Project

Early-bird booking campaign for a luxury self-catering business in Argyll; The Blue Cottage

Challenge

Reach discerning holiday-makers at the outset of 2019 and persuade them to book a stay at The Blue Cottage in 2019. All on an extremely modest budget.

Delivery

  • Recycled outstanding User Generated Content created by Blue Cottage guests in 2018, including aerial drone footage, into a facebook and Instagram campaign; content showcased the stunning local scenery, Argyll’s diverse wildlife and the tranquil setting of the cottage overlooking Loch Awe
  • Multiple and evergreen retargeting audiences had been built-up in 2018 through web visits, video views and social content engagement; they were all first to see the 2019 campaign, which invited them to book early at a discounted rate
  • A prospecting facebook campaign, using recent video footage to stunning effect in an Instant Experience ad, targeted mobile-only views from carefully profiled audiences whose interests denoted affinity with vacationing in luxury cottages, with Scotland and Argyll and with the many activities offered when staying in the cottage, e.g. wildlife, trail walking, whisky, canoeing, dog-walking, fishing and heritage sites
  • The campaigns targeted audiences mainly in England, but also reached as far as the Netherlands and Germany, where the cottage has built up a loyal following amongst its 2,000+ Facebook fans
  • The website (created by Sunstone) was updated with new inspirational activities for guests and recent 5-star reviews were brought to the fore

Outcomes

  • An astonishingly successful Facebook campaign, which generated over 1,000 visits to the cottage website for a budget of less than £240. The extensive and positive social signals the campaign attracted from the outset ensured it was doubly efficient
  • The Blue Cottage is almost fully booked for 2019 with 80% occupancy for the year achieved within the first 4 weeks of January and with the mix of bookings shifting dramatically to ‘direct’ vs ‘agent’ booked (so more profitable)
  • The campaign cost-per-booking was £12 and it’s ROAS was £37, i.e. for every £1 spent, we generated £37 in revenue