otto

Otto > How > Case Studies > Kingston Plantation

How / Case Studies

Kingston Plantation—An Oceanfront Destination

Located on the beautiful Grand Strand in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Kingston Plantation is one of the largest oceanfront golf resort and meetings facilities on the Atlantic Coast.

Marketing the resort as a destination meant developing a strategy that encompassed a host of different hotels, condominiums, villas, golf courses, restaurants and entertainment venues. The perception of Myrtle Beach as a decidedly middle-class destination also needed to be addressed.

Enter Otto

Otto focused on promoting Kingston Plantation as an ideal destination for leisure travelers—a marketing strategy that also appealed to families. We developed a positioning statement, ‘Myrtle Beach, Only Better,’ which spoke to the exclusivity of the resort without detracting from the exciting appeal of the beach itself.

Otto began by outlining the heritage brand, Kingston Plantation, before developing complementary marketing programs for its co-brands: Kingston Shores, Embassy Suites, Hilton Myrtle Beach Resort, and Arcadian Shores Golf Course. This allowed us to clarify and extend the reach of the messages. Quality, natural beauty, value, the convenience of a full-service resort, and the variety of meeting space available were consistently communicated across all channels.

Since 2002, Otto has provided direct marketing and Internet marketing, as well as all other communications services, to Kingston Plantation.

Success

  • Sellout crowds. Two recent condominium towers both sold out prior to opening—despite the fact that featured units were selling for upwards of $1 million dollars.

  • Return on investment. For every dollar invested, Kingston Plantation consistently receives returns of more than 10 to one. Web site visits, hotel revenues and condominium sales continue to break records.

  • Popular in publications. Kingston Plantation has been featured in a variety of publications, including Oprah’s O magazine. Waterpark Resorts Today magazine named it as one of the top 10 waterparks in the United States.