'Driving JoCo' takes viewers to Johnston County destinations

SMITHFIELD — The Johnston County Visitors Bureau has premiered “Driving JoCo,” a series of short documentary-style videos.

“The idea is to cover interesting stories across our many tourism partners,” explained Ashby Brame, vice president of marketing and communications for the Visitors Bureau. “We will certainly be covering the entire County and featuring multiple segments across the industry.”

That variety will be obvious in the videos the Visitors Bureau will release in the final months of 2026.

“In our first round of episodes this calendar year, we’re covering shopping, farms, breweries, a restaurant and entertainment across Kenly, Selma, Wilson’s Mills, Micro and more,” Brame said.

The series, complete with a host and theme music, premiered in September with a visit to DeWayne’s, which offers a garden center, gifts, clothing, sweets and Christmas decor on Outlet Center Drive in Selma.

Timing played a role in the decision to open with DeWayne’s, Brame said. “The order of feature was based on seasonality and filming availability,” she said. “Episode 2 will feature Sonlight Farms in Kenly.”

“We have five initial partners planned for the first five episodes, with a much longer list after that to get around to,” Brame added.

The idea for “Driving JoCo” began with Aaron Mullins, CEO of the Visitors Bureau. “He had the idea for a podcast coming into his role at the Bureau last year,” Brame explained. “The focus and purpose were on storytelling, which we have historically done through our long-form blog on our website.”

“Driving JoCo” grew out of that. “Between conservations with Eric and myself, the JCVB marketing team, the idea evolved into a short-form video series, with a podcast companion piece, to focus on telling the stories of JoCo's people, places and products to inform residents and attract visitors,” Brame said.

The accompanying podcasts debuted with the release of the second video in October. “People can find it by searching for Driving JoCo on Apple and Spotify,” Brame said.

New Visitors Bureau staff member Kevin Moore is writing, directing, filming and editing the episodes, keeping the cost minimal. “That was among the many reasons why we hired a digital producer this year,” Brame said. “With the amount of photography and video we're now needing to produce as a destination marketing organization, working with contractors gets expensive.”

Episodes of “Driving JoCo” will drop on the first Friday of every month at DrivingJoCo.com. A week later, the videos will appear on the Visitors Bureau’s social media channels, including YouTube.

Funding for the Visitors Bureau comes from the county occupancy tax that visitors pay when they stay in local hotels.

 

 

Page last updated on:  October 16, 2026