THE CHALLENGE
Elemis Spa, a division of Steiner Leisure Limited, known throughout the cruise industry with more than one hundred transoceanic spas, was a brand virtually unknown to consumers on land. As the company sought to diversify and expand its spa expertise to land, Steiner choose the soon-to-be-built, ultra high end Village of Merrick Park as its first free-standing spa location. Steiner tapped The Murry Agency to develop a brand-building public relations launch campaign that would create anticipation leading up to the grand opening and drive traffic to the spa once it opened.
PUBLIC RELATIONS and MARKETING STRATEGIES & TACTICS
- Creatively packaged the opening of the Village of Merrick Park location as the "first, free-standing Elemis Day Spa in the U.S." and built this marketing positioning around the exclusive aura of the London-based prototype spa.
- Developed a comprehensive press kit package of releases and images with South Florida-specific details about the international concept spa and distributed “milestone” releases on a regular basis.
- Developed and distributed a media ‘teaser’ campaign that created anticipation surrounding the opening of the day spa by incorporating exotic product samples to accompany the press kit.
- Following the launch, invited Miami-area and national journalists to "Elemis Press Days" where they could experience spa treatments, interview the London-based treatment developer, and receive a personal prescription of Elemis home products.
- Designed community relations initiatives that included key travel and tourism influencers – such the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau and The South Florida Concierge Association.
- Increased brand recognition and broadened the community outreach program by donating exotic product baskets and treatment gift certificates to more than 50 high profile civic and charity events for their use as auction and raffle prizes.
- Partnered with high-profile radio stations to do week-long radio promotions/contests for listeners, giving away spa treatments and products as prizes.
- Researched and developed a series of cultural events to garner further media coverage of the Elemis day spa while broadening the reach of consumers exposed to the spa and creating experiential opportunities for potential customers.
THE RESULTS
- Media coverage of the grand opening appeared in more than 200 publications and stations worldwide.
- Press Days garnered additional national, regional, and local media coverage in publications and stations, including: Vogue, Maxim, Ocean Drive, Men’s Health en Español, Florida International, The Miami Herald, the Sun-Sentinel, Les Nouvelles Esthetique, South Florida CEO, Gold Coast, El Nuevo Herald, Gables Magazine, Estilo de Vida, Lincoln Road, "Deco Drive," Telemundo network’s “Fuzion”, three segments on Univision's "Despierta America," and Healing Ways.
- Publicity and awareness helped the spa achieve its sales goals several months earlier than forecasted.
Case History Industry: