Digital Marketing Archives - Travel Alliance Partnership

Driving Awareness Through Engaging Marketing Content

Tim Lindner — Wed, 24 Jan 2024 22:22:47 +0000

How this Case Study may be relevant to you: This example of work illustrates Break the Ice Media’s strengths in developing content that inspires travel to the American Southwest.

Areas of Focus: sports and events, leisure travel, international travel, group travel, value of tourism in the community.

We built awareness and inspired travel through targeted email marketing and social media efforts.

Photo Credit: Southwest Adventure Tours

Situational Analysis

Based in Utah, Southwest Adventure Tours (SWAT) creates tours and adventures in the American Southwest and beyond. Their mission is to allow their guests to build lasting memories by creating exceptional experiences that will touch their hearts, minds and souls. SWAT specializes in tours to National Parks and offers a range of trips and unique itineraries for everyone from the adventure seeker to the leisure traveler.

SWAT hired Break the Ice Media to grow the brand presence for consumers, travel agents and other tour operators through focused and strategic marketing efforts

The Challenge

Implement creative and cohesive marketing efforts to boost growth.

Photo Credit: Southwest Adventure Tours

Objectives

Increase YOY sales.
Increase open and click through rates on all email marketing.
Develop engaging marketing content that drives awareness.
Nurture relationships with travel agents and past customers to drive repeat business.

Strategic Approach

Enhance positioning for SWAT.
Carry out key messages through all channels.
Supplement messaging through targeting digital channels.
Determine personalized messaging for travel trade and past customers.
Follow best practices to improve email marketing.
Create inspirational story content in multiple formats.
Post regularly on social media channels.
Optimize web content for organic and referral traffic.
Share relevant content with travel agents to build strong relationships.

Photo Credit: Southwest Adventure Tours

Tactics

Email Marketing: Send several emails a month targeting consumers, travel agents and tour operators.
Social Media: Utilize automated social media posting, rotating through several posts a week.
Reels: Create eye-catching reels that capitalize on trends and inspire travel.
Website: Ensure all tours are up to date on the SWAT website.

Results

First Five Months

44% open rate on consumer emails
2.3% clicks on consumer emails
21% increase in website traffic over the same period in 2022
Social media improvements compared to the previous five months:
- 8.4% increase in Facebook reach
- 41.3% increase in Facebook profile visits
- 12% increase in Facebook page likes
- 39.1% increase in Instagram followers
- 20.5% increase in Instagram engagement

Photo Credit: Southwest Adventure Tours

Result Highlights

Redesigned SWAT's email newsletter and started a dedicated and consistent email marketing campaign for three different audiences, sending 8 emails per month.
Developed 48 posts to promote National Parks, U.S. States, tour types and key messages.
Created quality reels to boost social media engagement and capitalize on current trends.

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The post Driving Awareness Through Engaging Marketing Content appeared first on Travel Alliance Partnership.

Tour Operator Ramps Up Business with Digital Ads and Content Strategy

Tim Lindner — Wed, 28 Sep 2022 20:58:22 +0000

How this Case Study may be relevant to you: This project involved developing a strategic marketing plan, Google advertising campaigns for lead generation, brand cross-promotion and content development for customer engagement.

By advertising through the second half of 2021, before many of their competitors, and staying top-of-mind with their customer base through regular content, Old Sod Travel positioned itself to ride the wave of "revenge travel" into business recovery.

Situational Analysis

Old Sod Travel is a luxury tour operator creating custom trips to Ireland and the UK for its high end customers. They acquired another tour company in 2018, Scandinavian American, a tour company creating trips throughout Scandinavia. The new addition brought the opportunity for new business with the ability to expand into new markets, leverage pre-existing relationships into new customers and offer new experiences to past customers.

The Challenge

Old Sod Travel found us in early 2021, looking for a way to jumpstart sales post pandemic even though much of Europe was still closed to American travelers. They also wanted to make sure to leverage their new company and ensure it wasn't confusing for customers.

