Case Studies
Highlights from the Best Client List Around
The Henderson, a Salamander Beach & Spa Resort is a beautifully constructed Hamptons-style destination located in the heart of Destin just steps away from the white sandy beaches of the Gulf of Mexico. Its effortlessly chic style attracts visitors from all over the country to come experience the Emerald Coast and all of its luxury. However, The Henderson’s corporate and management team wanted to ensure that they were also paying homage to the local area and the strong community surrounding the resort. This is where the Proffitt PR team stepped in. We were able to create a comprehensive marketing and public relations plan for the Salamander team that would increase the number of locals to experience the resort and all of its amenities, calling The Henderson their home away from home. We began by creating several signature events that were specially catered to the resort’s clientele while also honoring locals and what they find important. We performed extensive research and came to realize that there were no beloved farmers markets in the Destin area. With this, Sweet Sunday was born.
Sweet Sunday
Sweet Sunday is an elevated farmer’s market that takes place quarterly with various local artisans and vendors on The Henderson’s grand lawn and is themed around the seasons, such as fall and Mother’s Day. The event benefits a local charity and features an eclectic choice of local vendors, each with a respective following in themselves. Our advertising and marketing efforts started with grassroots outreach to local news stations, chambers of commerce, and community partners, followed by invitation distribution to strategic businesses such as heavily trafficked coffee shops, grocery stores, and gyms. The Henderson also advertised the event to all in-house guests by distributing flyers to all of their guest rooms. The event beneficiary and the 20+ vendors each distributed flyers and promoted the event digitally to their loyal base of contacts and customers. A Facebook event was also created where we invited all vendors and sponsors who could then share the event on their own social channels and invite their friends, family, and customer base. Through Proffitt PR’s highly trafficked social media account, we created an Instagram Story campaign that highlighted everything the event encompassed – from food and shopping to giveaways and photo ops, strategically tagging each partner which would then be shared. Through each of these avenues, we were able to reach a large audience consisting of different demographics.
For each festival, we aimed to feature a new element that is exclusive to The Henderson. For example, the fall-themed Sweet Sunday, titled “Pumpkins & Primrose,” we introduced Destin’s first pumpkin patch to the community. We partnered with a local church who sold the pumpkins during the event, creating an additional community giveback and revenue generator. Guests were also able to take their fall family photos with the pumpkins, which were front and center in the branded photobooth. Guests received print outs of their photos and digital files to post on social media and share with each of their followers. The 2019 fall festival saw over 800 attendees and more than 1,000 branded photos were taken creating an impactful reach even after the event was complete.
We strategically incorporated the resort’s amenities including their Salamander Spa and signature restaurants throughout the farmer’s market in order to create a buzz and introduce other aspects of the property to those in attendance. Their inclusion in the festival was instrumental in creating increased foot traffic, spa appointments, and room bookings, thus generating revenue in all aspects of the resort. We also created additional revenue for the charity through various sponsorship opportunities. Different levels of sponsorship were created and included unique branding opportunities for local organizations to gain exposure during the event. We partnered with a nearby shopping center, hospital, and The Henderson’s newest development project, Parkside, in order to bring in additional funds for The Sonder Project while also promoting their business to the many locals and visitors in attendance. With a strong social media campaign and large giveaway featured during the event, each Sweet Sunday has brought thousands of new visitors to the resort.
EXCLUSIVE SPA EVENT
Next, we were tasked to increase the traffic and sales of The Henderson’s amenities that locals who weren’t staying at the resort wouldn’t realize were available for public use.
First, for the Salamander Spa, we enlisted the support of local and regional influencers and created a magical evening filled with complimentary treatments, tours, cocktails, sushi and more. Each of the influencers were handpicked based on reach, engagement, and overall style to ensure they fit within The Henderson’s particular panache. To incentivize the influencers to share their experience throughout the evening, we offered a giveaway package that they could enter by posting a video or photo to their Instagram story and feed with trackable hashtags. They also had to tag the resort and spa to be entered to win. By creating this incentive, we were guaranteed posts throughout the event and simultaneously were increasing the reach of both the spa and resort through each of their posts. This resulted in over 1 million digital impressions in the two-hour duration of the event that evening and exponentially increased The Henderson’s and Salamander Spa’s social media following. From the creation of the invitation to the customized “thank you” cards to each who attended, Proffitt PR handled every detail of the event start to finish.
RESTAURANT REACHOUT
Next, The Henderson’s signature restaurant, Primrose, which is tucked within the property boasting a stunning interior and 360 views of the pristine resort grounds. To introduce the restaurant to the public, we hosted various local Chamber of Commerce events and enlisted the Primrose team to participate in local cooking competitions and charitable events on and off site. Not only did this increase awareness of the restaurant and resort itself, but it also established them as community partners and active participants in the local public.
DIRECT MAILER CAMPAIGN
To ensure that the momentum continued for both the spa and the restaurants, we then created a direct mailer campaign that was targeted to local neighborhoods with exclusive incentives and local discounts. We appropriately included this effort in the established Love Locals campaign. The mailers which included a trackable offer were sent out on a quarterly basis to engage with the local market even during the busy summer and spring seasons.
