- December 20, 2024
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Palm Coast and the Flagler Beaches Tourism Development Office earned high praise for its tourism event marketing efforts, winning a first place Henry Award at VISIT FLORIDA’s 2024 Flagler Awards. The award was announced during the annual Florida Governor’s Conference on Tourism, held August 28-30 in Tampa, Florida. The Flagler Awards were established by VISIT FLORIDA in 2000 to recognize outstanding tourism marketing in Florida.
The TDO won top place in the tourism special event marketing category for its efforts in promoting the 2023 Hang 8 Dog Surfing Competition in Flagler Beach. As part of the submission guidelines, the TDO had to provide the overall marketing objectives including details on the strategies, techniques, and methods used to achieve the stated objectives and reach the target audience. Applicants were required to share marketing budgets for their respective campaigns and describe how funds were utilized in the design, implementation and measurement process to highlight the entry’s cost effectiveness.
Additionally, the TDO had to demonstrate meaningful quantitative results of all the marketing efforts by providing credible support materials, including analytics and visitation data.
In its entry, Palm Coast and the Flagler Beaches highlighted its multi-faceted marketing approach which included out-of-home (billboard), print, and digital advertising as well as its public relations efforts which secured national coverage. The TDO’s promotional campaign also included a one-minute highlight video featuring surfing dogs and attendees, created by CycleHere Films. During the event, Palm Coast and the Flagler Beaches sponsored a (dog) kissing booth to serve as a photo opportunity for event attendees and participants.
“It is an honor to win a Henry Award from VISIT FLORIDA,” said Amy Lukasik, executive director of Palm Coast and the Flagler Beaches Tourism Development Office. “Our marketing and community engagement teams and our partners work diligently together to highlight our destination and its unique events, like Hang 8 Dog Surfing, creatively.”