Secret Escapes is an exclusive membership website that offers discounts on luxury hotels and holidays. They partnered with AdParlor to run targeted Facebook ad campaigns using custom and lookalike audiences to effectively acquire new customers. These campaigns led to a 105% increase in sign-ups, 134% increase in clicks, and 152% increase in marketing budget. Pleased with the success, Secret Escapes expanded its Facebook advertising to acquire members in new markets of Sweden and Germany.

1. Success Story
Their Story
Their Solution
Their Goal
Their Success
Secret Escapes
Secret Escapes
Know your audience
Secret Escapes started with Page Post Link Ads that
took users to its own website to sign up. These were
supported by further news feed ads along with a
native targeting campaign focussing on demographics,
location, likes and interests.
By working with Preferred Marketing Developer,
AdParlor, Secret Escapes was also able to drive better
results by reaching the right people – i.e. those who
were more likely to convert. AdParlor utilised Custom
Audiences to reach Secret Escapes’ existing customers,
and Lookalike Audiences to find and reach people with
similar characteristics on Facebook.
Products used
• Page Post ads
• News feed ads
• Native targeting
• Custom Audiences
• Lookalike Audiences
“To date, running mobile campaigns has seen an 85% increase in CTR with a 20%
decrease in CPCs compared to campaigns targeting desktop.”
Gareth Griffiths, Head of Digital Marketing
The secret is out
For Secret Escapes, the key measure of success is lifetime
value of acquisitions. By targeting a specific cost-per-
action on Facebook, that lifetime value was closer to
Google AdWords than ever before.
• 152% more marketing budget allocated after
increased exposure through Lookalike Audiences
• 134% increase in clicks in May vs. April
• 105% increase in sign-ups
“We’re delighted that we’ve been able to add paid Facebook advertising to our
acquisition marketing, allowing us to grow spend and increase ROI.”
Tom Valentine, Managing Director & Co-Founder
Having experienced success in the UK, Secret Escapes
decided to expand, launching new websites in Sweden and
Germany. They partnered with Facebook to acquire e-mail
addresses for new members in both countries, with a focus
on efficient cost-per-action metrics.
New horizonsFirst impressions count
Secret Escapes is an exclusive membership website
that negotiates exclusive discounts with a hand-picked
selection of luxury hotels and holidays then passes
those deals on to members via regular emails.
105%
increase in
sign-ups
134%
increase in clicks
May vs. April
152%
increase in marketing
budget allocated in
phase two of campaign
Holiday of a lifetime
When Secret Escapes was planning its own getaway by
expanding into Sweden and Germany, they turned to
Facebook to make it the trip of a lifetime.