Over the years, spring break has become a college tradition every student must experience at least once. It is estimated that nearly 40% of students escape their colleges in March, heading to a location that features sun and fun. In the 1970s and 1980s, Ft. Lauderdale and Daytona Beach were the premier spring break destinations. In the 1990’s, Panama City Beach (PCB), Florida, emerged as one of the prime venues for college students.
In the 1980s, PCB was primarily a destination for students from Southern colleges, but an effective marketing program was the key to introducing the PCB College Spring Break brand to a broader audience. PCB now attracts more than half a million students each year and bills itself as the “Spring Break Capital of the World.”
‘College Spring Break’ has become a nationwide brand with the help of social media, particularly Facebook. Brands have gotten involved with Facebook promotions that further enhance the brand. Sun tan lotion, beverages, and even movies have co-opted with the PCB marketing machine, often relying on social media.
Who’s Planning the Party?
In the case of Panama City Beach, a student marketing company, Collegiate Marketing Group (CMG), has been promoting PCB for years. CMG has affiliated with over ten social media platforms to promote PCB as the “place to be” during spring break for college students.
Social media sites such as Twitter and other websites help drive interest in the PCB area. Twitter handle @springbreakpcb has over 4,000 followers and continues to add followers every day. The main PCB Facebook page has over 89,000 fans and regularly posts information about planned events and photos. These all support and drive students to the www.pcbspringbreak.com site, which has a rich set of information for planning travel to PCB.
This daytime marketing strategy played into exactly what companies have been doing for years now. They are able to engage an important target audience, college students, to support these brands.
Students participate in activities during their vacations that ultimately play a role in promoting products that spring breakers can use in their everyday life. This benefits a wide range of brands, such as Banana Boat, Australian Gold, Red Bull, vitaminwater, and movies such as Hangover III and Monsters Inc. University.
One example was the promotion Australian Gold coordinated in conjunction with The Holiday Inn Resort in PCB, during the 2013 spring break season. Guests at the resort were given free sunscreen packets, sunglasses and a t-shirt for simply going into their booth on the beach, logging on to their Facebook and “liking” their page.
While the sun may have set on spring break 2013 for these students, their affinity to the brands they connected with and the social media they engaged with, will likely endure.
Photos Courtesy of UW-Madison Archives
