OBJECTIVE: Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort is a 2,400-acre destination in Miramar Beach, Florida. As it approached its 50th anniversary, The Dana Agency was tasked with creating new exposure for the destination by showcasing its diverse array of accommodation offerings, including the launch of Hotel Effie, the destination’s first full-service luxury hotel featuring a fine dining restaurant and a rooftop lounge. Additionally, we were asked to build awareness around the resort’s many amenities for recreation, golf, spa, fitness, boating, F&B and more. The goal was to introduce Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort to travelers and locals as a destination for a new audience of multigenerational travelers, couples, families, meetings and events, weddings and leisure guests. The objective was to influence perceptions about the destination as a family-oriented, heritage-rich, adventure-rich, road trip-worthy locale focused on leisure travel and group business.
APPROACH: We worked with the Sandestin team on Hotel Effie for nearly a year before the grand opening, which included a rooftop party with over 200 guests. During that year, we serviced a steady stream of press releases, including the hotel’s name announcement, dining concepts and ribbon-cutting. To ensure Sandestin destination also garnered coverage as a destination, we launched a separate campaign around the resort’s vacation rental offerings, including the new Osprey Pointe condos, which targeted multigenerational families. All outreach strategies incorporated the Village at Baytowne Wharf, recreation offerings such as beach, tennis and golf, and details about the resort’s 50-year history. We also tied our strategy to coincide with destination events such as the Sandestin Wine Festival and Emerald Coast Blue Marlin Classic. We positioned the executive team as thought leaders, including hotel ownership and celebrity chef Hugh Acheson. To ensure we reached Sandestin’s customers, we targeted national media with a focus on magazines within cities within the drive market. As airlines announced new flight routes into Destin airport, we targeted media in those cities, sharing the details on easy, nonstop travel to Sandestin.
RESULTS: Sandestin has been an agency partner for more than four years. As a result of our media outreach, the destination has been featured in top-tier national media outlets, including Architectural Digest, Travel + Leisure, Condé Nast Traveler, Garden + Gun, Southern Living, The New York Times, The TODAY Show and more. We hosted over 30 media professionals on-site, including writers from Barron’s Penta by The Wall Street Journal, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Global Traveler, Forbes and more. We have secured over 1,350 media placements for Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort, creating new exposure for the destination among a coveted portfolio of national, regional and local consumers.
