What Paradise Advertising and Marketing, Inc. does

Paradise Advertising and Marketing, Inc. is a privately held, full-service marketing agency founded in 2000 and headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida, with a second office in Naples. The firm specializes exclusively in the U.S. travel and tourism vertical, serving destination marketing organizations (DMOs), convention and visitors bureaus (CVBs), tourism development authorities, hotels, resorts, attractions, and government tourism entities. Its client roster includes long-tenured anchors such as the Naples, Marco Island, Everglades CVB (Florida's Paradise Coast) under a 23-year agency-of-record relationship, along with Visit Savannah, Visit Hendersonville, Little Rock CVB, The Dalí Museum, Space Florida, and Columbia County TDC.

The agency delivers six integrated service lines — Brand and Creative, Web and Digital Marketing, Media Planning and Buying, Social Media, Public Relations, and Data and Insights — supported by an in-house AI marketing intelligence platform called AiOpti that powers media optimization, social analytics, predictive audience modeling, AI-assisted creative production, and conversational brand-voice chatbots. Technology integrations span tourism-specific data partners (Zartico, Arrivalist, Tourism Economics, Adara Impact, Longwoods, Datafy), CRM systems used by DMOs (Simpleview, Tempest/iDSS, HubSpot), SEO and analytics stacks (GA4, Semrush, MOZ, Ahrefs), and PR tooling (Muck Rack, TVEyes). The firm also operates the Travel Media Pressroom, a 24/7 digital journalist resource, and has launched a consumer journaling app, Guided Gratitude.

Commercially, Paradise operates on professional services terms through multi-year agency retainer relationships and project-based engagements, with enterprise field sales targeting tourism and hospitality buyers via direct relationships, industry events, and RFP processes. The company is co-owned by Chief Marketing Officer Barbara Karasek and Chief Relationship and Growth Officer Tony Karasek, with CEO Mark Jaronski appointed in 2025. Recent strategic moves include the 2025 acquisition of Laurie Rowe Communications (rebranded as Paradise Public Relations), multiple executive hires, the GOODcation voluntourism employee program, and the launch of the 'Paradise in Every Sense' flagship campaign for its anchor client in February 2026.

Name

Paradise Advertising and Marketing, Inc.

Legal name

Paradise Advertising & Marketing, Inc.

Website

https://paradiseadv.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Paradise Advertising and Marketing is a privately held, full-service marketing agency specializing in travel and tourism. It serves destination marketing organizations, CVBs, hotels, resorts, and attractions across the United States through integrated brand, digital, media, PR, and data analytics services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Tourism Marketing Services

NAICS

Advertising Agencies (541810), Advertising Agencies (54181)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Advertising (7310)

akta.pro primary industry

Brand Activations & Experiential Campaign Design (MPAAAGAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Event Marketing Strategy & Campaign Management (THAHAGAA), AI/ML Revenue Optimization Platforms & Decision Automation (THALAOAM)

Keywords

• Destination marketing services
• Tourism advertising agency
• Media planning buying
• Hospitality public relations
• Integrated marketing campaigns

Headquarters

HQ city

St. Petersburg

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Marketing and Advertising Services: Full-service agency providing integrated marketing and communications services including branding, creative, media planning/buying, digital marketing, public relations, social media, and data analytics. Revenue is generated through professional service fees for ongoing agency retainer engagements and project-based work with tourism and hospitality clients.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Paradise Advertising & Marketing, Inc. is a full-service marketing and communications agency providing integrated services across brand strategy, creative development, web and digital marketing, media planning and buying, social media management, public relations, and data analytics. The agency specializes exclusively in travel, tourism, hospitality, and destination marketing, delivering work through ongoing retainer engagements and project-based campaigns for DMOs, CVBs, hotels, resorts, attractions, and government tourism authorities. Its proprietary AiOpti AI platform powers audience-first media planning, predictive targeting, and cross-channel campaign optimization across the agency's full service stack.

Product overview

Paradise Advertising & Marketing, Inc. is a full-service advertising and marketing agency specializing in travel and tourism. Its offering is organized as a platform-plus-specializations model, with six integrated core service lines — Brand & Creative, Web & Digital Marketing, Media Planning & Buying, Social Media, Public Relations, and Data & Insights — supported by the AiOpti AI marketing intelligence platform. These services are designed to work in concert, with creative strategy, digital development, media buying, social content, PR, and analytics feeding into unified campaigns for destination marketing organizations (DMOs), CVBs, hotels, resorts, and attractions. In addition, the agency has developed or acquired ancillary products including the Guided Gratitude journaling app and the Travel Media Pressroom digital media portal. The overall portfolio spans brand strategy, campaign creative, website development, multi-channel media buying, social media management, public relations, and data-driven performance measurement.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• GOODcation: A company voluntourism program that awards employees with a week of paid time off to volunteer in communities where help is needed most, combining service with tourism.

