Award-Winning Public Relations Campaigns

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THE SETTING

SuperClubs operates hotels and all-inclusive resorts across the Caribbean, and at the time, Panama and the Dominican Republic.

When new U.S. State Department policies prohibited travel to these regions without a passport, an alarm ran through the travel industry. A large share of the market would now either disappear completely, or be quite restricted due to the high cost of acquiring a passport. 

SuperClubs knew it needed to be proactive in protecting - and increasing - bookings. 

SuperClubs turned to Jennifer and her team to facilitate a campaign and promotion to encourage keeping current bookings, and create new ones. The team received several industry awards for the successful campaign.

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Delivering An Award-Winning PR Strategy To Keep “Heads In Beds”

We created the Passport Included Campaign put into action with:

INCENTIVES TO BOOK 

SuperClubs was the first Carribbean all-inclusive collection to offset the cost of passport fees when booking a vacation to the flagged destinations, saving consumers hundreds of dollars. New passport registrars at in-person travel events were entered to win a free SuperClubs vacation. Attractive promotional deals were also created, partnering with other industry keystones. 

PARTNERSHIPS TO AMPLIFY 

After joining forces with the Caribbean Tourism Organization and others in target markets, like Spirit Airlines, we created complementary packages and ran promotional ads to educate the public on new passport requirements and highlight SuperClubs’ offering. Our relationship with other industry partners, such as the Caribbean Hotel Association and Jamaica Product Exchange, were also key to spreading the campaign. 

PRESS + MEDIA OUTREACH 

Travel editors and writers, deal columnists, trade media, national media and broadcast media were informed of the promotion via press releases and pitches. John Issa, the founder of SuperClubs, was also positioned as an industry leader and innovator for interviews and comments regarding the policy change and impact. In-person meet-and-greets with executives at high-profile trade events also encouraged conversation. 

GROWING DIGITAL ENGAGEMENT 

We sponsored and co-hosted several events, set-up booths at trade shows such as the New York Times Travel Show, to create further buzz and project awareness about the SuperClubs and its all-inclusive resorts and passport cost-defraying offerings. 

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Campaign Results

• Secured a 15% increase in bookings at SuperClubs’ six Jamaican properties, while Jamaica’s overall US arrivals were down 10%. 

• Successfully reached more than 102.5 million consumers: 

  • Placements in The New York Times, USA Today, Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post

  • Broadcasts on national television and digital with CNN, MSNBC, and Frommer’s. 

• Won the Gold Adrian Award for Consumer Services and the Travel and Tourism/Hospitality and the Bronze Anvil Award.