• Trouble logging in? Send us a message with your username and/or email address for help.
New posts

Bob Hudson

Beach Fanatic
May 10, 2008
1,066
739
Santa Rosa Beach
If you have an interest in "To Each You Beach" here are two opportunities to learn and express yourself.

Brand Workshops Featuring Co-op Opportunities - May 12

The next scheduled public workshops outlining the results of the brand evolution process will be held at the TDC offices on Thursday, May 12, at 8:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Topics include media and co-op strategy, research strategy and new creative. Please contact Kelli Carter with questions or to RSVP.

TDC Advisory Council Special Meeting - May 17

The TDC Advisory Council will hold a special meeting on Tuesday, May 17 at 9:00 a.m. in the Board of County Commissioners Chambers at the South Walton Courthouse Annex. Agenda items include the 2011-2012 Visitor’s Guide, 2011-2012 Co-op Plan, Brand Print Ads, 2011-2012 Budget, and 2011-2012 Sponsorship Allocations.

See You There !
 

GoodWitch58

Beach Fanatic
Oct 10, 2005
4,816
1,921
will there be an opportunity for public opinion? this seems like a "done deal" ?
 

Kurt

Admin
Staff member
Oct 15, 2004
2,233
4,925
SoWal
mooncreek.com
will there be an opportunity for public opinion? this seems like a "done deal" ?

The workshops are open to anyone and opinions and input are welcome. The "done deal" part is the concept of re-branding which was approved by the county commission. However the process is ongoing and decisions are still being made how to carry it all out.
 

GoodWitch58

Beach Fanatic
Oct 10, 2005
4,816
1,921
thanks.
 

passin thru

Beach Fanatic
Jun 12, 2007
344
126
Not that the Walton Sun is a rock of journalism, but this weekend's front-page story clearly makes "To each your beach" out to be a done deal.

I still am amazed how many times both the consultants & the TDC staff are quoted as saying that the visitor's geographic confusion is going to be resolved, by switching from "Beaches of South Walton" to "South Walton: to each your beach". How is that so different and, more important, how is that $1.3 million better for telling one where one is?

I'm no marketing major, but isn't the new "brand" actually a combination of a brand (South Walton) and a slogan or tag-line?
 
Last edited:

Teresa

SoWal Guide
Staff member
Nov 15, 2004
30,250
9,279
South Walton, FL
sowal.com
The Walton Sun - May 8, 2011

It is not really a news story, but kind of a fluff overview of the TDC's branding process to date. It is informational - which is a step in the right direction, imo. The ideas presented here in this tiny review sound very reasonable and on target - except that one little tag line (to each your beach.. it isn't sounding any better with time). Also, it sounds like the focus is still just on the beach communities along 30A - so it is too bad we no longer have the name "Beach" or "Beaches" in our town name.

FROM OIL, AN OPPORTUNITY: TDC retires Beaches of South Walton brand to combat ‘geographic confusion'

May 08, 2011 1:53 PM

Deborah Wheeler
After last year’s oil spill, it’s a brand new South Walton.
The Tourist Development Council is retiring the 27-year-old brand name "Beaches of South Walton."
"One thing the oil spill gave us was an opportunity to do introspection," TDC executive director Dawn Moliterno told Wednesday's Chamber lunch crowd. "We had to evaluate how much brand damage we had."
To find out the answer, the TDC hired LKM Ad Agency.
What the ad agency's research revealed was:
•49 percent of people polled had trouble recognizing the Beaches of South Walton brand.
•Less than 50 percent of visitors to South Walton know where they are.
•6 percent of South Walton visitors thought they were in Destin.
"The existing brand conveyed very low awareness of the area and geographic confusion," said the agency's Jennifer Jenkins.
The answer to the problem was to change the name used by the TDC to market the area.
The new branding name is "South Walton: To each your beach."
The new name simplifies the formerly complicated brand name, which visitors were not able to remember or identify with, said Jenkins.
"A brand is an emotional feeling people have about a company, product or service — a connection that leads to loyalty. The recognition should be higher for a brand that had been in place for a decade," said Jenkins.
"More than a tag or a logo, brand is everything," she added.
In doing the research, things visitors said they liked about South Walton included: its Southern heritage and the value found here for their travel dollars.
Those polled said the area's strengths are: the water, the area's design, the people's shared passion, and its preservation.
More plusses noted were the area's scenic beauty, clean beaches, and even the relaxation and laughter it brings. Tourists also liked the sense of belonging people feel when here and the ability to free themselves.
"People felt it is a restorative beach and locals are respectful of it," said Jenkins. "They appreciate its Southern and Gulf coast character, traditions, the nature, and the way it feels."
The main negative was the area's indistinct geography.
"A brand has soul," said Jenkins.
In an earlier interview, Moliterno said the TDC embarked several months ago on the $1.3 million project with LKM that began with a re-examination of the brand. The project is being funded with TDC reserve funds, Moliterno said.
Through advertising using the new brand, the TDC intends to encourage the area's discerning upscale visitors to "find their perfect place" along the strand of South Walton beaches to create memories.
“With South Walton you have 15 very unique and interesting stories,” she said.
"We are emphasizing choice," she added.
So far, so good in data for this year.
Moliterno said bed taxes were up 19 percent for the month of March.
 
Last edited:

Smiling JOe

SoWal Expert
Nov 18, 2004
31,648
1,773
By looking at the words people use to search google on a monthly basis, it looks like "South Walton" outperforms "Beaches of South Walton" almost 3 to 1, so it appears that "South Walton" should be even more recognizable to most and if they know to look here, they know about the beaches.
 

scooterbug44

SoWal Expert
May 8, 2007
16,732
3,330
Sowal
What keeps getting lost in discussions about the "rebranding" is that ACCORDING TO THE TDC'S OWN SURVEY RESULTS WE DO NOT HAVE A GEOGRAPHIC CONFUSION ISSUE!!!

Yes, "Beaches of South Walton" does have a low geographic recognition. BUT, when that "slogan" is combined with an actual geographic name of any neighborhood, development, etc. the "geographic recognition" is almost 10% HIGHER than Destin or Panama City.

Tourists know they are here. They know that they are in Alys Beach, Rosemary, Dune Allen, Blue Mountain, Watercolor, Watersound, Grayton, Gulfplace, on 30-A etc. They just don't know the latest advertising catch phrase.

It's the damn slogans/branding that are the problem, NOT visitors being unaware of where we/they are and what the places are called.
 

Lake View Too

SoWal Insider
Nov 16, 2008
6,862
8,298
Eastern Lake
Very well said. This whole re-branding thing is a bunch of marketers trying to fix something that isn't broke. Since I live in this area, I would like to ask people in other markets (Atlanta, Nashville, Dallas, Birmingham, Etc.) what kind of advertisements for the Beaches of South Walton do you normally see on your media outlets? Perhaps, just maybe, we need to have better, or more, good old advertising rather than "re-branding...huh?
 

Bob Wells

Beach Fanatic
Jul 25, 2008
3,380
2,857
Well as someone who interacts with tourist particularly on the west end, they believe they are in Destin. If you look at some businesses there, including Sacred Heart Hospital, they seem to believe they are located in Destin. Tourist seem to believe they are located in Destin because of rental agencies and business advertisments. I think Silver Sands and Grand Blvd both use Destin when advertising.
 
New posts


Sign Up for SoWal Newsletter