The Walton County Tourist Development Council in Florida is seeking a PR firm to develop and execute a national public relations strategy that would support the marketing of South Walton in northwest Florida to the consumer and travel trade in key markets throughout the United States.
Located along Northwest Florida’s Gulf Coast, South Walton is renowned for its sugar- white-sand beaches and turquoise green waters. The destination is comprised of 16 beach neighborhoods stretching over 26 miles of pristine coastline. The communities included in this scenic setting are: Seascape, Miramar, Sandestin, Dune Allen, Gulf Place, Santa Rosa, Blue Mountain, Grayton Beach, WaterColor, Seaside, Seagrove, WaterSound, Alys Beach, Seacrest, Rosemary Beach, and Inlet Beach.
More than 40 percent of South Walton is preserved through four state parks and the Point Washington State Forest. The area is also home to the largest concentration of rare coastal dune lakes in the world. Hiking, biking, kayaking, paddle boarding and fishing are popular pastimes. Visitors to the area enjoy world-class accommodations, challenging golf, eclectic shops, trendy art galleries, live music and award-winning dining.
The objectives for the assignment are to:
- Position South Walton as a premier brand for this tourist destination with consumer audiences both nationally and in top markets.
- Heighten awareness for South Walton’s amenities with niche audiences including bridal, girlfriends, culinary, eco-tourists, families and arts enthusiasts.
- Heighten general consumer awareness of South Walton as a premier location for leisure trips.
- Heighten general travel trade appreciation of South Walton as a collection of choice locations for signature meetings, groups and incentives.
- Position South Walton as an ideal vacation destination for non-peak travel times leading to increased visitation during shoulder season months (September-February).
- Reinforce the transformed brand of South Walton and its 16 sub-products or neighborhoods in Northwest Florida.
- Specifically distribute releases, accomplish phone outreach and pitching, monetary outlets and opportunities, grow TDC media databases, and secure coverage by target and trophy media.
- Directly contribute to the TDC Communication, Emergency, Stakeholder and Strategic plans, as requested.
- Support the TDC 24/7 with counsel and assistance. Produce regular reports to document and measure success including Advertising Value Equivalency for key coverage.
Proposals are due by April 19 to:
Office of Central Purchasing
176 Montgomery Circle
DeFuniak Springs, Florida 32435
850-892-8176
Zimmerman Agency, Max Borges Agency & rbb Public Relations are the largest independently PR firms.