Goals: Clearly state your marketing goals. What did you strive to achieve using this piece or program?
The brand’s Unique Value Proposition says it all: Naples, Marco Island and the Everglades promises an elevated coastal, cultural, culinary, and ecological paradise to those with an expectation of excellence.
Everything we do must continue to convey this promise of an elevated experience. In an era of ever-increasing competition for the traveler’s share of mind and wallet, it is our true differentiator.
The Unique Value Proposition is perfectly aligned with today’s changing economic indicators. While more travelers are watching their spending, they're willing to pay a premium for exceptional experiences that justify their vacation dollars.
The Goal:
To increase visitation and tax collections to the destination by bringing our Unique Value Proposition to life and clearly illustrating the exclusive, elevated experiences offered ONLY by our destination through an integrated campaign.
To achieve this, we launched the next generation of our successful “Only Paradise Will Do” campaign with a bold new look featuring a large graphic “ONLY” incorporated into the designs. This signature “ONLY” immediately captures the attention of our audiences and separates us from the “sea of sameness” in the media. More importantly, it instantly conveys the exclusive nature of our brand and its promise of an elevated experience.
How We Got There:
New photo and video assets were captured to better connect with the audiences we are targeting.
Couples
Digital nomads
Multigenerational families/groups
LGBTQ couples and families
Travelers with mobility challenges
Group meetings
This campaign was launched in January 2023 and ran until the end of August across key markets. The campaigns were split into 3 major phases: Winter Campaign (January - March 2023); Spring/Summer Campaign (April - August); and an “Always on Campaign” throughout the entire fiscal year. In addition, we ran dedicated niche campaigns for weddings, LGBTQ, dining, arts & culture, and eco enthusiasts.
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)
Digital engagement metrics reflect the stellar impact and reach of our campaign, connecting our brand with a wide and engaged audience.
Overall Economic Impact (YTD): +23.5% YOY
Over 336k+ clicks
Average VTR 86.95% (YTD) (benchmark is: 70%)
The video content within the campaign performed exceptionally well, holding viewer attention and potentially influencing their decision-making process.
90.6M+ Impressions (YTD)
Over 1M+ Website Visits (YTD)
Despite the new "ONLY" campaign surpassing its goals and even outperforming some industry benchmarks, 2022 marked a record-breaking year for tourism. Leisure visitation experienced a significant surge as travelers from both out-of-state and local markets flocked to Florida's Paradise Coast. This surge resulted in noticeable increases in most KPIs, driven by pent-up travel demand and the ongoing recovery from the pandemic.
As a result, we provided YOY results for 2023, comparing them to 2021 and 2019. This allowed us to accurately track the normalization of all metrics and tourism KPIs across the board.
In FY23, hotel revenue performance was exceptional, with a significant 13% increase in ADR compared to FY21, along with a 6% boost in RevPar. What's even more impressive is when we compared FY23 to FY19. During this period, we achieved a remarkable 40.2% surge in ADR and a substantial 6.6% increase in RevPAR.
The campaign contributed to maintaining similar levels of tax collections to FY22 record-breaking YOY tax collections and surpassed 2019 and 2021 levels, indicating its effectiveness in contributing to the visitor economy.
The "ONLY" brand marketing campaign contributed to greater tax collections and occupancy rates and engaged target audiences through its creative assets, as demonstrated by its high CTR, VTR, and increased website traffic. These results highlight the campaign's effectiveness in achieving its goals and engaging its audience effectively.
Return on Investment: How much revenue has the piece or campaign generated and how does this compare to your goal? What was the return on investment?
The winter campaign zeroed in on the Harford-New Haven and Chicago DMAs. Data identified Hartford-New Haven as an emerging market, prompting us to focus efforts on "snowbirds" in this area. Chicago, a long-standing target market, displayed increased spending and visitation frequency, affirming the resonance of our messaging and creative campaigns with the Chicago audience.
(Jan - July 2023)
Chicago: Spending by top-tier HHI audiences (above $151k) in Chicago rose from 31.1% to 35.3%, indicating a shift toward higher-value demographics, aligning with our brand goals.
Approx media spend: $299,867.00
Visitor spending in the market: $2.5M
ROAs: 8.3X
Harford-New Haven: The Market Index for Hartford-New Haven increased 14.3% YOY. The Market Index looks at the relationship between web traffic, destination visitation, and visitor spending and is an indicator of marketing impact.
Avg. Visitor Spend: Increased from $369 to $374
Visitor Spending % of Total: Increased from 67.5% to 71%
Visitors % of Total: Inc from 66.6% to 67.3%
Approx Media Spend: $182,522.00
Visitor Spending in Market: $250,000
ROA: 1.4X
For spring/summer, we aimed to inspire short-term travel from May to September, targeting luxury audiences in key northeast and midwest DMAs. We tailored messaging for upwardly mobile affluent professionals, culinary enthusiasts, and eco tourists.
For Florida drive-markets, the percentage of overnight visitation (driving direct impact on accommodations revenue) increased for key markets YOY.
Miami: + 15%
Tampa: +7.3%
Orlando: +9.7%
The campaign boosted Canadian tourism, accounting for 5% of total visitors by August 2023, a 70% YOY increase. In contrast, European visitors saw a more modest 6.9% increase during the same period. The campaign had a significant impact on the destination, evident in increased visitation across targeted markets and a YTD economic impact rise of +23.5% compared to the record-breaking 2022.
Entry Title
Naples, Marco Island and the Everglades - Florida's Paradise Coast: ONLY Paradise Will Do
Division
Advertising - Brand Campaign