The Puerto Rico Tourism Company turned its social media accounts into a real-time advertising platform. When a man posted photos of himself being “miserable” in Puerto Rico because he couldn’t bring his family, we brought him back along with his wife and daughter. When winter got so harsh in Boston that people started a hashtag that asked people to jump out their windows into the snow, we invited some of these daredevils to come jump in Puerto Rico instead. When Astronaut Scott Kelly tweeted a picture of Puerto Rico from outer space, we invited him to the island to vacation after his mission was over. When people all over the world made a trend out of freezing your pants off, we tried to do so as well, in spite of being a tropical island.

To be able to execute any idea thoroughly, an on-the-fly advertising team had to be created along with its very own in-house production team. The moment the team’s social media listeners pointed out an opportunity, the rest of the team was ready to instantaneously execute the creative’s big idea that concluded in joining the social media happenings in real time. Instead of interrupting consumers with ads, The Puerto Rico Tourism Company simply joined their conversations, and with remarkable results.

As part of an overall strategic shift from big-budget TV campaigns to more cost-efficient direct marketing efforts, the effort contributed to making tourism one of the only economic sectors in Puerto Rico that is actually growing. The most recent numbers from the first quarter of 2016 show an all-time high 71% hotel occupancy rate and a 20% increase in total visits to the island vs. last year. With very little investment, acting fast and in real-time has yielded millions of dollars in earned media through coverage in outlets all over the world, counterbalancing the bad press that an economic crisis usually brings. More than saving the country money that is much needed elsewhere, this strategy has shown that coming to Puerto Rico is always a good response.