Objectives

Generate short-term revenue in 2021
Increase lifetime value of customers
Build awareness with new audiences

Strategic Insight

In our research, we found that the affluent customer was restless to travel again.

We looked at the competition and saw that they had a uniquely personal travel planning experience for customers.

The two brands, while offering trips to different parts of the world, ended with 5-star experiences that customers rave about.

Old Sod Travel was in an optimal position to deliver memories that last a lifetime for travelers longing to get away again.

Strategic Approach

Cross-promote the two brands, expanding customers' opportunities to travel.
Relate Old Sod Travel's unique positioning into the customer journey.
Create connections to experiences by telling authentic stories.
Refresh the content strategy to create a solid online presence and inspire the audience.
Help potential clients understand the experience they would have on a trip.
Activate the existing customer database with new travel opportunities.
Deploy digital marketing strategies to reach consumers at the right time.

Tactics

Implement strategic Google Advertising campaigns
Create and optimize landing pages for conversions
Engage customers with monthly email newsletters

Results

First Year Results

3 PPC campaigns, 1 display and 1 retargeting campaign
4 landing pages created
385 conversions (lead forms submitted) from ads
2.87% conversion rate and 8.3% click through rate
69% of 6-month website traffic came from paid search
12 email newsletters sent with an avg. open rate of 28%

Second Year Results

Added PPC campaigns for Iceland & Norway
2 landing pages created
450 conversions from ads
3.6% conversion rate and 8.4% click through rate
37% of 9-month website traffic came from paid search
16 email newsletters sent with an avg. open rate of 36%

Result Highlights

Recovered Google Analytics account access to implement cohesive tracking for ads.
Optimized lead intake form and coordinated a data feed to the sales CRM system.
Revamped audience targeting in 2021, which greatly improved lead quality.
Added new itineraries to the website to provide more travel inspiration.
In 2022, "revenge travel" began and the advertising and content strategy paid off with new requests and past clients coming back to reactivate their postponed trips.
Refreshed the full strategic plan after 12 months to expand marketing efforts.

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The post Tour Operator Ramps Up Business with Digital Ads and Content Strategy appeared first on Travel Alliance Partnership.

Re-aligning Strategy to Meet Changing Visitor Sentiment

Tim Lindner — Wed, 30 Jun 2021 19:06:05 +0000

How this Case Study may be relevant to you: This is an example of strategy and a deep understanding of the changing visitor landscape. The marketing campaign reached target audiences in New England and other nearby drive destinations to engage with events, purchase tickets, enjoy virtual workshops and plan a future trip to a cultural attraction and its surrounding region.

We lead digital and public relations efforts, driving over 65,000 clicks, 3,000,000 impressions from social media advertising, 350,000 new users to the website, 120 media placements and 3,800,000,000 impressions from earned media efforts.

photo credit: Old Sturbridge Village

Situational Analysis

Old Sturbridge Village is one of many cultural institutions that was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The typical start to the village’s busy season kicks off in April of each year, largely accommodating school trips and educational groups through June. However, due to state restrictions and safety protocols around the global pandemic, the village closed in mid-March 2020 and remained closed through late June 2020, missing out on large portions of its regular revenue streams.

Research told us that as state lockdowns were lifted and businesses began to reopen, the first visitors to return to places such as OS V would be from local and regional markets. These travelers cared about health, safety, trust and flexibility above all when making travel plans, and emphasized outdoor, open-air attractions. This was a space where OS V could thrive.

On the flip side, a study conducted by Wilkening Consulting noted that only about one-third of Americans were concerned about the state of museums in the COVID landscape, and also considered cultural institutions as a “luxury expense.” With less expendable income to go around, OSV needed to compete for visitor dollars.

