For generations the story of small-town America has been a story of leaving. Cheraw, South Carolina — one of the state's oldest inland towns and long known as the “Prettiest Town in Dixie” — knows that pressure. But Cheraw also has what earlier generations did not: broadband, a revitalized downtown, and a national wave of professionals who can now live anywhere they choose.
Cheraw Remote, RGI's signature remote-worker attraction pilot, set out to reverse outmigration not by chasing a single factory, but by recruiting households who already carry their paychecks in their laptops.
From assessment to campaign
The work grew out of RGI's Digital Workforce 360° engagement with the Town of Cheraw, launched in May 2024 alongside Town Manager Rob Wolfe. RGI interviewed more than a dozen Main Street businesses — from the Caffeinated Cow to Market Street Gallery, Mel's on Market, and the Wine Factory — to understand and articulate what Cheraw genuinely offers a newcomer, and hosted a Remote / Hybrid Workers Coffee to convene the residents already living the model.
From that groundwork, RGI partnered with the creative agency Timothy + Sinclair to build the Cheraw Remote brand, a lead-capturing website, and a targeted digital advertising campaign aimed at remote professionals in technology, design, finance, and consulting.
Results on a shoestring
On roughly $2,500 of ad spend over six weeks in late 2024, the campaign reached more than 25,000 people, generated over 60,000 impressions, and produced 201 relocation leads — about 98 of them qualified — at a cost of just $12.44 per lead. A dozen prospective families went on to visit the town.
The decisive ingredient wasn't the ad budget; it was the personal follow-up, with the Town Manager personally calling leads. That insight — that authentic, human outreach converts — became the blueprint for RGI's larger work, including Project Hometown SC.