As a result, The Henderson saw an increased amount of local foot-traffic to both the spa and restaurant. When a local visitor came in to claim their exclusive Love Locals discount, The Henderson was able to collect data and build their local rolodex for future contact with that customer. As a result of our efforts, The Henderson’s local footprint has increased exponentially, and they have been able to draw in the local community, even if they are not guests of the resort.
THE RESULT
With all of our powers combined we helped create a loyal local following for the resort and established the property as a place that welcomes both visitors and locals. Each aspect brought in a different demographic of the local community ranging from snowbirds, to families, to young couples while also continuing to host the out-of-town guests and showcasing what the Emerald Coast and the resort has to offer.
When Monica and Danny Cosenzi, the local couple behind Rosemary Beach’s famous Restaurant Paradis, wanted to create a buzz around the new barbecue restaurant they were opening in Panama City Beach, they turned to the team at Proffitt PR. Located along Highway 98, Back Beach Barbecue had a great location and talent in the kitchen, but what they needed was support from the community to not only bring in visitors but also locals once the bustling spring and summer seasons had folded.
Our team started by enlisting our media network and local business contacts to attend a grand opening ceremony in July 2017 and kept the excitement brewing with a continuous stream of events and community outreach. We created an enticing digital and social media campaign to gain followers and buzz amongst the community online. We created various contests for followers to get involved and be a part of the restaurant experience, including a “Build Your Own Breakfast Burrito” competition, where followers submitted their favorite burrito ingredients, and helped us crown the winner, which is now available on Back Beach’s breakfast menu. We will also be running a “Name the Smoker” campaign in honor of the new Lang Smoker Back Beach will be bringing in Fall 2020. The wining name will be displayed on the smoker itself and will be used for years to come.
As a way to establish a continuous give-back to the community, Back Beach Barbecue hosts an anniversary celebration, titled “Hog Bash,” to celebrate another year in business while raising money for local non-profit, South Walton Academy. Back Beach Barbecue has also gone out in the community with their food truck to cater local events, community mixers, and charitable happenings throughout the year. After participating in these events, their recognition in the community has significantly increased as they were named the Best Catering Company and Best Sandwich Shop on the Emerald Coast by the readers of Emerald Coast Magazine. Their social footprint has also increased exponentially after implementing our marketing strategies online. They have garnered over 3,000 followers on Facebook with an average reach of 20,000 impressions and 1,770 engagements on their posts. Their Instagram also has over 2,500 followers.
Through all of these combined efforts, their reach continues to grow over the years as they participate in new community events, offer new menu items, and promote special events or benefits, each drawing in different types of audiences both online and in person.
One of our favorite success stories took place in our own back yard – The Market Shops Annual Bloody Mary Festival. Since 2014, the upscale, neighborhood-style shopping, dining and entertainment center hosts the top bars and restaurants in South Walton for an outdoor festival and bloody mary competition in the fall. Each participant is tasked with creating their own signature take on the classic bloody mary while using Cathead Vodka. Guests in attendance vote for their favorite to win the coveted People’s Choice Award, while a group of judges select the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place Overall Winners. Apart from the bloody marys, the festival features a cigar bar, a “Bubbly Bar” serving champagne, Cathead Vodka-infused popsicles, a commemorative photo booth, live music, food served by The Market Shops merchants, and plenty of shopping opportunities from the merchants as well.
Proffitt PR created the festival as a way to bring locals and visitors alike to the center for a festival that sits apart from the numerous wine festivals featured in the area. After analyzing the trends over the years, Proffitt PR found a niche market that needed to be filled. The outdoor lawn space combined with the inner courtyard of The Market Shops provided a unique event space that was unlike any other in the area, propelling us to plan an outdoor event where guests can mingle throughout the center and visit various merchants while also attending the event itself.
Advertising for the festival began at the center itself with the distribution of flyers and radio ads over the shopping center’s system. The reach then extended to local radio and news stations, along with the distribution of flyers to heavily trafficked coffee shops, grocery stores, gyms, and hotels. As the festival grew year after year, we expanded our advertising and marketing efforts to drive in markets including the Pensacola, Tallahassee, Panama City, Mobile, and Dothan areas in order to bring in out-of-town guests that will generate room-nights for our lodging sponsors.
The festival was also planned around college football schedules so that various games can be live streamed throughout the afternoon and event goers can sport their favorite team’s colors. This has dubbed The Market Shops Bloody Mary Festival as the area’s largest outdoor tailgate celebration. We were able to expand upon this experience by bringing in other vendors such as TV providers, lounge seating, and additional entertainment sponsors.
Even though the center is situated on one of the most trafficked highways along the Emerald Coast, the festival was able to create high-powered awareness for the center that drew customers in and offered a unique opportunity for merchants to access hundreds of guests in one day. Merchants were also given the exclusive opportunity to pop out of their storefronts and set up a tent on the grand lawn for easy shopping access. By keeping the vendor list limited to the center, we were able to elevate the merchants and increase their individual awareness as well to the local community and tourists. Thus, creating a lasting impression that will bring customers back to the center in weeks or months to come.
Through the combined efforts and changes made throughout the years to improve the overall experience of the festival, the Market Shops Bloody Mary Festival has generated over $50,000 for various local charities, including Habitat for Humanity- Walton County and Sinfonia Gulf Coast and has seen over 5,000 attendees. The festival will continue to change throughout the years based on market trends and cutting-edge developments in order to keep the event exciting and enticing for the community and generations to come.
