In September 2017, Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico’s crucial tourism economy. One year later, the media were preparing their anniversary coverage – ready to replay the destruction all over again, and set back PR’s progress to rebuild island tourism. So, we created a new visual narrative to flip the negative anniversary script. Returning to an intersection where residents had once scrawled S.O.S. to passing planes, we painted a new message: Bienvenidos (Welcome) #CoverTheProgress! And on the first anniversary the world’s media did, leading to one billion+ positive media impressions and stories declaring Puerto Rico as a top 2019 travel destination.

When Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico in September 2017, millions watched the disaster unfold in the media. The world saw an island with no electricity, a broken infrastructure, and a mounting death toll -- destructive images that redefined the once inviting island and its people, and virtually wiped out Puerto Rico’s crucial tourism economy. One year later, the recovering island now had to brace for another PR disaster: the world’s media were preparing one-year anniversary coverage of the hurricane which would recycle the dramatic images of devastation – threatening our hard-earned efforts to win back tourists. In fact, our research of past natural disasters showed that 90% of anniversary coverage was negative.

It was time for PR intervention. How could we flip the media’s negative anniversary script and prevent another tidal wave of hurricane coverage that could impact perceptions of the island’s recovery and discourage tourism?

We needed a creative new visual centerpiece and media call to action with the power to entirely redirect how the world’s media covered Puerto Rico around the one-year milestone of the hurricane’s destruction.

Instead of a destruction story, we needed a positive recovery story – one visually strong and dramatic enough to overshadow the media’s natural inclination to simply repurpose their large library of disaster footage.

We found our creative inspiration in one of the most haunting images that had gone viral during the week of the hurricane: an urgent S.O.S. sign painted on a street intersection in storm-ravaged Humacao to alert passing aircraft to residents’ dire situation.

That gave us our idea. We would go back to that same intersection, gather the residents, and paint a very different message to the media and the world a year later. Instead of S.O.S., it would say Bienvenidos! (Welcome!) #CoverTheProgress!

In a bold move, PR would directly challenge the media to #CoverTheProgress instead of the hurricane’s destruction, and take personal responsibility for coverage of the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Maria. Media had a choice: their coverage could either positively or negatively influence the world’s perception of the island as a travel destination, and affect the livelihood of its people.

Under the rallying cry of #CoverTheProgress, and together with our newly painted sign at the iconic Humacao intersection as our visual centerpiece, we would demand fair, forward-looking coverage of Puerto Rico’s tourism industry, and the resilient people whose economic future was at stake.

We would be the first site of a major natural disaster to pre-empt the typical negative news cycle and hurricane anniversary narrative -- because, in truth, so much recovery progress had been made on the island of Puerto Rico.

We returned to the Humacao neighborhood and shot new aerial images of the same intersection that had once proclaimed a desperate S.O.S., this time colorfully decorated and greeting the world with a big “Bienvenidos! (Welcome!)” #CoverTheProgress!

We created a toolkit of visual content to inspire media to #CoverTheProgress, including stark before and after imagery of popular Island tourism spots, stunning new video footage, the latest tourism data, compelling visitor testimonials, and images of local tourism industry members holding #CoverTheProgress signs.

One month before the anniversary, we launched #CoverTheProgress and our new visual on CNN — the outlet that had first released the S.O.S. image that went viral. Then we went wide, pitched online and print travel, consumer lifestyle, and hard news outlets. Local businesses, travel industry partners, hotels and airlines joined us in sharing real-time images of recovery. Our 100+ travel influencers and media associates helped drive a #CoverTheProgress movement.

Research shows that travelers avoid a destination after a natural disaster for as many as 23.8 months. But that wasn’t the case with Puerto Rico. The #CoverTheProgress campaign launched on the hurricane’s first anniversary has dramatically influenced media coverage of the island and revived its tourism economy.

FLIPPING THE PROVERBIAL DISASTER SCRIPT

While just 10% of natural disaster coverage around first anniversaries is positive, ours was 70% positive. Media declared Puerto Rico as ‘Open for Business’ and ‘facilities better than ever.’

Positive conversation surrounding Puerto Rico tourism grew from 50% (July) to 80% (post-anniversary in December).

#CoverTheProgress coverage resulted in 1 billion+ earned media and social impressions.

“A Puerto Rican town wrote 'S.O.S.' in the street after Hurricane Maria. Now it has a new message” (CNN)

“How Puerto Rico Is Using Tourism to Rebuild After Hurricane Maria” (Forbes)

“Hospitality Leaders Tout Puerto Rico as a ‘Comeback Story Like Our Industry Has Never Seen” (Successful Meetings)

“Puerto Rico named the #1 place to go in 2019” (New York Times)

Twenty-two leading international travel and lifestyle media have recommended Puerto Rico as one of their top 2019 travel destinations.

INFLUENCING TRAVELERS AND TOURISM PARTNERS

23% improvement in positive perception as a destination.

50% of travelers say they would somewhat to very likely consider visiting.

Major travel agent groups report a 12% YOY increase in upcoming vacation package sales.

Airlines, cruise ships, and hotels have added capacity. Four more major cruise ship lines than before now stop in Puerto Rico.