Silver Anvil Awards: Flu-Free Guarantee: AMResorts Makes a Promise

The PRSA 2010 Silver Anvil Awards podcast series features finalists from this year's program. The Silver Anvil Award recognizes complete public relations programs incorporating measurable and sound research, planning, execution and evaluation. These four areas represent the solid criteria by which senior practitioners judge each entry to ensure it meets the highest standards of performance in the profession.

 

Join us as Deb Radman, APR, PRSA Fellow, speaks with Lisa Ross, president and partner at rbb Public Relations, about how AMResorts revived Mexico’s travel and tourism industry with its “Flu-Free Guarantee: AMResorts Makes a Promise” campaign.

 

In April 2009, fear of “swine flu” severely impacted the rates of American travel to Mexico. With 70 percent of its resorts located in Mexico and occupancy levels diminished by half, AMResorts and rbb Public Relations launched a multi-brand consumer program to help restore confidence in the safety of travel. The “Flu-Free Guarantee” offered a promise times three that its resorts were safe.  By June 2009, after also enlisting 85 hotels to join the movement, Mexico’s economy was on its way to recovery and AMResorts occupancy levels across its 11 properties increased 140 percent. Mexican officials even lauded AMResorts’ CEO Alex Zozaya with a major national award.