CASE STUDY: ITZ’ANA RESORT & RESIDENCES
Project Background
Itz’ana Resort & Residences is the most ambitious real estate project the country of Belize has ever seen.
Featuring 86 residences from 1-bed through to 5-bed on beach and lagoon, the project needed to achieve a critical amount of sales prior to construction in order to proceed.
Our mandate was to create the brand and bring it to life through extensive concept development. We then carried it through into the successful sales and marketing of all residential units.
Project Summary
As an independent hotel, it was critical to the project’s success that the brand itself should draw interest and build credibility and loyalty with the international market. We therefore started by creating a multi-layered brand personality which formed the foundation of all marketing efforts.
Upon that foundation, extensive Google Adwords and Social Ads campaigns were built to create awareness and engagement. Content Marketing focused on real life stories from the peninsula mixed with design inspiration, and blogs were distributed via a comprehensive Email Marketing campaign to maintain engagement.
“Carbon-friendly Itz’ana Resort and Residences brings a new level of luxury to Belize”
— NEW YORK TIMES
Results
69 of 86 luxury villas sold prior to soft opening
Price premium of 36% above other regional luxury product
57% of all sales generated through digital avenues
“The stylish Itz’ana brings a serious dose of luxury to Placencia”
— ROBB REPORT
Strategic Differentiators
To counter the market challenges, we designed and built a series of specific, compelling concepts that allowed us to:
Grow international market awareness through top tier media coverage
Consistently create compelling content to grow our databases and keep leads engaged
Built a robust prospect pipeline and convert these qualified leads into successful sales
Carbon neutral villas
By partnering with an in-country forestry specialist to deliver carbon offsets and designing the units for maximum sustainability, we created a new product types that would be entirely carbon neutral throughout their lifetimes.
Solar Cottage
These one-bedroom lagoon cottages were re-engineered to incorporate solar panels and innovative energy management systems to minimize their carbon footprint. The rebranding created extensive media coverage and drove a massive increase in sales.
Limita pop-up restaurant
Prior to construction, we faced major difficulties showcasing the as-yet-unbuilt resort concept. By building a pop-up in the sandy beach and showcasing local culinary talent, we formed a substantial hosting platform which brought the project to life.