The Mighty 5 campaign was a turning point for Utah Tourism. Conceived and directed by Alexandra Fuller during her tenure at Struck, this campaign was the most successful in the state's history and remains one of the most iconic tourism campaigns ever created for any state. Its bold, cinematic storytelling invited travelers to experience Utah’s five national parks—Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, and Zion—positioning the state as an unparalleled adventure destination. The campaign framed Utah’s national parks as a bucket-list experience, a list of five destinations to tick off, which contributed to unprecedented visitor interest. The campaign drove record-breaking tourism growth, elevating Utah’s profile on both a national and international scale.

But success brings consequences. As visitation surged, the national parks became overcrowded, with strained infrastructure and environmental concerns mounting. Recognizing this challenge, we developed The Road to Mighty, an intentional follow-up campaign designed to spread visitor traffic beyond the parks and into lesser-known areas of Utah’s public lands and rural communities. The campaign successfully showcased the beauty and adventure awaiting travelers along the routes leading to the national parks, giving under-visited areas a share of tourism’s economic benefits.

Even as The Road to Mighty helped redistribute travelers, visitation to southern Utah continued to grow beyond what the original campaign had anticipated. Looking back, we see this work as both a remarkable achievement and a cautionary tale. Tourism campaigns have the power to shape the world they promote, and that power comes with responsibility. Rather than approaching travel as an opportunity to check places off a list, we now focus on fostering deeper connections—inviting travelers to engage with places through curiosity, meaning, and immersion. The experience of creating these campaigns has informed the way we approach travel branding today—considering not just how to inspire travelers, but also how to ensure that destinations, communities, and landscapes thrive for generations to come.