The city of Miami Beach, which once warned spring breakers, “Come on vacation, don’t go on probation,” says it plans to deliver a more welcoming message this March when thousands of college-age tourists descend on the city .
But it won’t deliver that message alone: The city will pay local influencers to use their social media followers to welcome spring breakers and remind them to obey the law.
No deals have been signed yet, but the city plans to hire 6 to 8 Miami and Miami Beach influencers to participate in a spring break marketing plan that will include ads at the airport, bus stops and travel websites.
The idea is to deliver safety messages to a party crowd that has long been a headache for the city, while also welcoming its visitors and adopting a more “casual” tone, said Matt Kenny, the city’s assistant director of marketing and communications.
“We decided this year to welcome visitors to Miami Beach rather than having an overly authoritarian or dictatorial tone,” he said. “Our primary goal was to welcome them to Miami Beach, make them feel welcome in our community while promoting local offerings and reminding them of our policies to safely enjoy the city.”
Kenny presented the plan to the mayor’s Art Deco Cultural District panel on Friday. The two slogans for the month-long Spring Break campaign are “Welcome to Miami Beach” and “Take care of our city and it will care of you”.
The revamped marketing campaign, which is dovetailed with a city-sponsored series of concerts and events featuring the likes of Alanis Morissette and Juanes, comes a year after a runaway spring break in 2021 that prompted the city to impose an 8 p.m. curfew impose amid clashes with police and community riots.
A woman twerks on the hood of a Miami-Dade police cruiser while a man shouts profanities at an officer trying to steer crowds off Ocean Drive following the spring break curfew in Miami Beach, Fla., Sunday, March 28, 2021 clear. Daniel A Varela [email protected]
Through its programming and marketing efforts, Kenny said the city is trying to change its perception of just being a place to party. But this year’s ad campaign aims to appeal to the crowd of spring breakers the city knows are coming: people between the ages of 18 and 28.
The influencers selected will represent diverse backgrounds, a move Kenny said, echoing comments from the Miami-Dade Black Affairs Advisory Board. Kenny presented the Art Deco panel with a mockup of ads featuring influencers, Miami Beach Police Department Spokesman Ernesto Rodriguez and Mayor Dan Gelber.
The marketing campaign, which will also include business partnerships and opportunities for residents to submit their own video or photo testimonials about recreational activities and “house rules” for vacationers, is estimated at about $50,000, though all media deals are still under negotiation, a spokeswoman said . Media outputs include advertisements at airports, bus stops, billboards, mast banners, trolleys and online.
The plan was developed in collaboration with the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau and marketing firm VMLY&R.
For as long as Miami Beach has been a popular spring break destination, city leaders have been criticized by rights groups and black leaders for their heavy-handed approach to busy weekends that attract young, diverse crowds who come to South Beach to unwind. In 2019, the city’s Spring Break slogan was “Come on vacation, don’t rehearse.” Then came “vacation with responsibility”.
Along with public messaging campaigns, the city is mobilizing a large contingent of police to maintain order during spring break, which Gelber has often likened to an “armed camp.” In recent years, clashes between police and spring breakers have led to criticism of excessive violence and attracted international media attention.
Kenny said the marketing campaign doesn’t need commission approval, but the city has notified elected leaders and plans to discuss its efforts with residents as well.
“First and foremost, we always want to be sure that we’re a welcoming city,” Kenny said.
Jane Krupp, an Ocean Drive resident and Art Deco panel member, criticized the presentation at Friday’s meeting for saying it would attract partygoers to a city that no longer aspires to be the spring-break capital.
She said the city’s mock-up with various influencers was not “diverse” because it didn’t include “European” families or children. Everyone in the city’s presentation, she said, looked like they were going to a party.
“We’re trying to wrap up spring break and here you are with all these influencers you call diverse. They all look exactly the same to me,” Krupp said. “I don’t see myself there. I don’t see any European family. I don’t see little children. I do not get it. They market the people who destroyed us. You invite her back.”
She said the city encourages “drinking and drug use” in lieu of the city’s Art Deco architecture.
Kenny contradicted the criticism, saying that the city does not encourage wrongdoing and that the younger crowds will come to South Beach regardless of whether the city wants to stop them.
“I think what we’re doing is understanding who’s going to be here,” he said. “Like it or not, there is a demographic that will be in Miami Beach at this point.”
This story was originally published January 28, 2022 4:10 p.m.
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Martin Vassolo reports on Miami Beach politics and government for the Miami Herald. He began working for the Herald in January 2018 after attending the University of Florida, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of The Independent Florida Alligator. Previously, he was a general-duty reporter for the Herald’s underground office and an intern in political reporting.
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