Presenting the extraordinary 6 month results of a pilot digital campaign for an upcoming destination such as Regional Unit of Trikala, with an innovative approach. The success of “ElaMeteoraTrikala” creates a new benchmark for destination websites and becomes Nelios’ recommended strategy for destination digital marketing campaigns. This case study has shown that the holistic, digital campaign strategy created and curated by Nelios is already reeling in spectacular results within just half a year. On Friday 20th May, Nelios presented an in-depth analysis regarding the performance of the digital strategy to the board of the Destination Management Organization Regional Unit of Trikala and here is a summary of that presentation.

Objective of the campaign

To put the upcoming destination of Trikala Prefecture on the global touristic map, to promote it to targeted markets and specific audiences therein with the objective of creating strong engagement and probable demand for the destination (physical visits).

The Destination

Although Meteora, Trikala’s most famous ‘attraction’, is fairly widely known, the larger region of Trikala remained an elusive destination. The objective, therefore, was to create holistic awareness for the destination, and to present all the experience possibilities one can have in the entire region.

Our Digital Strategy

We began a digital dialogue on behalf of the destination with targeted users, based on a complex funnel of digital micro-campaigns directed at carefully selected audiences. At each stage of the campaign, depending on the user behaviour, we used different messages that spoke to their level of engagement, thus further enhancing the positive effect of that message.

First, we introduced the destination of Trikala to specific audiences in the targeted international markets by devising persona profiles, based on a complicated mix of demographics, geographical location and interest. The targeted markets were informed by the Organization’s data plus new markets that emerged from Nelios’ insight. We then proceeded to create engaged awareness with campaigns to promote Trikala based on user specific interests and by evaluating the targeted users’ behaviour on site. This was followed by remarketing campaigns for the entire destination that further enhanced the dream stage for the user and, subsequently, created a desire to discover this destination as a whole. In the final stages of the funnel, campaigns had a more “sales” approach as a call to action, with the aim of inviting users to visit the destination for targeting the most engaged users with the purpose of capturing and capitalizing on the desire already created.

Campaign Results

Here is where it really gets interesting. Within just 6 months, our strategy has rendered spectacular results. Of all the users who were exposed to our initial marketing message, 1.8% clicked and entered the website. This CTR score (Click Through Rate) is actually phenomenal, compared to the industry standard for these types of campaigns which is less than 0.5%! Essentially, this score is at least 350% above the usual industry estimation. Of those users who did enter the website, 77.4% showed serious engagement (quality visits), either by spending increased time on site or by the number of pages they opened, which was a minimum of 8 pages per visit.

Correlation of Results with Spend

Regional Unit of Trikala Digital Marketing Strategy Results

For every 1.000EUR spent

• 679,000 users
  Were exposed to and introduced to the destination.
  
  
• 16,000 users
  Were attracted through destination awareness, having learned about the destination.
  
  
• 2,400 users
  Showed serious engagement to the extent of being possible visitors of the destination.
  
  
• 600 users
  Completed the entire funnel and were engaged to the extent of being highly probable visitors of the destination.
  

Conclusion

The ratio of spend to highly probable visitors is indeed extraordinary. This supports that the above mentioned tailored strategy approach (of persona specific targeted campaigns, in combination with Nelios’ insight in terms of behavioural analysis and a dynamic way of speaking to users depending on the stage of their digital journey) has been a success, backed-up by incredibly positive result data. It is therefore safe to say that there is no better way to promote a destination than this unique destination digital marketing strategy approach that gives momentum to a successful digital campaign which has the right set-up and careful follow-up at every stage. Furthermore, it brings to the table an important discussion about the destination’s budget reallocation since it renders such great measurable results. 

Epilogue

We are proud to have delivered once again even on a challenging project such as a website portal of an upcoming destination, Nelios will continue to provide tailored digital marketing solutions for destinations in this innovative and result-driven way. With ElaMeteoraTrikala’s results being applauded, our contract with the Destination Management Organization Regional Unit of Trikala has been renewed, moving forwards with even greater optimism. The next step for Nelios is to delve deeper and fine tune this already successful strategy, with more exciting things happening at the next phase of the collaboration. Stay tuned!