The Challenges

Old Sturbridge Village faced the challenge of needing to stand out in the marketplace and drive high-levels of visitation, while also adhering to state guidelines and new guest safety protocols.

photo credit: Old Sturbridge Village

Objectives

Inspire travel and increase standard daytime admission ticket sales among visitors in local and regional drive markets.
Drive up to one-third of typical visitor capacity for front-gate visitation.
Build awareness of Old Sturbridge Village’s current museum offerings, changed guest experience and updated safety procedures.
Connect with an established audience of loyal customers who will make OSV visitation a priority.
Increase sales among established and new revenue streams, including events, merchandise, on-site dining and other museum experiences, as they become available.
Drive visitors to www.osv.org to learn more, purchase tickets and engage with virtual experiences.

Strategic Positioning

Differentiating OSV from other historic attractions, museums, and living history experiences within the region and leaning into its open-air, outdoor offerings.
Promoting the OSV experience for families, couples, solo travelers, and other identified verticals.
Highlighting the ongoing need for cultural institutions and their role in preserving history, memory, and identity.
Highlighting the educational opportunities presented by OSV and its role in engaging with school-age children.
Touting special events, demonstrations, or one-time offerings that enhance the OSV experience, as they become available.
Sharing action images from the Village upon reopening to encourage others to “follow the crowd” and plan a visit.

Photo Credit: Old Sturbridge Village

Key Messages

“More than a museum” touting all that OSV has to offer
Ongoing need for historical and cultural preservation
Ongoing need for community engagement and support as a major local attraction
Opportunity for enhanced educational experiences
Opportunity for “immersive” experiences (over hands-on, which can be a deterrent for visitors) for all ages and interests
Outdoor and open-air museum experiences, coupled with the universal benefits of fresh air
Enhanced safety procedures and new social distancing and cleanliness protocols to ensure guest health
Day-trip or multi-day destination, with hours of activity and exploration (lean into drivable/staycation messaging)
Flexible booking/ticket sales (standard daytime admission available year-round for purchased tickets)
On-site food, merchandise, and nearby lodging

photo credit: Old Sturbridge Village

Results

By the Numbers

2 strategic marketing plans
9 press releases
120 media placements
3,769 Facebook event responses
65,000 link clicks
350,000 new website users
1.4 million advertising impressions
3.8 billion media impressions

Photo Credit: Old Sturbridge Village

Result Highlights

Developed two strategic marketing plans to aid in reopening for Old Sturbridge Village and partner museum Coggeshall Farm Museum.
Developed and managed monthly digital and social media advertising campaigns on behalf of Old Sturbridge Village, resulting in 26,000+ link clicks, 1,400,000 impressions, 760,000 reached, and high engagement in three top DMA targets including Boston, MA, Manchester, NH, New Haven, CT and New York.
Developed and managed digital advertising strategies around two major events: Christmas by Candlelight with over 20,000 link clicks and 900,000 impressions and Phantoms & Fire with over 7,000 link clicks and 250,000 impressions at Old Sturbridge Village.
Drafted and sent nine press releases on behalf of Old Sturbridge Village covering reopening, major announcements and closures, events and activities.
Provided ongoing public relations support including active pitching and pitch writing, garnering 120 media placements and over 3,800,000,000 total impressions.

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The post Re-aligning Strategy to Meet Changing Visitor Sentiment appeared first on Travel Alliance Partnership.

Growing a Craft Beer Audience During the Pandemic with Entertaining Content, Creative Contest & Digital Campaigns

Tim Lindner — Wed, 19 May 2021 03:06:25 +0000

How this Case Study may be relevant to you: This marketing campaign required creative problem solving to identify result-driving tactics that would grow awareness and future visitation within time and marketing constraints.

We helped Red Shed Brewery increase awareness among target audiences - with web traffic up 270%, email subscribers up 108% and social media followers up 165%.

A creative contest inspiring future visitation generated 14,740,910 impressions from digital advertising, 451 entries and 381 email subscribers.

Photo Credit: Immagine Photography

Situational Analysis

Mid-2020, Red Shed Brewery (RSB) was looking to grow visitation to their Cooperstown Taproom to make up lost revenue from the pandemic. Research indicated that people were excited to start traveling after state-mandated lockdowns were lifted but were going to stick to drive-to destinations within 2-4 hours. This worked in RSB’s favor as they have an expansive outdoor beer garden and are located within 1.5 hours from several cities in Upstate NY.

