Reflections on marketing  during COVID from Punta Mita

Just how do you market a resort that no-one can currently get to? Like all of us who work in the hospitality industry, it’s a question that we thought we’d never be asked …

While the majority of hotel marketing teams are planning on how to adapt their marketing, PR and social strategies for when they reopen and can welcome guests, we at Punta Mita decided to take a different approach.

With a strong legacy of community spirit sustainability woven into our brand values, we quickly adapted our strategy to create #AtHomewithpuntamita curated digital content brought directly to the public.

Then more than ever, audiences did not  need messages that were full of marketing speak. They didn’t want to hear about how many villas, restaurants or pools we have.Instead, they want to reconnect to the humanity of their travels – knowing that the members of staff that they’ve built an affinity with during previous stays were safe and well, feeling reassured that we weree ready to welcome them back when we can, and they wanted us to bring the resort to them, creating content that satisfied the escapism they yearned whilst they scroll. – it was s the time to create content that allowed you to delve deeper into your brand stories, communicating with your guests as if you were chatting over a drink, sharing anecdotes that werecompelling and memorable enough to ease their worry. Content that triggered positive and optimistic thoughts for the future, or stories that educated or – even better – made people laugh at a time when they need it the most, whilst keeping our brand values as strong as ever.When the world began  to return to something resembling what we knew consumers – just like you, and me – will look back with affinity at the brands who really helped them smile throughout. In Punta Mita we are sure to be one of the first that springs to mind.

I’d be lying if I said the past couple of years hasn’t been without challenges. Having not been able to leave visit the resort for months  on end due to airport & border closures  brought about a new way of working, but it’s also been a chance to find talents that you might previously not know existed and tap into some creative modes of developing new skillsets.

Covid-19 has given all of us something to relate to, fostering a sense of global connection. Against this commonality, we don’t need to be so heavily curated or polished in our content any more, but just need to be as ‘real’ as possible – helping each other through this period, working towards the new future that this pandemic will bring for us.

We all know that the future will look different, that we’ll need time to open up again – and will undoubtedly be working towards different strategies. But this shouldn’t mean that we should go into hibernation mode for the next few months until things are back to ‘normal’ again.

People will travel again – we just need to be there along the way, until it happens.. In the meantime stuck in Punta Mita was not a bad place to be. With a small group the Clan was forged and friendships made for a lifetime