New brand campaign touts Shelby County, Kentucky year-round
SHELBYVILLE, Ky. (November 2, 2026) — ShelbyKY Tourism has launched All Year Long, its latest destination marketing campaign highlighting Shelby County, Kentucky, as a destination worth visiting any time of year. Developed as a serialized campaign, All Year Long follows the same lead character—and the same Saddlebred horse—as they experience Shelby County through each of the four seasons.
The first chapter, which rolled out November 1, introduces audiences to Shelby County in winter and ends with an unexpected reveal: Nightcap, a Saddlebred from Shelby County’s HorseSensing farm, wearing a hand-knit sweater. The lighthearted moment sets the tone for the campaign while reinforcing the destination’s authentic equine heritage.
Rather than producing four standalone commercials, ShelbyKY Tourism developed All Year Long as a serialized campaign. Each seasonal chapter follows the same lead character—and the same Saddlebred horse—as they experience Shelby County throughout the year. While the scenery, activities, and seasons change, the campaign’s central message remains the same: ShelbyKY is worth discovering All Year Long. New creative will debut quarterly, with future launches throughout 2027.
“We are incredibly excited to share All Year Long and the story it tells about Shelby County,” said Janette Marson, President & CEO of ShelbyKY Tourism. “Each season brings something special to our community, and we wanted to find a meaningful way to celebrate everything that makes our destination so wonderful throughout the year. By connecting the seasons through one continuous story, we hope to inspire visitors to discover, experience, and fall in love with Shelby County, no matter when they choose to visit.”
The campaign reflects ShelbyKY Tourism’s broader integrated marketing strategy, with each seasonal launch supported by earned media outreach, creator collaborations, destination content, and partner activation. Paid media placements will run across digital, linear and connected television, and social platforms, with tourism research and analytics firm Datafy measuring attribution and visitation performance. Overall, ShelbyKY Tourism is investing nearly $300,000 in paid media placements for the campaign.
“We weren’t interested in creating four standalone commercials that would run for a few months and then disappear,” said Mason Warren, vice president of ShelbyKY Tourism. “We wanted to build something bigger: a cohesive, recognizable creative platform that could evolve throughout the year without losing its identity. All Year Long gives us the opportunity to tell a more complete story about our destination, with recurring characters that build familiarity, seasonal creative that keeps audiences engaged, and a fully integrated media strategy that connects each chapter. For a destination of our size, that kind of creative continuity is especially valuable. We’re not just producing four campaigns. We’re building a brand narrative that becomes more recognizable and more meaningful with every season.”
Louisville-based agency Fate oversaw production and creative direction, working with ShelbyKY Tourism to develop a campaign that balances cinematic storytelling with measurable marketing outcomes and connects brand awareness to visitation through an integrated media strategy.
The winter campaign launched November 1 across linear and connected television, programmatic digital advertising, paid social media, and ShelbyKY Tourism’s owned channels. Seasonal creative will continue through autumn 2027, with each chapter introducing new experiences while building on the same year-long narrative.
About ShelbyKY Tourism: ShelbyKY Tourism is the official destination marketing organization for Shelby County, Kentucky, including the communities of Shelbyville and Simpsonville. ShelbyKY promotes the region's nationally recognized bourbon experiences, equine heritage, locally owned restaurants, outdoor recreation, and historic downtowns while supporting tourism as a driver of economic development. Shelby County is proudly known as Your Bourbon Destination® and the Saddlebred Capital of the World™ and offers world-class attractions, authentic Kentucky hospitality, and unforgettable experiences all year long.
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Media Contact: Mason Warren, ShelbyKY Tourism | (502) 633-6388 / (502) 321-9975 | mason@visitshelbyky.com
Campaign assets are available here.