Products and services

• Brand & Creative Brand strategy, development, and creative production services including brand identity, positioning, messaging, and campaign creative, following a Purpose–Strategy–Planning–Execution framework to build emotional brand connections for tourism, hospitality, and destination clients.
• Web & Digital Marketing Website design, development, and digital marketing services including UX strategy, CMS development (WordPress, Drupal, Craft), SEO, analytics configuration, and digital campaign execution for destination marketing organizations and hospitality clients.
• Media Planning & Buying Audience-first media strategy and multi-channel media buying spanning programmatic, paid social, CTV, print, radio, and OOH, leveraging first-, second-, and third-party data with behavioral, transactional, and geolocation insights to build audience profiles and optimize ROAS for tourism clients.
• Social Media Full-service social media strategy and content for tourism brands, including platform-specific content creation, influencer strategy, community management, paid social, and performance reporting via Sprout, Later, Meta, and AiOpti.
• Public Relations Strategic PR services including national media outreach, influencer relations, press kit development, satellite media tours, crisis management, and event management; also encompasses earned media, dynamic reporting via Muck Rack and TVEyes, and the company-built Travel Media Pressroom for tourism clients.
• Data & Insights Research, analytics, and performance measurement services using partnerships with AiOpti, Zartico, Arrivalist, Tourism Economics, Datafy, Adara Impact, and Google Analytics, covering research partnerships, consumer insights analysis, supplementary research, and KPI tracking for tourism clients.
• AiOpti AI-powered marketing intelligence platform used across media optimization, social media analytics, campaign performance tracking, and automated conversations, embedded throughout Paradise's media, social, and digital marketing workflows for client campaigns.
• Travel Media Pressroom Company-built, 24/7 digital press resource for travel journalists providing story ideas, press releases, destination facts, and media assets, designed to streamline media access for deadline-driven editors and writers covering southern destinations and tourism.
• Guided Gratitude App Free mobile journaling companion app featuring over 900 journaling prompts across nine categories (gratitude, self-compassion, emotional resilience, relationships, goals & growth, letting go, mindfulness, confidence, stress management); available on Apple App Store and Google Play with no login, subscription, or internet required.

Quantifiable outcome

• Florida's Paradise Coast achieved $44M tourist tax collections (record), +137% ahead of projections, with +10% visitation, +2% occupancy, +17% ADR growth
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration29 records

AI capability12 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Public Relations Society of America (PRSA)minorOthersProfessional affiliation displayed on website as part of Paradise's industry partnerships and professional affiliations, demonstrating commitment to public relations industry standards and best practices.
• Visit FloridacoreGTM or Marketing PartnerOfficial partner of Visit Florida, the state's official tourism marketing corporation. Partnership demonstrates expertise in Florida destination marketing and alignment with state tourism initiatives.
• Destinations InternationalcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerMembership and active participation in Destinations International, the leading global association for destination organizations. CMO serves on the Destinations International Foundation Board.
• Destination FloridaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership with Destination Florida organization supporting Florida destination marketing efforts and industry collaboration.
• OneWest Tourism AllianceminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership with OneWest Tourism Alliance, a regional tourism development organization supporting tourism growth in the western Florida region.
• U.S. Travel AssociationcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerMembership and active participation in U.S. Travel Association, the national non-profit organization representing all components of the travel industry. Supports industry advocacy and thought leadership.
• Learn Tourism Advisory BoardcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCMO Barbara Karasek serves on the Learn Tourism Advisory Board, contributing to tourism industry education and workforce development initiatives.
• The Alternative BoardminorOthersSVP PR Laurie Rowe has been a member of The Alternative Board for 12+ years, a national business advisory organization with peer boards across the country for entrepreneur support.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• MMGY Global: The largest U.S.-based integrated marketing firm exclusively focused on travel, tourism, and hospitality. Directly competes with Paradise for DMO, CVB, hotel, and attraction marketing mandates and offers overlapping capabilities across brand, digital, media, PR, and research.
• BVK: Independent full-service advertising agency with deep tourism and healthcare practices, serving DMOs, attractions, and hospitality brands. Closely comparable in service mix (brand strategy, media, digital, social) and target customer profile.
• Development Counsellors International (DCI): Specialist in tourism marketing and economic development, working with state tourism offices, DMOs, and economic development organizations. Highly comparable to Paradise's tourism-exclusive positioning and government/DMO client base.
• R&R Partners: Full-service agency best known as agency of record for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. Directly comparable in long-term DMO/CVB agency-of-record work, integrated campaign production, and tourism-sector specialization.
• Mering: Destination and tourism marketing agency with a portfolio of state tourism, CVB, and resort clients. Closely aligned with Paradise in vertical focus, full-service model, and measurable-tourism-outcomes positioning.
• Mower: Independent marketing agency with a recognized tourism and travel practice serving DMOs, hospitality brands, and attractions. Comparable across brand, media, digital, social, and PR service lines targeting the same DMO/hospitality customer.
• The Brandon Agency: Mid-sized full-service agency with a tourism and hospitality specialty, serving destinations, resorts, and attractions across the Southeast and beyond. Competes for the same regional DMO and tourism-client RFPs as Paradise.

Emerging players

• Flight School Studio: Boutique creative and content studio focused on travel and tourism brands, producing video, social, and brand storytelling for destinations and hospitality clients. Comparable in vertical specialization and creative-led campaign work, though smaller in integrated media and PR scope.

Broad incumbents

• Weber Shandwick: Global PR and communications network with a dedicated travel and tourism practice. Adjacent rather than direct competition — represents the scaled, full-service incumbent Paradise competes against on larger integrated tourism briefs.
• Edelman: Largest global PR firm with significant travel and tourism accounts. Represents the holding-company-scale competitor for integrated brand, PR, and earned-media tourism engagements where Paradise's boutique size is a constraint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/ParadiseAdv
• Xx.com/ParadiseAgency

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Paradise Advertising and Marketing, Inc.