Marketing Objectives:
Clearly state your marketing goals.
What did your company strive to achieve using this piece or program?
Our primary objective was to deliver 300 quality leads to the in-house sales team for phase one cottage sales. They would then ask these potential buyers to put down a $1,000 deposit, sight unseen. That would give depositors the right to eventually sign a contract to build a cottage. The cottages ranged in price from $275,000 to over $1,000,000. The sales team would need to sell 100 cottages before construction began.
Our a secondary objective was to build a pool of potential renters to occupy the rental units and hotel once the resort opened.
Along the way, we would also be responsible for stewarding the brand, engaging the existing Margaritaville base while extending to consumers beyond the brand, and fostering a relationship with our audience that would encourage them to come stay at MRO. This all began two years before MRO was set to open.
Target Audience:
Who was/is the target audience?
Characterize the composition, size, and location of your target audience.
Margaritaville Resort Orlando is at the intersection of two giant followings: 62,000,000 visit Orlando every year; the Margaritaville Brand engages with 60,000,000 customers. Our job was to excite both bases, letting them know there was a new way for them to experience the city and the brand, and all each has to offer.
We supplemented information provided by tourism boards and the corporate brand with research that identified audiences that were ideal for our objectives.
Due to the range of ways to experience a stay at MRO (as a hotel guest spending $200/night to a cottage owner spending over $1,000,000) we had to reach a broad group with tailor messages. With selling homes as our primary goal, we focused on married couples with children, 44 years old and up. And while the brand and city both have national appeal, we focused on the eastern half of the county where both have a higher appeal.
Research, Planning, and Implementation:
What market research was conducted prior to planning the piece/campaign? Describe how you planned and produced the creative asseets with the mobile canvas in mind.
We supplemented existing research with our own to identify, then test, potential messaging points. We found that three topics generated the highest engagement:
1. Becoming “immersed” in Margaritaville
2. Learning “the business of” Margaritaville
3. Being “in the know” as it related to Margaritaville activities
From a creative standpoint, we knew we needed to elevate the brand. This would be required to compete with the other parks in the vicinity. It would also create excitement that would mobilize the existing Margaritaville customers.
We knew most of this would play out in the digital space, specifically in social media, so our content needed to work on any screen and be quickly digestible to capture the attention of our audience.
Furthermore, we constantly monitored engagement with content to refine audiences and hone our messages. This delivered highly qualified traffic to the website, the key to maintaining its 10% conversion rate (lead submissions / unique visitors).
Message:
What is the key message intended for the piece/campaign?
What differentiates your piece/campaign in the marketplace?
Our message was to “make the Margaritaville lifestyle possible for everyone to enjoy while visiting Orlando by offing a vacation experience that was on their terms and in their very own place in paradise.”
This stands out in a market that instructs you to do more and more while prescribing a vacation experience that visitors feel obligated to execute. It takes away the fun of vacation by adding the pressure of itineraries that are detailed down to the minute.
Results:
Which of your original goals did you achieve and how?
How did you measure the effectiveness of the piece or campaign? Entrants should provide quantifiable results of their tactics or campaigns.
Primary Objective: Deliver 300 leads for sales team to close on 100 cottages.
As of April 2018, we had delivered 12,000 ownership leads. They have been converted into 550 deposits then 225 Closed Contracts, selling through all inventory in the first 2 phases of the development without the use of a single outside broker. This leaves 325 additional depositors awaiting new inventory, assuring continued success as more cottages are built in coming phases.
Secondary Objective: build a pool of leads for rental units and hotel
As of April 2018, we had delivered 20,000 rental/hotel leads. Booking for 2019 has just recently opened, and we’re excited for the resort to have these leads in the queue to assure the hotel and cottages are booked solid from day one.
Tertiary Objective: Brand Stewardship
We’re happy to report that the work with MRO has lead to a highly engaging, positive relationship with the Margaritaville brand and potential for more collaboration in the future.
Category
Integrated Market Campaign for Consumers (B2C)
Entry Title
Margaritaville Resort Orlando : Integrated Consumer Digital Campaign
Situational Analysis
Margaritaville Resort Orlando is a new resort that is being developed in Kissimmee, Florida. The resort is set on 300 acres and is scheduled to open in 2019. It will feature a hotel and 1000 vacation rental cottages to host guests. The resort will also feature an array of guest amenities, a water park, and retail center featuring dozens of restaurants and a movie theater.
MRO has licensed the use of the Margaritaville name and brand for the purposes of this resort.
MRO approached Concept Farm while in the preliminary stages of resort development and engaged CF to handle all marketing of the resort, working closely with both the resort developers and Margaritaville corporate marketing team to assure the resort was presented in an exciting manner that was also consistent with the parent brand.