Bermuda Tourism Authority Campaigns Receive International Awards For Innovation
NEW YORK, NY – Once again, the Bermuda Tourism Authority (BTA) and TURNER’s work promoting the island to travellers has been recognised by the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International’s (HSMAI) Adrian Awards, the world’s largest and most prestigious travel marketing competition, judged by top executives from all sectors of the industry. The latest accolades are the result of two campaigns: promoting the Work From Bermuda Certificate program and showcasing the appeal and relevance of Bermuda to the African American audience.
The focus of the 2020 HSMAI Adrian Awards is on Best Practices, Innovation and Community in categories related to work done in response to the coronavirus crisis, showcasing the best practices and innovations that empowered recovery in new and traditional categories. TURNER and the Bermuda Tourism Authority won in two of the three divisions:
- Digital Marketing (Bronze): The Power of Celebrity – As part of the BTA’s ongoing effort to double the number of African American leisure air visitors by 2025, the island hosted Yara Shahidiand her family during a getaway that took the world-famous American actor, activist and model to some of the island’s most beloved spots. During and after their Bermuda trip, the family posted content across all of their channels netting more than 24 million views and comments from African American celebrities like Taraji Henson and Naomi Campbell.
- Recovery Strategies (Silver): Work From Bermuda Certificate Program – The BTA and TURNER worked to promote Work from Bermuda Certificate, allowing executives and students to work and study remotely from the island in a stunning and worry-free environment. The response to the new program went beyond expectations, resulting in more than 160 articles about the program alone and 1.8 billion impressions, generating a media value of $3.8 million. Coverage included hits in top-tier publications such as The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times, as well as an array of broadcast segments, and positioned Bermuda as one of the top destinations to consider for a remote working year.
“I’m really excited about these two Adrian Awards because they show the immense talent of our public relations team,” said BTA Interim CEO Glenn Jones. “One award acknowledges our long-established strategy to connect with Black consumers and leverage the spending power of Black travellers. The other accolade exhibits our agility as a marketing organization—pivoting toward opportunity, quickly and decisively. I couldn’t be prouder.”
The BTA has won five public relations Adrian Awards in the past five years, including a Best of Show accolade in 2016.