The Challenge
LaPlaya Beach & Golf Resort, a Noble House Resort, is a luxurious beachfront property located on a stunning private six-acre white sand beach in Naples, Florida along the pristine waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The resort features 189 guestrooms and eight suites; a 4,500-square-foot Spa featuring Biotec Facial treatments and organic Body indulgences; a state-of-the-art fitness center with rotating class offerings; beach butler service; a private 18-hole golf course; 17 private poolside cabanas with cold towel and sorbet service; the award-winning BALEENnaples waterfront Restaurant, elements lounge, and poolside Tiki Bar and Grill. The resort features 10,000 square feet of sophisticated meeting and event spaces both indoor and out; beachfront wedding venues; beach watercraft rentals and much more. Although LaPlaya was a 50-year old, newly renovated, iconic resort, the publicity it was earning and awareness among new verticals of clientele was not enough to sustain the resort in the minds of the target audiences. To develop and maintain consistent exposure in the media, the marketing and management teams determined a dedicated public relations agency team with significant experience in publicizing and promoting luxury resorts on a national level was needed. Prior to Paradise being retained by LaPlaya, the resort had only received public relations support as provided by their management company’s public relations agency efforts with exposure in cluster releases. LaPlaya recognized that multiple property exposure was not sufficient, and that a committed public relations program was warranted in order to position LaPlaya as a stand-alone entity within dedicated public relations initiatives.
The Solution
Per the approved plan, we identified target media segments for primary outreach, including Leisure Travel Writers, Mommy Bloggers, Food/Beverage/Culinary Writers, Hotel & Hospitality Trades, Travel Trades, Meeting & Incentive Trades and Golf Industry Trades. Our aggressive, on-going media outreach campaigns launched and continued with great success. Regularly scheduled conference calls and daily conversations kept all parties apprised of resort happenings relating to news value, and the impact those news elements may have on our media outreach efforts. Importantly, we tapped into existing media and writer relationships throughout the country to introduce LaPlaya and gain interest with national outlets who were already familiar with our agency clientele. Press releases and media pitches were proactively distributed, and editorial calendars and media tip sheets scoured to take advantage of pre-publicized media opportunities. The Public Relations team attended select travel writer conferences, conducting one-on-one meetings with writers, editors and freelance journalists to share news of LaPlaya. Upon vetting interested media, the Public Relations team invited key influencers to enjoy a hosted stay for feature editorial coverage. We relied upon a few data platforms to collect and analyze real time results for earned media and social media, including the Paradise Data Depot, Meltwater, Cision and TV Eyes. On a regular basis, we provided results and activity reports for the client stakeholders, including the resort team as well as investors, ownership groups and other key stakeholders.
The Results
- Media Impressions: 238,838,531
- Media Value of editorial coverage: $2,497,600
- Return on Campaign Investment: 400+%
- Leisure Guest Bookings: Increase*
- Corporate/Group/Meeting Bookings: Increase*
- Food & Beverage Spend: Increase*
- Overall Resort Guest Spend: Increase*
*Specific sales revenue data confidential to property and not able to be disclosed to public.
Uncovering an Oceanfront Haven
