Dominican Republic Ministry of Tourism
Challenge
The Dominican Republic enjoys an enviable position as the #1 Caribbean tourism destination. But research indicated low awareness of Dominican Republic vacation destination regions – outside of Punta Cana. To support the tourism growth of this vibrant destination, BVK developed an integrated earned media strategy to increase awareness and drive interest in all five of the country’s beautiful tourist regions.
Solution
BVK devised a plan to build even more exposure for Dominican Republic through social media, content strategy and production, broadcast programming integration and public relations efforts. A vigorous schedule of highly targeted press trips enticed new media outlets and influencers to immerse their audiences in the exciting and diverse Dominican experience. From niche influencers to major media outlets, press trip attendees capture and share their own experiences in a variety of media formats. Among such media successes is the exclusively in-destination 2016 Sports Illustrated annual Swimsuit Edition. A first for the publication, Sports Illustrated shot the cover story in exclusively Dominican locations as the backdrop of their eye-catching feature coverage.
Results
As a result of the proactive original social media content series and skilled community management, Go Dominican Republic social media channels have seen skyrocketing levels of engagement and conversion; live in-destination social posts and a series of videos are produced during scheduled press trips and pre-planned experiences, highlighting the variety and essence of the Dominican Republic experience. Leveraging the power of television programming integration, Dominican Republic was the star of the two-part season finale of the popular ABC television show, The Bachelorette, Season 10. Filmed in Dominican Republic, this program integration resulted in four hours of primetime television coverage with an incredibly engaged audience of fans. The earned media efforts of BVK have achieved significant growth in community and engagement, leveraging a rich content production program and highly active and bilingual social media community management efforts. This success has resulted in significant increases in awareness of all five major Dominican Republic tourism regions and the variety of uniquely Dominican experiences that are available throughout the country. And ultimately the efforts have built a highly engaged community of brand advocates who passionately and organically spread the message along with us. PR Impressions in 2016 11.2 Billion Total Social Media Impressions in 2016 33.7 Million Social media post engagement rate 30%
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