From Insight to Impact: What Marketers Can Learn from HY Brand Camp
November 24, 2025
Solving your company’s biggest marketing challenges can feel impossible. The more you talk about them, the bigger they seem to get. Sometimes, what you really need isn’t more discussion — it’s fresh perspective. That’s exactly why HY Brand Camp was created. It’s a free, three-hour strategy session designed to help businesses of all sizes step back, think differently, and move forward with confidence. Brand Campers have walked away with new brand stories, breakthrough ideas, sharper promotions, and even ways to spark sales during slow seasons. So, what are the biggest takeaways from those who’ve already been to camp — and how can they help your business make smarter marketing decisions? Let’s dig in.
1. Brand purpose must be lived.
Deciding your purpose, or why your brand exists, is not something you can simply come up with, put on a bumper sticker and expect the world to love. Brand purpose is your North Star that guides every decision you make—operationally. There must be action. It must be real. For us, our purpose is to create ideas that help businesses get everywhere they need to go. HY Brand Camp is just one example of this.
2. Cultural relevance grows from conversation.
Every brand wants to be culturally relevant, on some level. But what conversations make sense to join—or lead? Answering that question starts with knowing what your brand stands for and where it belongs. At HY Brand Camp, we engage in open dialogue about problems, perspectives and possibilities in a safe, thoughtful environment. The result? Human, relevant insights that grow from collaboration and conversation.
3. Community isn’t a message – it’s participation.
Whether it’s community teams needing fresh ideas or entrepreneurs growing fast, the best marketing happens with people, not to them. HY Brand Camp invites businesses (and even their customers) to shape direction in real-time. It’s a co-building experience.
4. An empowered team is a powerful team.
Something interesting—even magical—happens when you take a group of people all at different skill levels and disciplines and throw them into a room (or tent). We built HY Brand Camp to help businesses solve marketing challenges, but also to give junior team members a seat at the table. And the results have been astonishing: They’re leading sessions, finding creative confidence, and pushing thinking. It’s a good reminder that good ideas come from anywhere—and anyone.
5. It only works if you work the problem.
Like any good strategy or ideation session, HY Brand Camp is about solving real challenges for real brands. And our team comes prepared. From pulling research, insights or competitive profiles, the best working sessions work when work is done in advance.
6. The best return on ideas is a return to ideas.
Marketers today face increased challenges to stay relevant despite shrinking budgets, greater competition, and uncertain economic conditions. We created HY Brand Camp on the belief that ideas can get you everywhere, no matter your size or situation. Because when you have the right idea, you can outdo, outsmart and outperform with every dollar. Check out our case studies to see how the right ideas can make the difference.
7. Finally, marketers never stop learning.
Even the most experienced teams benefit from stepping outside their own walls. What makes Brand Camp work is the balance of open minds and informed minds. Even with 90+ years of unmatched real-world brand-building across consumer and B2B categories, we always come away from HY Brand Camp having learned something new.
What exactly is HY Brand Camp?
We challenged our full-service team to create a purpose-led initiative that would support the growth of business in our community because we believe in investing in the people and businesses around us. HY Brand Camp gives us a front-row seat to watch our brand purpose play out with businesses we admire and missions we believe in. It's an investment in our values—and it’s paying off in creativity, and connection and in our community.
So, we pitched a tent (literally) in our office and launched a program where brands could bring their real challenges to the table—and leave with fresh thinking. But we only do one HY Brand Camp per month, and there is a waiting list.
How Brand Camp works:
- what. A half-day working session at our Milwaukee office with a team of HY experts, solving a real business/brand/marketing challenge.
- who. Businesses of all sizes – from bold entrepreneurs to seasoned brands that want original, expert thinking.
- why. It’s a no-strings way for brands to get new ideas, and a chance for our team to stretch our thinking while living our brand purpose.
- when. We host one HY Brand Camp per month.
- bonus. Many HY Brand Camp participants have gone on to implement our ideas.
Want in?
If you’re a brand in search of a breakthrough – HY Brand Camp may be your next move. Check it out, and fill out the form. If you’re a fit, we’ll get the tent ready!
Angie has more than 20 years of advertising and brand-building experience, servicing travel and tourism accounts for many years. She’s managed accounts for destination marketing organizations that include Montana Office of Tourism, Outer Banks Visitors Bureau, Wisconsin Dells Visitor and Convention Bureau, and Elkhart Lake Tourism Commission, and worked with travel companies such as Funjet Vacations and DELSEY Luggage.
