Sandals Insiders: Building Community Through Authentic Storytelling

How a proactive, creator-led content strategy transformed Sandals Resorts into a community-driven platform for new audiences.

The Challenge

Sandals Resorts, a 44-year-old luxury Caribbean brand, is known for its iconic honeymoon experiences and fiercely loyal older audience. However, appealing to younger demographics—Gen Z and millennials—remained a challenge.

While the brand’s existing social content was glossy, curated, and polished, this approach didn't resonate as strongly with younger travellers who increasingly sought authenticity and relatability. They craved content that felt real, human, and participatory.

The objective was clear: attract a new generation of travellers without alienating the existing loyal customer base, by building a community-focused content platform that prioritised authenticity.

The Insight

Younger audiences value real stories and genuine experiences far more than pure brand messaging. Studies show that over 80% of consumers trust peer reviews over brand-owned content, making a creator-led, lo-fi content engine the perfect solution.

Instead of producing more promotional videos, we created Sandals Insiders—a participatory, community-driven initiative where real guests became the brand’s most powerful advocates. This platform tapped into the exploding social advocacy trend of 2024 while providing an ownable, recognisable content identity.

The Solution

We developed the Sandals Insiders program—a proactive, creator-led content engine designed to leverage the passion of Sandals’ most devoted guests. This approach transformed loyal customers into powerful storytellers.

Finding Our People

With a social footprint exceeding 5.5 million followers, we targeted the Sandals Official Fans Facebook Groups—21 groups with over 420,000 engaged followers. These communities, filled with guests who frequently share recommendations, tips, and experiences, were the ideal audience to kickstart our initiative.

Launching the Sandals Insiders Platform

We branded the initiative as Sandals Insiders—reflecting exclusivity, advocacy, and deeper brand access. The program aimed to transform superfans into storytellers, providing them with a platform to share their passion for Sandals authentically.

Story Mining & Superfan Selection

To recruit the first Insiders, we launched a survey to uncover compelling guest stories—from personal rituals to unique travel experiences. After narrowing down the participants, we selected three couples representing distinct audience segments and interests:

1. Jeff & Cindy – The Loyalists
   Married at Sandals 36 years ago, Jeff and Cindy embody the brand’s core audience, returning every year since. Their itinerary celebrated their legacy at Sandals South Coast, including their favourite cocktail-making spots and secret sunrise lookout. Their content combined old wedding photos with present-day experiences, seamlessly blending nostalgia with modern storytelling.

2. David & Buffi – The Boojie Foodies
   Representing the ‘luxury-loving, food-obsessed travelers’, David and Buffi were drawn to Sandals’ culinary experiences. Their curated itinerary featured reggae catamaran cruises, indulgent dining experiences, and behind-the-scenes tastings, highlighting Sandals as a culinary destination.

3. Rebecca & Mike – The Adventure Lovers
   As adrenaline seekers who thrive on watersports and excursions, Rebecca and Mike’s itinerary included activities like exploring an underwater sculpture park in Grenada and sharing their experience of how Sandals rescued their wedding plans after Covid cancelled their original U.S. event.

Production & Post

The week-long trip brought all three couples together at the resort, supported by a lean production team focused on social-first content capture. Insiders were provided with video kits, including GoPros, and trained to capture their own experiences in their authentic, unfiltered style.

We integrated Insider-shot footage with b-roll, using modern editing techniques to strike the perfect balance between high creative quality and genuine storytelling.

Formats & Channel Delivery

Content was distributed across Reels, TikToks, statics, and Stories, tailored to each platform and Insider’s unique narrative. The combination of creator POV and nostalgic brand moments gave the campaign its signature feel—authentic, warm, and deeply human.

The Impact

The Sandals Insiders program proved that lo-fi, customer-centric content resonates more than brand-led campaigns with this key demographic. Using a mix of self-shot footage, production team clips, and social-first editing, the content felt genuine and relatable.

Results (To Date)

2.4 million views from just 2 of the 16 planned videos.

7,000 interactions and the highest average watch-time of any Sandals Meta content in 2025.

95% positive sentiment, with audiences discussing their own experiences (39%), reacting positively to the content (45%), mentioning future bookings (13%), and identifying as new fans (4%).

The success of the program has initiated discussions for a Phase 2 expansion.