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.

Boat in the beautiful blue ocean

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

Two women drinking wine while relaxing in pool

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

Luxury and grand real estate with large windows

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.

Luxury, energy efficient real estate sitting on a lake

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.

Delicious food at Itz'ana resort

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.