CLIENT: Ocracoke Island

Perched on the southernmost tip of the Outer Banks, Ocracoke Island sits tucked in a charming, remote sandy spot where only Blackbeard the pirate and tourists craving a “road less taken” beach trip dare to venture.

WHAT DO THEY OFFER?

The innkeepers, restauranteurs, Jet Ski business operators, and bookshop owners of Ocracoke have conjured an almost Normal Rockwell-like beach destination. Here, parents invite other parents for a beer on the porch while their kids ride bikes and play nearby. Surf fishers and sea kayakers have their own patches of paradise within federally protected beaches that are dune covered, miles and miles long, and all undeveloped. Spend an afternoon visiting the wild horses, the nature trail at Springer’s Point, or just building sand castles in the surf. Ocracoke is a true escape from the ordinary beach destination.

THE ELEMENT EFFECT:

To help Ocracoke stand out from countless vacation choices without having a large marketing budget to do so, we hypothesized that their brand would most appeal to the nostalgia parents had for their own childhood beach vacations. By emotionally invoking those memories, and subtly updating them with Ocracoke’s choices for food, music, and entertainment, Element has pushed Ocracoke into the considered set for southeast families. A new brand, logo, and tagline were developed, a new website, digital banner campaigns, and public relations have all helped Ocracoke establish itself as “the cure for the common beach.”

STATS + HIGHLIGHTS:

Website sessions are up 56% and users are up 20%, with new users up 19%. Referrals have shot up 449%, and display banners are up by 1,006%. Astoundingly, native advertising referrals are up 1,712%.