They were also already thinking about 2021 plans, when they were hoping to begin distribution of their craft beer in cans to new markets: Hudson Valley and New York City.

The Challenge

Red Shed’s taproom was operating at limited capacity due to executive orders and controlling in-person demand. They were also up against a tight timeline - the closing of their Taproom in mid-December for an annual winter break and a State-funded marketing grant expiring at the end of 2020.

Photo Credit: Red Shed Brewing

Objectives

Develop creative and entertaining content that highlight the Red Shed Brewery experience.
Create greater awareness of Red Shed Brewery among day-trippers to drive immediate visitation.
Grow awareness of Red Shed Brewery within Hudson Valley/NYC for future market growth.
Build audience and engagement to plant the seeds for future visitation to Red Shed Brewery.

Strategic Insight

For Red Shed Brewery, it’s about the people.

Red Shed’s beer brings people together for good times, whether it’s customers that come to enjoy craft beer with family or friends, or the friendly and knowledgeable staff eager to introduce customers to a beer they will love.

Red Shed Brewery is an overall experience for visitors: craft beer, good food and great times. Messaging focused on the taproom’s unlimited space to safely accommodate visitors – and the connections people make over its beer.

Photo Credit: Immagine Photography

Strategic Approach

With the cancellation of annual events that typically brought visitors to the area, an understanding of the travel research, and the foresight of eventually distributing cans to a new audience, Red Shed Brewery needed to find creative ways and compelling reasons to encourage visitation from “day trippers” (those from surrounding towns within 2-4 hours of Central New York) and grow awareness among craft beer drinkers in Hudson Valley and NYC.

Photo Credit: Immagine Photography

Tactics

SEO & Website Updates: including 6 blog posts
Content Creation: professional photo shoot, produced video visually telling Red Shed’s story, a series of short, feel-good videos describing Red Shed’s beers and atmosphere
Facebook Advertising: a series of Facebook Ad campaigns targeted those in a 2-hour drive market; and those in Hudson Valley and NYC
Digital & Print Advertising: including in regional publication True Brew Magazine
Email Newsletters: sending regular newsletters and tactics to grow the subscriber list
Social Media: posting on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter
“Where Do You Beer” Online Contest: held December 2020 with a prize giveaway, employing these tactics as well as display advertising and PR outreach

Results

As a result of their marketing efforts, Red Shed saw an increase in:

Web traffic (up 270% from 2019)
Email subscribers (up 108% from 2019)
Average open rate for e-newsletters (25.8%, up from 21.2% in 2019)
Social media audience (an increase of 165% for users combined across channels)

Facebook Ads driving awareness and visitation reached 967,111 users, and PR efforts earned 16 placements with over 41 million media impressions.

The “Where Do You Beer?” contest received 14,740,910 impressions from digital ads, 44,895 pageviews, 451 entries and 381 email leads. It was touted as the “Marketing idea of the week” and one of “The 25 best craft beer sales and marketing ideas in 2020” by industry publication, Craft Brewing Business.

"Where do you beer?" Online Contest

At a time when people felt disconnected from each other, the contest reminded people of good times with good beer and invited them to #BeerHereSoon when safe to visit in the future. Open to NY State residents, users answered “Where do you beer?” by selecting from 4 choices:

At home with my family, watching the game
Right at Red Shed, by the bonfire with friends
On the go with my significant other, whether it’s camping or at the lake
Relaxing in my backyard with my neighbors.

Each answer had a related prize, plus Red Shed merchandise and gift cards from area attractions to use during a future visit.

A large digital advertising push (display, discovery, search, audio, Facebook & Instagram) promoted the contest among the target markets: Central NY, Hudson Valley and NYC. Ads used “Where do you beer?” messaging to highlight the connectedness that comes with craft beer.

