A Seattle Summer Campaign

Challenge Thumbtack, the technology company helping millions of people confidently care for and improve their homes, wanted a Seattle campaign that felt like it belonged here. They weren't looking for happy kayakers, splashing orcas, or other interchangeable “Pacific Northwest” clichés. They wanted strategy, creative, and media that reflected how Seattleites actually live, reached them where they are, and celebrated what makes each neighborhood distinct.

Insight With some of the country's highest home prices and limited inventory, many people buy the home they can afford, then gradually transform it into the one they truly want. Seattle homes are made, not bought.

The Idea

The goal wasn't to make Thumbtack feel like a local company. It was to make Seattle homeowners feel like Thumbtack understood them. Our campaign invited homeowners to Start Your Home Story, positioning Thumbtack as the trusted partner for every next chapter. Original neighborhood stories, written in rhythmic verse (yes, iambic tetrameter), celebrated communities across the Puget Sound, capturing the quirks, character, and everyday truths that make Seattle feel like home. Each story invited homeowners to download the Thumbtack app and find a vetted local pro to help bring their vision to life. To complement the storytelling, we partnered with Seattle illustrator Eleanor Doughty, whose original artwork captured the personality and charm of the city through the eyes of someone who already knows it. Seattle Fire Pit Broadcast TV, CTV, Online Bellevue Fire Pit Seattle Deck

The Execution The integrated campaign showed up wherever Seattleites spend their summers: influencer partnerships, outdoor advertising, OTT video, hyper-local direct mail and coffee sleeves, community sports sponsorships with custom between-inning games, and Thumbtack's money booth at neighborhood festivals and Mariners games.
The result was a campaign that felt native to Seattle, not adapted for it.
Craft Seattle was at the heart of this campaign, so it deserved artwork rooted here too. We commissioned original illustrations from local artist Eleanor Doughty, whose work reflects the insider details that make this city feel like home.
Sometimes the best way to connect with a community is to collaborate with the people who already know it best.
Issaquah Highland Kitchen Kirkland Deck Broadcast TV, CTV, Online

Transit

Ben Keenan Elkey Zandstra Emily Anderson Emmalynn Ellendt Rachel Teodoro Local Influencers

Seattle Fire Pit Bellevue Fire Pit Seattle Deck Kirkland Deck Issaquah Highland Kitchen Social Video

Digital Audio Once Upon A Home

Out of Home

Events

Fish Sticks Sponsorship

Ballard FC & Salmon Bay FC Sponsorship

Direct Mail

Coffee Sleeves and Door Hangers