Case Study: Las Palomas Boosts Traffic with Refined Audiences, Messaging and Digital Strategy from Orange 142

Targeted campaigns lead to a +1,600% increase in website traffic and higher engagement.

The Orange 142 team understood that the way to drive website traffic—and ultimately bookings—is to target the right people within the desired markets of Arizona, Southern California, Southwest Texas, and New Mexico. Orange 142’s strong targeting capabilities, driven by its proprietary data, were critical in reaching the right audience for Las Palomas.

About Las Palomas Beach & Golf Resort

Las Palomas Beach & Golf Resort is a premier luxury beachfront destination on the Sea of Cortez in Mexico, located close to Phoenix and Tucson. The resort boasts over 471 ocean-view condos and an 18-hole championship golf course. It plans to expand with an additional 1,000 condos. As the largest resort in Sonora, its renowned for its expansive common areas, pools, and top-tier services. Catering to high-end travelers seeking a relaxing yet refined getaway, Las Palomas consistently aims to exceed guest expectations, ensuring a memorable and satisfying experience for every visitor, primarily from Arizona, Southern California, New Mexico, and Southern Texas.

The Challenge

Las Palomas Beach & Golf Resort had an existing agency for their Mexico market, but they were intrigued by the work Orange 142 had done with Visit Tucson. When Orange 142 reached out, the resort saw an opportunity to enhance its marketing efforts and improve performance.

Key concerns included:

• Targeting the Right Audience. The resort struggled to ensure that its marketing campaigns, particularly its social media efforts, reached the right audience -- travelers who value a full-service resort experience. Las Palomas needed to engage better potential guests who might otherwise opt for short-term rentals.
• Adapting Messaging for U.S. Audiences. As a Mexican resort, Las Palomas has made significant efforts to adjust its language and overall messaging to appeal more effectively to American travelers. These efforts ensure that its unique features resonate with this crucial market, making every guest feel understood and catered to.
• Competition from Airbnb and VRBO. Las Palomas faced significant competition from platforms like Airbnb and VRBO, which allow condo owners to rent their units independently. This reduced the number of direct bookings through the resort’s official channels, impacting their revenue and ability to control guest experiences. 
  
  The resort wanted to increase traffic to its website to attract bookings away from short-term rental platforms.
• Lack of Expertise in Optimizing Campaigns. Despite using modern marketing channels, the resort lacked expertise in optimizing its digital efforts. It needed to better understand and leverage social media algorithms and improve its ad copy to attract the right visitors.

The Solution

Marisol Vindiola, senior manager of Business Development Digital at Orange 142, approached Héctor Vázquez del Mercado, General Manager of Las Palomas Beach & Golf Resort, with the goal of expanding Orange 142’s client base to include Mexican destinations. Having seen Orange 142’s work, Vázquez del Mercado was impressed and confident in the agency’s abilities.

“Marisol used to work for Visit Tucson, which has been very successful with its marketing strategy in this region. When she approached me and mentioned she was now part of Orange 142, I felt confident in hiring your team, knowing the great work Orange 142 had done for Visit Tucson. I was sure I’d be working with professionals,” Vázquez del Mercado said.

Honing Campaign Visuals and Copy
During a visit to Las Palomas, Carly Vaughn, Digital Advertising Account Manager at Orange 142, identified that the existing marketing materials didn’t fully capture the resort’s beauty. This prompted the team to create more compelling visuals that showcased the resort’s unique appeal. Orange 142’s fresh perspective and expertise in digital marketing were instrumental in this process.

“When we visited the resort, we realized that the existing creative didn’t do it justice because it is a gorgeous property. Our team captured additional photos and videos we believed better showcased what Las Palomas offers to their guests,” explained Vaughn.

Héctor Vázquez del Mercado agreed. “The Orange 142 had a fresh perspective because they aren’t here day in and day out the way we are.”

As part of their strategy, Orange 142 recommended shifting the focus of the resort’s visuals to highlight the interiors of the condos, all of which boast stunning ocean views. This change allowed Las Palomas to compare its accommodations to those of Airbnb and VRBO.

