Launching the Giant 'Memories' Postcard National PR Campaign

Opening the press conference to give media the opportunity to go more in-depth on this project and why it matters .

It was a Thursday afternoon and I was on my way to a business lunch while straddling a Zoom call. On the phone, the BTMI marketing director said that he was launching a summer campaign to drive business to the island around three pillars - memories, moments, secrets. The idea was that after two years of COVID-19 and all the negative emotions: anxiety, grief, fear, frustration, sadness, we wanted to bring joy back to people's lives. And what better way than to refresh their fondest memories?

The question was posed: what can Public Relations do to support this campaign? That's when I had the crazy idea - why don't we erect giant Barbados postcards all over the world that encourage people to share their favourite Bajan memories? For those who haven't yet visited the island, they could easily share their dreams of a Barbados holiday.

From then, our team got to work. The first country we had to launch in was of course, Barbados. Now, you could imagine that unveiling five giant postcards across the island was no easy feat. From logistics to construction and design, permits; it was a lot... to say the least. But we did it. And it was so worth it.

In PR, how you launch something is just as important as the thing itself. You don't get a second chance at a first impression, and we knew that we had to bring out all the stops.

Unveiling our giant 'walk in' postcard at the airport with media and local influencers.

What we did

Our plan was to get the word out as far as possible, using both our owned platforms (IG, FB, YouTube, Twitter), and shared platforms. We invited local media houses, our government information service, tourism service providers, and influencers to be a part of the launch day. Branded in our Tourism Forward shirts, everyone knew the mission.

Each postcard had a special unveiling tied to its location. From performers in period costumes in Holetown to signify the first settlers, to African dancers and drummers in our capital city Bridgetown that represents who we are; we created moments. Now, imagine all of that, with a bus full of storytellers, armed with their cell phones and getting a front-row view of the unveiling of this national moment. It was incredible.

The results

The response was overwhelming. Passers-by at each unveiling were eager to engage with the postcards and share their favourite Bajan memories. Influencers from around the world joined in our Instagram live streams and shared their favourite memories with their followers. Ministers of Parliament came out in their constituencies to unveil the postcards with us and encourage everyone to visit their parishes. And as for our social media impressions... the ticker is still going.

In conclusion

These beautiful postcards will touch the lives of so many people — Barbadians and visitors — as they stop to take photos, sign their names, and relive their favourite memories.

Being able to create a moment in Barbados' history makes my heart swell with pride, and I'm so grateful to have an amazing team who believed in my crazy idea and worked tirelessly to pull this together. This is definitely one for the books, and I hope after reading this you are inspired to get out there and relive and record your best memories at our giant postcards.

Yours creatively,

Aprille