KOHANAIKI
CASE STUDY
MEDIA RELATIONS — CASE STUDY
The Challenge
— Since 2016, Murphy O’Brien has represented Kohanaiki, a luxury private residential club on the Kona Coast of Hawai`i. After launching the debut of the club’s amenity-laden 67,000-square-foot clubhouse in early 2017, MO has consistently secured impactful media coverage to promote the community’s real estate offerings that range from $25M to over $20M, even despite the unforeseen challenges of the volcano eruption in 2018 and the travel restrictions to Hawai`i amidst 2020’s COVID-19 pandemic.
The Strategy
— Debut of Clubhouse: Introduce the Kohanaiki Clubhouse to elevate the luxury lifestyle at the private residential club. Secure interest and stories with top national and regional media via both a New York media tour with CEO at the time, Joe Root and personalized onsite media visits to Kohanaiki.
— During 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic, promote the creative ways Kohanaiki engages with onsite members during quarantine and sales prospects who can’t travel to the club. Build anticipation for buying a second/third home as “sanctuary” in the paradise of Hawaii’s newest private residential club.
Results
— Debut of Clubhouse: Executed LA & NY media tours and hosted 20+ media visits; Kohanaiki was voted “Best Beach Home Destination” in Robb Report’s 2017 annual Best of the Best issue; the successful launch helped triple sales from Q1 2016 to Q1 2017. Coverage included Bloomberg Pursuits, CNN Travel, EXTRA-TV, Modern Luxury Hawaii, Mansion Global, LUXURY Magazine, LINKS Magazine, and more.
— 2020 Media Results: Despite COVID-19 travel restrictions, MO secured 624 million+ total impressions, amplifying web traffic and leading team to close sales sight unseen and upsell to members quarantining on property. Top coverage included multiple Wall Street Journal stories, California Home + Design, Calgary Herald, ELLE Magazine, Elite Traveler, Golfweek, Ocean Home Magazine, Unique Homes, Robb Report and more.