Orange 142 also refined the messaging across all digital platforms. The team improved the creative, ad copy and ensured the language resonated with the target audience.

As Vázquez del Mercado noted, “It wasn’t just about updating the images—it was about refining the words and the messaging. It’s more than just a nice design; it’s about what’s inside the template.”

Targeting the Right Audience
The Orange 142 team understood that the way to drive website traffic—and ultimately bookings—is to target the right people within the desired markets of Arizona, Southern California, Southwest Texas, and New Mexico. Orange 142’s strong targeting capabilities, driven by its proprietary data, were critical in reaching the right audience for Las Palomas.

The initial campaign launched in April 2024, mainly as a brand awareness campaign to drive traffic to the resort’s website. The campaign spanned multiple channels: display, mobile, social media, and Google pay-per-click. Orange 142 leveraged retargeting tactics across all platforms to capitalize on user interest and maximize engagement. The team also incorporated Connected TV to broaden the resort’s reach further and drive potential bookings.

Particular emphasis was placed on social media, with ads running on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. Vázquez del Mercado was keen to work with analysts who could assess Las Paloma’s social media efforts to see if they were targeting the right people. “Fortunately, we received a lot of attention from Orange 142’s social media teams, who helped us refine our designs and align our strategy to our market, which is people looking for a quality beach resort close to their location,” he said.

Upon the advice of the Orange 142 account team, ad creatives now included photos of the interiors of the condos, amenities, and activities to showcase the resort’s high-end appeal better. The campaign helped the resort target the right audience and led to increased engagement and clicks within the defined regions.

“They developed a tailor-made campaign for me: display advertising, Google pay-per-click, all Instagram, Facebook... It’s a multifaceted campaign strategy that was made just for us. So, we are delighted with the engagement we received,” said Vázquez del Mercado. The success of the initial campaign, as evidenced by the increased engagement and clicks, is a testament to the effectiveness of Orange 142’s strategy and its impact on Las Palomas’ business.

Refining the Audience
Las Palomas was so impressed with Orange 142’s work that the resort re-engaged. The campaign’s second phase began in August and involved testing new messaging while expanding audience targeting.

In addition to continuing the focus on Arizona, California, Texas, and New Mexico, Orange 142 refined its audience segmentation to three distinct groups for targeting: young families, snowbirds, and golf enthusiasts. It also included new tactics like organic social media management and influencer marketing, further refining the resort’s digital presence. This more comprehensive phase focuses on awareness and driving conversions with a more nuanced targeting approach.

Refining the Campaign Tactics
Orange 142 deployed similar tactics but added organic social media, supplementing Las Palomas’ existing social media strategy.

“I’m thrilled with the results. And I’m delighted that Orange 142 continues to play 
a vital role in driving our campaign success.”
Héctor Vázquez del Mercado, General Manager
Las Palomas Beach & Golf Resort

Results: Smart Investments that Go a Long Way

While the second campaign is ongoing, the initial results were impressive and exceeded expectations.

Thanks to Orange 142’s expertise, Las Palomas delivered the following.

Performance by Tactic
The highest-performing tactic, as measured by CTR, was Google PPC. In terms of brand awareness, the Meta platforms delivered the most impressions.

The best results are happy clients; by this metric, the Orange 142 nailed their goal. “I’m thrilled with the results. And I’m delighted that Orange 142 continues to play a vital role in driving our campaign success,” said Héctor Vázquez del Mercado, General Manager, Las Palomas Beach & Golf Resort.

Orange 142 for DMOs
Orange 142 is a digital marketing and advertising company with offices across the US. We service marketers and agencies. We are part of Direct Digital Holding, the ninth Black-owned company to go public.

We help marketers of all sizes grow their reach and revenue through data-driven media strategies. We also partner with agencies and execute campaigns on behalf of their clients.

Our team of experts deeply understands the digital landscape and the latest advertising and marketing technologies. We work closely with our clients to develop and execute custom advertising and marketing campaigns that meet specific goals.

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