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The post Growing a Craft Beer Audience During the Pandemic with Entertaining Content, Creative Contest & Digital Campaigns appeared first on Travel Alliance Partnership.

Seasonal Trail uses Gamification to Augment Visitation with New Virtual Experience

Tim Lindner — Thu, 04 Feb 2021 01:29:58 +0000

How this Case Study may be relevant to you: This annual campaign required creative problem solving to develop a touchless virtual component to encourage visitation and engagement. It involved development of a gamification strategy from concept through execution.

We helped Wayne County turn their paper-and-stamp brochure into an app that saw over 8,000 unique visitors and 9 pages per visit in under 2 months. The app encouraged visitation to other assets in the region and 64% said they would like to use the app again.

Photo Credit: Wayne County Tourism

Situational Analysis

Wayne County is the largest apple-producing county in New York State, so agritourism is a large part of attracting visitors. The annual Apple Tasting Tour drives visitation into the county and the participating businesses throughout October. A stamped passport Tour Challenge encouraged consumers to visit all the stops on the trail for a chance to win a series of prizes. For 22 years, the tour was held throughout October, plus a special tasting weekend over Columbus Day.

The Challenge

Due to COVID-19, and the trail’s 23rd year, the county needed touchless tour components to drive visitation. Instead of a focus on Columbus Day weekend, efforts had to promote the month of October and educating visitors on steps farms took to stay safe.

Photo Credit: Wayne County Tourism

Objectives

Develop a touchless, virtual “replacement” for the passport to encourage visitation and engagement.

Strategic Insight

Go high-tech to make it touchless

Messaging focused on the outdoor experiences and the theme “U Pick the Way” played off the popular apple-picking activity while also showing that people could participate as much or as little as they were comfortable with. Our tech solution needed to be touchless, accessible and set the trail up for the future. The virtual tour component would replace the stamped passport for tour participation and check-ins with a virtual/online way to encourage visitation on the trail and track that visitation.

Photo Credit: Wayne County Tourism

Strategic Approach

In addition to the strategies and tactics used in past years to promote the trail, Break the Ice Media worked with Wayne County Director of Tourism Christine Worth to find and develop a touchless tech solution. What started as an idea from the farmers to host an online crossword puzzle (with an answer for each stop), turned into a full app with gamification. Working with a local tourism app development platform, we put together the Apple Tasting Tour app.

Photo Credit: John Kucko

Photo Credit: Wayne County Tourism

App Components:

Pages for each location, linked to a map
Trivia questions for each location, geofenced so people must be at the location to unlock the trivia
New stops on the trail – parks were added to give more open-air options and show off other assets in the area
Badges earned when trivia questions were answered correctly
Information on the contest and how to enter
Restaurants (the trail’s local sponsors) were also included as stops

Results

In 2020, the new app had…

Over 8,000 unique visitors and over 24,000 pageviews
13 minutes average time on site
9.31 average pages per visit
The first weekend and holiday weekend had the most app use, followed by the last two weekends in October
The map was the 3rd most-visited page on the app, with 3,094 views and an average of 3 minutes spent on the page
83 entries

Photo Credit: Wayne County Tourism

Result Highlights

In our end-of-season survey, over 90 respondents reported…

75% said they were very likely to participate again
74% said they were very likely to recommend the trail to a friend
52% had been participating for 2-5 years
54% heard about the tour from the county brochure, the next highest was Facebook at 12% (beating Word-of-mouth, 8%)
58% found the app valuable in planning and participating in 2020
60% had stopped at a newly-listed park
64% would like to use the app again, either in a browser or in an app store

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The post Seasonal Trail uses Gamification to Augment Visitation with New Virtual Experience appeared first on Travel Alliance Partnership.

Branding and Messaging Strengthen a Public-Private Partnership

Tim Lindner — Thu, 28 Jan 2021 00:54:49 +0000

How this Case Study may be relevant to you: This project used creativity to spur community engagement on a capital campaign during a crisis. We developed the brand to launch the project and messaging to build excitement.