As the largest state in the lower 48, how do you encapsulate all that Texas has to offer? In 2025, National Geographic CreativeWorks collaborated with Travel Texas for a fourth year to showcase the endless possibilities awaiting travelers across the Lone Star State. Leveraging National Geographic’s world-class reputation for visual storytelling, we set out to emphasize that Texas offers an adventure for every kind of traveler.
Collaborating with Travel Texas for a fourth year, our challenge was to bring Texas stories to life in a fresh, exciting way for both the client and our audience. Our previous custom content campaigns explored the state through varying frameworks: a cross-Texas documentary highlighting culture, nature, adventure, and music; a focus on adventure destinations; and Texas experienced through the perspectives of three photographers. For year four, we evolved our storytelling again, using topography as our guiding lens to reveal how Texas’ distinct landscapes influence its culture.
To achieve this, we sent National Geographic adventure photographer Tara Kerzhner on an epic journey from West Texas’ Big Bend region—where mountains, river, and desert meet—to the Gulf Coast. Along the way, she met with locals who revealed the spirit and soul of Texas and introduced her to the beauty and diversity of its landscapes. Tara began her journey paddling through towering canyons in Big Bend and stargazing under some of the darkest skies in the U.S. alongside local astrophotographer Mallory Davis. Together, they met with Big Bend Ranch State Park archaeologist Tim Gibbs to learn about the region’s fascinating geological history – dinosaur fossils included. Next, Tara headed to Corpus Christi, substituting mountains and valleys for sandy beaches and coastal views. To kick off the second half of her journey, she joined local guide January Goette for a sunrise horseback ride on South Padre Island before connecting with Chef Eric Morin to sample fresh Gulf seafood and sail along the coast.
The result was a large-scale, multi-platform campaign that spanned streaming, social, digital, and print. Our hero storytelling pieces were two 10-minute documentary episodes that launched on Hulu and National Geographic YouTube in July 2025 and formed Season 2 of our 2021 documentary Texas: Spirit & Soul. Trailers and cutdowns drove traffic to the documentaries both on streaming and social.
To extend our storytelling, we created social vertical videos and stories, Instagram photo posts, digital photo essays, a refreshed custom content microsite featuring year-four Travel Texas content, and a print advertorial in National Geographic magazine. Across every platform, custom video and photography brough Texas vividly to life for our audiences.
A Nat Geo on Hulu streaming sponsorship, targeted brand media, and sponsorship of NatGeo.com’s editorial Texas destination guide further amplified campaign reach.
