The Perfect Gift: How McKinney’s Reel Talk Fuels Creativity and Results

From Hallmark-inspired campaigns to social media success: A blueprint for creative collaboration

Creative storytelling isn’t just a nice-to-have skill for local governments — it’s essential. In an era when public information officers are expected to compete with billion-dollar brands for attention on social media, the challenge of engaging residents with limited resources has never been greater. How do you make your agency stand out when every scroll brings glossy ads, trending influencers, and endless entertainment options?

For the City of McKinney, Texas, the answer lies in authenticity, collaboration, and storytelling that connects with the community. Its 2023 shop-local for the holidays campaign, The Perfect Gift, perfectly encapsulates this approach. Inspired by Hallmark’s signature style, McKinney turned its historic downtown into the backdrop for a feel-good love story that encouraged residents to shop local.

But this isn’t just a tale about one award-winning video — it’s about the process behind the magic. McKinney’s Reel Talk, a biweekly brainstorming meeting held in offsite coffee shops, has transformed how the city creates content. By fostering creativity across departments, this initiative has broken down silos, increased employee engagement, and led to measurable results on social media.

The takeaway for other governments? Strategic creativity isn’t just about producing great content — it’s about building a system that inspires and empowers people to contribute their best ideas. McKinney’s journey proves that even with modest resources, municipalities can create campaigns that rival those of big-budget brands while staying true to their community’s identity.

A Hometown Holiday to Remember

If you’ve never been to Downtown McKinney, it’s got all the makings for a typical Hallmark holiday movie, says Meredith Haynes, Digital Communications Manager.

“With its historic buildings, quaint shops, cozy cafes, and streets lined with twinkling lights, the ambiance exudes warmth and charm,” she writes. “During the holiday season, the allure of big stores and online shopping opportunities can be undeniable. The primary goal of our video was to highlight the abundance of shopping opportunities available in Downtown McKinney. Our small businesses often provide unique and handcrafted items that add a personal touch to gift-giving.”

With further ado, I give you The Perfect Gift.

Full disclosure: I’ve been a closet Hallmark movie fan for a few years now. When my beloved wife and I would visit her elderly mom, Marinda, she would usually have the Hallmark Channel on the TV. It provided a serene, quiet backdrop and kept her company in her final years. Inevitably, we’d turn our attention to the movies, with their picturesque settings and beautiful actors. Turns out, they’re pretty doggone entertaining. Yes, you know those two kids are going to get together by the end, but the production values and charm keep you watching just to see that final embrace and kiss as the credits roll.

Trust me when I say The Perfect Gift is every bit as true to the genre. The basic plot of McKinney’s loving knockoff is spot on: the female lead returns to her hometown to run a bed and breakfast after becoming disillusioned with her corporate job in the big city. The male lead made the same move a few years earlier to take over the family farm. As she rediscovers her hometown with his help, sparks fly, an old flame rekindles, and everyone lives happily ever after. It’s magic.

McKinney captures that magic in its fun, minute-and-a-half production. As viewers follow along, Meredith and her team ensured all the feel-good moments are authentically McKinney. The campaign is a perfect reflection of the city’s well-crafted Unique by Nature brand, a branding effort GGF has previously chronicled here and here.

Naturally, McKinney’s historic downtown served as the backdrop, with local businesses playing supporting roles. Clothing and accessories came from downtown shops, and the actors had their own local connection: The Comedy Arena, a downtown business, reached out after seeing a previous video and asked to participate in future projects.

A Picture-Perfect Ending

The video received more than 40,000 views and 350 shares across the city’s social accounts. The comments and feedback received showed that creating entertaining, hyper-local video content is appreciated by residents — and is good for retailers’ bottom line. Downtown McKinney sales tax collection for December 2023 had an increase of 3.85% from the previous December.

Here’s Team McKinney, with Director CoCo Good in the center, with Meredith Haynes next to her, third from right.

It Takes a Village to Tell a Story