![Pictured are senior members of the St. Petersburg-based Paradise Advertising Agency, which Santa Rosa County hired to engineer a tourism strategy. From the left are Chief Creative Officer Tom Merrick, Vice President of Account Services Rudy Webb and President Cedar Hames. [File photo]](http://127.0.0.1/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/ghows-DA-498783e6-839b-75eb-e053-0100007f4706-42a2baed.jpeg)
MILTON — A new campaign proposal includes marketing Navarre Beach as “Florida’s most relaxing place.”
Santa Rosa County tasked the St. Petersburg-based Paradise Advertising Agency with creating a campaign to boost tourism.
The Tourist Development Council on Tuesday unanimously voted to accept the advertising strategy, which the company will present Monday to the Board of County Commissioners.
Using the word “place” instead of “beach” was a conscious decision, Paradise officials said.
“By changing it to ‘place,’ we think it encompasses the whole county,” Paradise Chief Creative Officer Tom Merrick said. “While the brand is Navarre Beach, the place encompasses more than the beach.”
Merrick showed examples of possible ads featuring beaches and rivers with two people enjoying an unspoiled setting.
“Strategically, it’s important that we show the north of the county as much as we show the beach,” Merrick said. “The marketing is ‘Navarre Beach, Florida’s most relaxing place.’ We have to define the place. There’s more to it than just the beach.”
Some video advertising concepts Merrick described feature families on the beach playing games. The campaign states that the laziest river is just up the road from Navarre Beach.
Since Paradise’s research determined that Navarre Beach is unfamiliar outside the county, the logo Paradise created states, “Navarre Beach, Florida’s Panhandle,” according to Merrick.
“Here, us that live here, without our capacity of government, and up in Tallahassee we call it Northwest Florida, but the tourists that are coming here do not call it that,” Tourism Director Julie Morgan said. “They do not recognize us as Northwest Florida. As far back as I can remember as a child, it’s always been the Panhandle.”
When asking people outside the area if they’d heard of Navarre Beach, Morgan said they hadn’t, but did know the name Panhandle.
“We’re like a sleepy little town is what I’ve heard it called to guests that come in, and that spreads throughout the town. Get relaxing, sleepy. Have fun,” TDC Chairman of the Board Liz Horton said.
WANT TO GO?
WHAT: Paradise Advertising Agency will present its marketing campaign to the Santa Rosa County Commission
WHEN: 9 a.m. Monday
WHERE: Santa Rosa County Administrative Center Board Room, 6495 Caroline St., Milton
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Campaign could tout Navarre as 'Florida's most relaxing place'