THE SEA PINES RESORT

Buffalo.Agency created a plan to overhaul and modernize Sea Pines’ public relations and marketing efforts through feature story placements and golf package coverage in daily newspapers, regional golf and lifestyle magazines, blogs and websites.

challenge

Golf-focused public relations and advertising were in need of modernization and a major upgrade. Feature stories unnecessarily emphasized tired story angles and ignored $100 million in upcoming capital improvements. Golf advertising was over allocated in print publications that were not measurable producing an ROI.

insight

The Sea Pines Resort, home to famed Harbour Town Golf Links, is one of the most iconic golf destinations along the Eastern Seaboard. The highly-amenitized, 5,000-plus acre property features three golf courses, two clubhouses, hundreds of villas, a four-star boutique inn and endless activities and events.

activation

A new mobile-optimized, golf micro-site was developed for easy booking and campaign tracking. We shifted Sea Pines’ advertising spend to geo- and behavioral-targeted digital media routed through the micro-site. Exclusive Heron Point coverage was secured in golf magazines, blogs and radio shows, while raters were carefully vetted to yield favorable evaluations.

result

The new golf-microsite, feature story and golf package editorial coverage and precise digital advertising campaigns combined to drive a 20 percent increase in website traffic and significantly higher conversion rate, and 15% increase in rounds on Heron Point by Pete Dye. Sea Pines set sales records in 2012, 2013 and 2014.

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