Challenge:

Sanibel Outlets didn’t have a Marketing Manager working to drive traffic & sales in a destination ripe with domestic & international visitors along with retirees & second homeowners. As such, it historically earmarked a majority of marketing dollars merely for outdoor & traditional print ads. And, to measure success, staff would record unreliable feedback written on “how did you hear about us” cards walked into its offices.

Faced with declining occupancy, traffic & sales, ownership approached Strategy+Style to deliver marketing that would “turn the tide.”

Approach:

The team recommended an advanced technology-based media solution, subsequently developing & launching a state-of-the-art geo-targeted & weather-triggered digital media effort.

Built to track offline attribution by combining ad exposure with location intelligence, Strategy+Style’s digital campaign was able to precisely determine real foot traffic to the property by capturing device IDs exposed to the ads & trace those crossing over the Sanibel Outlets’ lease line. What’s more, the team used a people-based, programmatic media buying approach to segment audiences & reach them on preferred devices while they were in strategically-targeted, geo-fenced off-site locations. Weather-triggered advertising was layered in leveraging online behavior & location data with current weather conditions to serve timely “Rainy day? Go shopping!” messaging.

At launch, turn the tide took on an entirely new meaning as the worst eruption of Red Tide in over half a century hit Southwest Florida’s coast causing enormous tourism losses & national headlines. The toxic algae, however, proved no match for Strategy+Style & its digital media campaign.

Tactics:

• Researched Fort Myers/Sanibel Island demographics uncovering:

• Over 1.4M now residing within 60 miles of the center. Shifts included a younger median age & greater income level among its permanent population than thought.

• The center’s location near world-class hotels/resorts in a rich tourism market welcoming over 5M per year wasn’t being targeted.

• Determining the center would benefit by adding digital into its media mix, recommended & delivered a two-pronged, highly-advanced & data-informing campaign designed to:

  • Reach actionable consumers using a people-based, programmatic media buying approach targeting select audience profiles: millennial shoppers, modern moms and frequent travelers/visitors

  • Optimize campaign parameters in real time

  • Allow for ad pixel & UTM code placement

  • Track offline attribution

  • Collect first-party data & key consumer insights

• Two-Pronged Campaign Specifics:

  • Location-Based Geo-Fencing: Traced a virtual geo-fence around area hotels/resorts, attractions & the airport deliberately tent-poled against seasonality. The technique allowed the use of a scalpel, as opposed to a shotgun, to reach in-market consumers.

  • Weather-Triggered Digital: Leveraged consumers’ online behavior & location data against current weather conditions. Served timely, weather-focused messaging in six versioned ad sizes reminding to shop the center during cloudy, rainy days.

• Red Tide: Causing hotel/resort cancellations at 80% & over $46M in losses on Sanibel Island alone, the toxic algae proved powerless against Strategy+Style’s campaign. Designed to be nimble in its optimization functions, the team literally “turned the tide,” shifting dollars from underperforming geo-fenced hotel/resort locations to popular residential communities.