Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 08/12/2011 - 10:27
case study
product:
Tourism-campaignassignment:
Build summer business. Palm Beach County enjoys very strong winter business but summers were a different story. Rates fell and occupancy hovered around 30%.making a tough job tougher:
While the winter consumer was very affluent the summer target was middle class. There was a disconnect in that the middle class consumer did not think they could afford Palm Beach. There was also a perception that things to do in Palm Beach were limited to the beach, golf and tennis.solution:
This was 1997 and the first thing we did was get them a domain name and build a web site. We created a Summer Best of the Palm Beaches discount book to demonstrate both the number of activities and the value. Our campaigns told off-season visitors they could enjoy the same amenities as the winter visitors for a lot less.result:
Rates and occupancies rose significantly (they ranked one or two in all Florida every month) and then in September 2001 everything changed. People were shocked out of traveling. Other destination dropped their prices recklessly. We urged Palm Beach County to hold rates up but offer significant added value. It worked. Our ADR’s stayed high and our occupancy only fell slightly (much lower than similar counties). In fact 2001 was the best year for inquiries ever.