BEST TARGETED MARKETING IDEA
Robin
Hawkey
Owner, Virtual Honeymoon
Robin Hawkey, owner of Virtual Honeymoon, adheres to the adage “Work smarter, not harder.” When she began in
the honeymoon and destination wedding industry,
she quickly found that wedding fairs weren’t going
to deliver useful leads for her — plus, they were
expensive and a lot of effort for minimal payoff. She
then began setting up honeymoon tables at local
wedding stores on weekends, offering a free
honeymoon registry, then following up with those
who were interested. One store she worked with
was so happy with the business Hawkey was
drumming up that they invited her to have a small,
in-store office, rent-free, in exchange for 10 percent
of the commission she booked for its brides.
Her marketing creativity also led to networking
with wedding planners, who have now become a
huge source of referrals. In just the first two months
of 2016, Hawkey was working with six planners and
had booked 20 weddings and 10 honeymoons.
“Needless to say, I don’t need to spend time in
wedding stores after connecting with my wedding
planners,” she said.
Hawkey also now offers an interactive
honeymoon tool for couples to find their top two
destination matches — a test-drive of sorts — that
has delivered 100 percent booking success.
“I think I was chosen as a Trendsetter for my
unique way of marketing through the wedding
industry: by building strategic partnerships with
like-minded wedding professionals and working
together to create great working relationships,” she
said. “It’s a win-win for everyone.”
Sponsored by
Celebrity Cruises
The winner in this category
received a European cruise
of up to 12 nights for two in
a balcony stateroom. The
runner-up won a seven-night
Caribbean cruise for two in a
balcony stateroom.
RUNNER-UP:
Alexis Lee
Avenues of the World Travel
In a unique campaign, Alexis Lee began
working with local radio stations to
get her agency’s name on the radar of
citizens of northern Arizona. After
one initial advertisement that stirred
up some buzz, a second campaign
offering a trip giveaway in partnership
with G Adventures gave Avenues
of the World Travel even broader
access to its community.
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