How Discover Puerto Rico is educating audiences about island heritage

For the team behind Discover Puerto Rico, it’s always been a challenge to educate consumers about the island’s unique travel offerings.

“As a territory of the U.S., there is an inherent challenge that I think has been in place for a long time, which is just educating people on the U.S. mainland that Puerto Rico is part of the U.S.,” explains Leah Chandler, CMO for Discover Puerto Rico.

And that’s a missed opportunity in the luxury travel market, where visitors can avoid the hassle of getting a passport and exchanging currency to simply sit on a beach.

“They think there’s a lot of barriers to entry when in fact traveling to Puerto Rico is super accessible and easy with over 200 direct flights a day,” Chandler says. That’s the challenge that faces the comms team, even more so than the need to rebuild trust and identity for an island that has come to be known by its devastating losses during recent hurricanes.

The keys to audience education are continuity and innovation, says Chandler.

Chandler says continuity is shown by stressing the message about Puerto Rico’s accessibility in every piece of communication the team creates, from press releases to TV ads. For instance, every TV spot has a stamp that reminds viewers “no passport required.”

Rebranding an island