan designed to attract visitors seeking natural beauty, heritage, and outdoor recreation.
Bath County sits in the Allegheny Mountains of western Virginia, known for its natural hot springs and tranquil mountain setting. That relative seclusion is central to its brand positioning, framing Bath as a peaceful, well-kept retreat rather than a high-traffic tourist destination, ideal for visitors seeking restoration in nature rather than crowds.
