Discover the Palm Beaches - Friends Trust Friends

Discover the Palm Beaches

Friends Trust Friends

To correct misperceptions and promote awareness of everything The Palm Beaches have to offer, &Barr created a campaign that would resonate with multiple segments, especially Millennials.

&Barr’s campaign drove a 23% year-over-year increase
in arrivals to The Palm Beaches.

How It Mattered

Palm Beach County was grappling with a perception problem. Mainly that it was seen as a setting for the “well-off” few, not the “anyone at all” crowd. &Barr created a campaign that would challenge that, offering not only an accurate perspective, but the actual perspective of visitors themselves.

From our research, we learned that people trusted referrals and reviews more than destination-generated messaging. This led to the creation of the “Friends Trust Friends. Not Ads.” campaign, which utilized user-generated content to promote The Palm Beaches. Visitor photos, as well as their handles, added authenticity and credibility to the campaign and destination itself.

While intended to be a short-term campaign, the campaign’s overwhelming success led to it being extended by Discover The Palm Beaches.

Each digital impression was 66% more effective at driving destination visits.

The Results

205M+

Impressions

+7.9%

Domestic Visitation YOY

+29%

Website Traffic YOY

+23%

Arrivals to the Destination YOY