Sandals Injects US$500k In Antigua Radio Marketing Promotion

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Hotels

Wednesday, 31 October 2012 02:30

By caribarena news

Antigua St. John's - With an estimated injection of US$500,000, Sandals Grande Antigua Resort wraps up an almost weeklong mass radio broadcasting campaign from the grounds in Antigua to audiences across the United States.

Dubbed a ‘U.S. Multi-Station Radio Remote’, the Sandals Grande Antigua Resort & Spa is currently hosting 12 popular radio stations from key areas across the United States.

Broadcasters from US cities like West Charlotte, St Louis, Boston, West Palm Beach, Tampa, Chicago, New York and others are among the radio teams on the ground here in Antigua.

The campaign, which culminates on October 31, began last Saturday. It is estimated to reach some 11 million listeners during this period, 24 of whom stand to win all-inclusive trips to Antigua.

The broadcasters used most of the past week to interview key senior sandals employees and officials from Hotel Association and Tourist Board.

Public Relations Manager of Sandals Grande Antigua, Chantal Antoine, said, “The last radio remote done at Sandals Antigua was in 2007, when the Mediterranean Village was newly opened. 

“Subsequent to this radio remote, there was an increase in visitor arrivals to Sandals Antigua.
 
“It is quite an effective marketing tool to reach mass audiences at the same time all over the US and give Antigua & Barbuda tremendous coverage.”

Regional Director for Sandals International, Eastern Caribbean, Jeremy Jones, said the move comes in collaboration with the various government tourism stakeholders in the island, mostly in the form of clearances and ease of access for equipment and personnel to make the promotion possible.

“The feedback has been excellent… We are working with the tourist board and the department of tourism.

“In certain jurisdictions people make it hard for you to do what you have to do, and the bureaucracy sometimes gets in the way. So when you have the support of the government in doing something like this it really helps,” Jones said.

He pointed out that one of the high points of such an initiative is allowing for the visiting journalists to experience the product they are talking about – personalizing the message and providing for a more intimate promotion.

“It is a big ticket item. This is the third time one of the stations (Kelly) is working with us. And she knows the benefit of it,” Jones said.

It was also pointed out that another broadcasting group on the ground actually met and got married at one of the Sandals resorts and renewed their vows at another.

Kelly McKay of 107.9 The Link said her radio team arrived last Saturday and “have experienced what our listeners can experience if they win one of the trips we are giving away.

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“We are here promoting tourism,” she said. “And in that way word of mouth comes in and it spreads from there.”

Although the promotion has been undertaken in other Sandals destinations, McKay notes that Antigua & Barbuda stands apart from the rest in areas that include beauty.

Each radio station is giving away two all-inclusive trips for two people each that covers a period of four days and four nights at Sandals.

“What a way to vacation. It is heaven. All the food and all the drinks… its crazy,” she said. “I want ot come back. Antigua is beautiful… Every resort is unique and special in its own way but Antigua with the beautiful beaches, the lush landscape, etc., really sets it apart from any other place I have ever vacationed in the beauty department.”

At any given moment, according to the broadcaster, her spot on 107.9 The Link reaches at lest 250,000 people on the radio and another one million via the World Wide Web.

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