Goals: Clearly state your marketing goals. What did you strive to achieve using this piece or program?Located off Florida’s northeastern shore, Amelia Island is a place where memories are made. Most accommodations are steps from secluded Atlantic beaches, and visitors embrace the wonders of nature by eagerly exploring the island’s enchanted river, marshes and greenways. To raise awareness of the destination to outdoor enthusiasts, adventure seekers and sun-loving families, Amelia Island sought and secured a partnership with Cabana Life, an up-and-coming lifestyle brand that blends fashion and function and protects from the sun. Using the highest UPF (ultraviolet protection factor) and most luxurious fabrics, Cabana Life’s clothing line is attractive, stylish and ideal for outdoor activities. Aside from loving the outdoors, Amelia Island’s target audience is an average age of 42, with an annual household income of $135K, and visits with their significant other or family from the Northeast, Midwest or Southeast United States. Cabana Life targets and appeals to a similar audience, and the owners were eager to launch their first travel blog for their website and feed their social media channels. Amelia Island and Cabana Life decided to collaborate for the blog launch by hosting three of Cabana Life’s key influencers at Amelia Island accommodations and decking them out in Cabana Life gear during their visit. The goal was to partner with Cabana Life for their lifestyle brand blog launch, leveraging their audience and bringing awareness to Amelia Island via social media influencers and Cabana Life’s channels. The partnership was mutually beneficial and allowed both brands to connect with each other’s audiences and build interest, trust and brand affinity.

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. (for example, click through rates or ad equivalency)Amelia Island hosted 3 Cabana Life brand ambassadors with their own popular blogs and social media followings. Their visits to the island resulted in some of the first articles published on the brand’s blog, as well as coverage by the influencers. Results exceeded expectations with each visit generating twice the exposure. Cabana Life posted the guest blog, “#escapemore: Amelia Island, FL Style Guide,” featuring Patricia Martistch and Rhiana Wells while both influencers also posted on their own channels. The influencers generated 55,927 impressions and 5,806 engagements, equaling a 10% engagement rate, well above the average of 1%. The successful partnership and beauty of Amelia Island also served as inspiration for the company’s new “Cabana Shores'' clothing line. Amelia saw success across our own website and social channels. When the campaign ran in June, traffic to AmeliaIsland.com was up 7% year over year with 114K sessions including a 4% increase in new users. Amelia’s Instagram also received an additional 12K impressions in shared stories. The program contributed to outstanding destination tourism performance in 2021 with a 29% growth in economic impact ($715 million) and a 17% increase in visitation (663K visitors). A less measurable but priceless result was the affinity developed for Amelia Island from Cabana Life consumers. The campaign was authentic and truly touched the target audience. Amelia Island is a place where memories are made. Cabana Life’s story spoke perfectly to why making those memories are so important. While Cabana Life is known for its fashion-forward, popular designs, the Founder’s malignant melanoma diagnosis at 26 is what brought the brand about. So, while the brands collaborated to promote their products, the underlying message was sincere and moving to their audiences: You can look good, protect yourself and safely make memories outdoors on Amelia Island, with the hope that those memories will last longer with those you hold dear.

Budget: Please include total budget vs. total actual cost. How much revenue has the piece or campaign generated and how does this compare to your goal? What was the return on investment?The campaign was coordinated by in-house marketing staff and a retained agency. Travel expenses for the influencers were minimal, with island tourism partners donating the vast majority of overnight accommodations, meals and activities. Therefore, the total actual cost was essentially zero.

Project Analysis: Please provide a brief background on the project and your company efforts to demonstrate good corporate citizenship in the areas of community involvement, environmental, or socially responsible practices.

Objectives and Goals: What did organization set out to achieve in undertaking this project in CSR? What were the goals you set to measure your success?

Results: How did you measure the effectiveness of your efforts and what direct and tangible results did you achieve? Please be as specific as possible and share the full impact of your efforts in CSR.

Leadership: Please list the individual in a leadership role responsible for the project and how would you characterize their commitment to promoting corporate social responsibility in the travel and tourism industry?

Goals: Clearly state your marketing goals and audience. What did you strive to achieve using this piece or program?

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. (for example, click through rates or ad equivalency)

Budget: Please include total budget vs. total actual cost. How much revenue has the piece or campaign generated and how does this compare to your goal? What was the return on investment?

Situational Analysis: Please provide a brief background on the original initiative and how it evolved as conditions changed from pandemic to recovery.

Goals: Clearly state your goals. What did you strive to achieve with this initiative and how did your goals change over time?

Results: Which of your goals did you achieve and how? How did you measure the effectiveness of the initiative?

Objective(s): What problems did the sales, marketing & guest satisfaction, or revenue optimization technology aim to solve?

Innovative use of technology: The extent to which new directions are charted or old challenges are resolved by using the technology in a new way.

Implementation & creativity: How was the technology implemented so that it was easy to use, solved a manpower problem, streamlined a function, or fueled recovery?

Results & Evaluation: How did the technologiy move the department or business foward to achieve goals, revenue or otherwise?

Goal: How did you demonstrate that you are committed to advancing diversity in your organization through your marketing?

Initiatives: Describe the promotion. What was your organization's message and how does it foster diversity? How was the target audience channel developed/pursued?

Results: Please describe how your organization was purposeful in advancing diversity through this initiative. Please describe the metrics you used to judge success. What were the forecasted and actual outcomes described in your Key Performance Indicators (KPI)? What impact did the initiative have on your organization and for your customers?

Goal: How did you demonstrate that you are committed to advancing diversity in your organization through your campaigns?

Initiatives: What was your approach to this campaign and how was the organization purposeful in advancing diversity through it? What types of data did you use to support your plan? How many locations were involved in the campaign? How did you effectively reach diverse audiences? What was the message?

Results: What metrics are you using to evaluate diversity (soft and/or hard metrics)? Were you successful at meeting forecasted goals? Was it limited to a specific promotion or across multiple creatives? What impact did the campaign have on your organization? How did this campaign change your brand’s perception amongst travelers?

Entry TitleAmelia Island, Cabana Life Brand & Influencer Ambassador Collaboration

DivisionPublic Relations - Influencer Marketing

CategoryPublic Relations