Navigating a Sticky Situation

Located in Northwest Florida between Pensacola and Panama City, Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort is nestled on 2,400 spectacular acres, including seven miles of pristine beach and bay front. When the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded spilling nearly 168 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, the upscale beach resort wanted to mitigate negative coverage and make sure current guests and travelers had the information they needed to make accurate travel planning decisions.

As Agency of Record for Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort at the time of the oil spill, Pineapple PR handled all public relations activities including messaging, outreach, and media visits. When the incident occurred in the Gulf, we moved into immediate crisis planning and response. Our team worked with community officials to develop targeted positive messaging and get messages to the public with real-time delivery via the website and social media. Our aggressive media relations campaign included continual outreach to media covering the oil spill and key travel influencers, as well as deskside visits to media offices in New York and a weekly update to national broadcast media regrading the status of beaches. Our team also produced a series of videos showcasing “The Coast Is Clear” messaging, developed a beachside media center, and even joined with the National Audubon Society to host a music festival to benefit the organization.

• National mentions including USA Today, Wall Street Journal and NBC Nightly News
• Targeted regional placements in drive markets including Orlando Sentinel, Birmingham News, Huntsville Times and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and TV and online outlets
• Nearly 102 million impressions
• Publicity value of nearly $5million
• Stabilized business levels during the crisis and a substantial increase in occupancy the following year