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Discover Puerto Rico names 2 off-island firms to lead tourism branding, marketing

Discover Puerto Rico, the Destination Marketing Organization for the island, has selected Miles Partnership to lead Puerto Rico’s tourism brand positioning, website development and digital media strategy, and Beautiful Destinations to lead the creative strategy, content creation and marketing distribution.

Both agencies were recommended by a local tourism industry task force, composed of six marketing professionals, after the companies participated in a Request for Proposal (RFP) process that ensured fair and transparent competition, DMO officials said.

Discover Puerto Rico CEO Brad Dean said 22 agencies responded to the digital services RFP and 33 agencies responded to the creative services RFP. For the digital services RFP, 36 percent of the proposals were submitted by Puerto Rico-based agencies and for the creative services RFP 24 percent were from companies on  the island.

The RFP’s were issued on Aug. 10th and available until Aug. 31 through the public DMO website www.puertoricodmo.com.

Local and mainland agencies were invited to pitch, and the task force identified Miles Partnership and Beautiful Destinations as the firms with the best qualifications to support Discover Puerto Rico, the DMO stated.

In August, the Puerto Rico Tourism Co. announced a partnership with Beautiful Destinations to create a portfolio of photos and videos to “showcase Puerto Rico as a unique and world-class destination.”

Discover Puerto Rico’s Board of Directors approved the task force recommendation this week.

“This RFP process was a rigorous one, ensuring accountability and transparency in the use of public funds. We thank all the agencies, both local and mainland, for their interest, time and energy to present their proposals,” said Dean.

Miles Partnership and Beautiful Destinations are based on the mainland, “but are committed to integrating local talent into Discover Puerto Rico projects,” the DMO said.

Miles Partnership will create a new brand strategy for Puerto Rico, applying “deep branding and digital expertise” to help guide the creation of brand positioning and identity that will distinguish Puerto Rico from the “sea of competitors” and will create a lasting economic impact for the island. They will also lead the website development and digital media strategy, DMO executives said.

Meanwhile, Beautiful Destinations will lead the creative strategy, content creation and distribution, that will drive the DMO’s vision and “showcase the island’s vibrant stories.”

They have built the world’s largest tourism community on social media with 20 million followers across Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, YouTube and Weibo (China), and an ambassador network of over 200 of the world’s best travel content creators.

“We’re excited about this powerhouse marriage of two of the strongest tourism marketing agencies, joining forces in an unprecedented partnership to take Puerto Rico Tourism  to the next level,” said Leah Chandler, chief marketing officer of Discover Puerto Rico.

“Both agencies really understand the higher mission we have as a newly established DMO, which is writing the next chapter for Puerto Rico tourism,” she said.

Dean explained both agencies will begin immediately on a creative collaboration to enhance, develop and amplify Puerto Rico’s tourism brand.

Both agencies have worked with Brand USA, DMO of the United States, and their partnership with the DMO represents a competitive advantage for Puerto Rico, local officials said.

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This story was written by our staff based on a press release.
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