'To each, your beach': South Walton moves beyond 'Beaches of South Walton' branding

You just may have a marketing problem if 12 percent of the people who visit your beaches think they’re somewhere else.

A study conducted for the Walton County Tourist Development Council discovered that 12 percent of the visitors to South Walton beaches thought they were in Destin.

That was one of many revelations that have helped persuade the TDC to replace the 20-year-old “Beaches of South Walton” brand with a new one, said Executive Director Dawn Moliterno.

She said the South Walton area “has a long way to go to build brand equity.”

“It will always be a bit of a marketing challenge being in an unincorporated area, when you don’t have a city to hang your hat on,” she said. “We’re looking at how to move the needle and get better brand recognition.”

The TDC has proposed a new marketing idea that sells potential visitors on a concept of “To each, your beach” and markets 15 coastal destinations in South Walton, Moliterno said.

Those communities extend from Miramar Beach east to Rosemary Beach and Inlet Beach.

Moliterno said the TDC embarked several months ago on the $1.3 million project that began with a re-examination of the “Beaches of South Walton” brand. The project is being funded with TDC reserve funds, Moliterno said.

 “With South Walton you have 15 very unique and interesting stories,” she said.

Moliterno said the plan is to offer potential visitors the beach that best suits them. She likened the concept to holding a string of pearls and comparing the uniqueness of each one.

“The plan is to showcase all of their individual attributes, not to place them in competition,” she said.

At Tuesday’s Walton County Commission meeting TDC representatives presented the study done by the LKM advertising agency.

The study showed, among other things, that while people who found the Beaches of South Walton on the county’s website, social media or by other methods knew the area, competitors such as Panama City Beach and Destin had better “reach.”

Moliterno said the TDC hopes to feature its new marketing plan in a website targeted to roll out in September.