College students dream about spring break all year long. Eric Hoover thinks about it every day, too - but rather than partake in the fun, his job is to create it.
Hoover heads up Spinnaker Beach Promotions, a full-service
promotions and event agency focused on the nation's top spring
break destination, Panama City Beach, Florida. He says that today's
spring break crowd isn't after the debauchery that characterized
this annual rite a decade ago. "It's a different type of student,"
he explains. "They're well-behaved and respectful. It's not like
they're finding new ways to be deviant on spring break."
But they do need ways to remain occupied, and that's where Hoover
and his team come in. "We provide entertainment than runs
throughout the day." The company helps major advertisers (but not
tobacco and alcohol companies) connect with attendees by developing
promotions. For one client, Spinnaker Beach Promotions developed a
weeklong treasure hunt that gave participants a chance to win
$2,500 by finding clues around area hotspots. "Thousands of kids
signed up."
The company's tiny sales staff connects with advertisers and
agencies nationwide by using Delivra's system to send regular email
blasts, and then following up with customized contacts based on
what the recipient clicks. "Delivra's system more than paid for
itself in the very first email blast we sent out, because we got
our first paying customer from it," he recalled. "It has
over-exceeded our expectations."
Hoover is already excited about the prospects for next year's
campaign. "I feel that I'm just discovering a lot of the nuggets in
Delivra's system, and I'm looking forward to working with them to
take the program to the next level," he says. "I'm in awe of what
it's done for us thus far, and as I learn more about its potential,
I know it can do that much more for us."
Spinnaker Beach
Web site