The Partnership Award
2024
Nominee
Finalist
Shortlist
Winner
The Autentico Aruba Culinary Festival
Aruba Tourism Authority
The Autentico Aruba Culinary Festival was designed to be a week long celebration of Aruba’s culinary offering. The goal for this event was to bring the food & beverage industry together and showcase Aruba’s culinary DNA: diversity, high quality, and authenticity. The event consisted of a restaurant week with special offers, VIP Bucket List dinners, educational opportunities for local culinary students, and 2-day open air street festival called the Wilhelminastraat Pavilion in the capital of Aruba. On the short term, this event was a successful promotional opportunity for the participating restaurants and beverage distributors: festival attendees could discover new dishes, new cocktails or, for some, restaurants they did not previously know.
The 2024 event was also an opportunity to showcase Aruba’s monumental Wilhelminastraat area in a new way to locals and visitors alike, bringing much needed activity to the downtown area. This event was designed to add a new concept to Aruba’s calendar of events, which previously did not have a culinary event of this type and magnitude. The event was promoted locally and also internationally, with a selection of invited chefs, mixologists, journalists and content creators from North America, Latin America, and Europe sharing their experiences with their audience helping Aruba to position itself as a culinary destination in the Caribbean.
The Autentico Aruba Culinary Festival was a resounding success, achieving its goals and leaving a lasting impact on the island. The festival's commitment to innovation, local collaboration, and creative storytelling helped elevate Aruba's culinary scene and promote it as a top culinary destination. The event utilised a digital-first marketing approach, incorporating social media, email campaigns, and the MyAruba app to engage audiences effectively. By prioritising local vendors, from brand designers to musicians, the festival maximised its impact on the local economy and showcased Aruban talent. The unique brand created for Autentico, inspired by Aruba's unique offerings and international trends, further enhanced the festival's appeal. Additionally, the "Roots of Flavor" corner provided a historical perspective on Aruban cuisine, highlighting the island's rich culinary heritage.
Judges Comments
Aruba Autentico is refreshing to see. Not only is the branding and design visually stunning, but the campaign shows that despite living in a crowded digital and tourism landscape, there's still plenty of space for creativity, innovation and most importantly demand generation.
The judges considered this to be a resounding success on all points. The strategy and concept is solid, multi-faceted, well thought out both in terms of the short term objectives, legacy and long-term strategic goals. The comprehensive approach really stands out, from the development of an authentic brand developed locally, to a truly eclectic product development programme bringing the flavours of Aruba to the fore, both online and in the experience itself.
The success speaks for itself in terms of leads generated, social following achieved and ultimately the volume of bookings created. This shows that the strategy paid off. By generating demand at every point, from the brand and festival concept through to the experiences incorporated within it and the digital media strategy - it is rare to see all points coming together so completely from a destination.
Whilst the judges were drawn to the bucket list experiences and overall vibrant content mix, Roots of Flavor particularly stood out, as well as the focus on local vendors, education and partners. These actions show the importance of values and the educational role being key, whilst also resonating at the heart of the campaign's message.
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