CASE STUDY 1
SOUTH AFRICAN TOURISM BOARD

TAPPING INTO THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN MARKET

The country of South Africa is a highly appealing destination, but is still plagued by negative media images of racial unrest and social division.

Having arisen from the perils of the governmental system of apartheid, the mission of the tourism board was to dispel untrue images of South Africa as an unwelcoming destination and to dispel images of the country that tend to plague all African countries and prevent images of its true beauty and vibrancy from thriving. Additionally, the goal was to increase the interest in the country among African-American travelers.

Objectives/Goals
To dispel negative stereotypes about travel to the African continent among African-Americans and to develop heightened interest in travel to the country through placement of positive media stories, thus capturing the interest and attitude of the African-American media and traveler.

Results
In a 9-month period:

• Maximized relationship with National Association of Black Journalists, through heavy involvement in their annual convention which resulted in:
 • Attendance of over 50 media at South African wine tasting event (including Carole Simpson, from ABC Network News)
• Attendance of over 100 media to a workshop that focused on Africa/South Africa
• Approximately 50 media inquiries for stories/fam trips, including a trip sponsored by the National Association of Black Journalists
• Delivered approximately 25 members of the top African-American press outlets on press visits. Placements
totaled over 17 million in circulation and covered the entire U.S. through print, internet and broadcast.
• Recognition in Global Black Woman magazine for outstanding work with the African-American market and the destination.
• Contributed to an overall 10% increase in tourism traffic to South Africa, from the United States, a previously under-performing travel market.

CASE STUDY 2
WALT DISNEY WORLD SWAN AND DOLPHIN HOTEL – ORLANDO, FL

CREATIVITY IN PUBLIC RELATIONS – THINKING ‘OUT OF THE BOX’


The 2,267-room property is located in the heart of Walt Disney World Resort. Though a very prominent vacation destination, the resort still maintains the need to keep their news fresh and appealing to the market. The challenge is to keep newsworthy activity going on behalf of the hotel, in the midst of primary coverage on the theme parks.

Objectives/Goals
Craft a public relations program that will keep the hotel’s news fresh and provide continued media coverage and top-of-mind awareness among consumers.

Strategy
In an effort to meet this need, we employed our trademark method of doing public relations – thinking ‘out of the box’, making it both strategic and creative. We implemented a program that would allow us to get regular news updates from the clients. Each quarter, we conducted a conference call with each department head for duration of 5 minutes each. During these discussions, we would interview approximately 10 department heads on awards, new programs, new personnel or new trends the hotel was undertaking in operations, food and beverage, etc... This allowed us access to tremendous information that we would not have otherwise received.

Results
These monthly conference calls resulted in bits of information, case studies, announcements of awards and the opportunity to stage photo shoots for special events and issue photo releases. New packages were also created, based on new features, etc... at the hotel. As a result, the hotel has since maintained a monthly flow of news coverage, even when “major news” is absent. Overall, a supplemental media program was created that kept the hotel in the media with relevant news bites that would have otherwise been absent.