Florida Tourism Produces Original Amazon Prime Series as Marketing Goes Hollywood

When travel and the world shut down in 2020, digital consumption accelerated at a global level — platforms such as Netflix and Disney+ experienced up to 12 percent in growth in 2020, and internet usage spiked as much as 70 percent. It’s no surprise that the lines between work and home blurring even further drove viewership and subscriptions even higher. Coupled with an anticipated boom in backyard summer travel around the corner,  two of Florida's destination marketing organizations (DMOs) saw an opportunity in this streaming bonanza, taking an innovative tourism marketing approach to reach Americans just as they start booking post-vaccine trips. Instead of streaming just ads, Visit Florida and Visit St. Pete-Clearwater scripted and co-produced an original series launched this month and streaming on Amazon Prime Video, as well as on YouTube and GoUSA TV. “Life’s Rewards'' is a dramedy set entirely in St. Pete. Eight-episodes at 10-15 minutes each tell the story of Dan Kinney, a privileged Floridian corporate executive whose luck runs out when a major deal falls through while on a business trip to St. Pete. Fired from his father’s company and his bank accounts frozen, Dan ends up using his millions of hotel points to hole up at the historic Don CeSar Hotel or the “Pink Palace” on St. Pete beach for an extended stay. As he runs out of cash, he builds new friendships with locals he might never have interacted with otherw