Promoting and selling places is a content led affair. Destinations often have a whole town, region or country creating, curating and sharing great content. But how do you leverage this powerful ecosystem to achieve specific marketing objectives? How do you find the moments that matter to customers, and scale those out to new audiences?

1. Source | Instagram | @flyjon
Content-led Destination Marketing
Jon Munro | @flyjon | Visit Wales

2. Source | Flickr | lucyparry1
Of course Wales is
better than Cornwall!

3. Source | Flickr | lucyparry1
But, actually it’s not!
(at least in the eyes of the consumer)
Wales is less front of mind than the West Country
Our target market loves the West Country more than Wales
They are more likely to recommend the West Country
And the West Country attracts a higher spending visitor L

4. Maybe Wales is a true
“challenger” brand?

6. A world where the
content a brand
creates is everything

7. Content is all we have and have ever had!

9. Targets, Objectives and Strategy
Influencing circa £190 million in additional value
Big focus is improving reputation
Awareness, consideration and advocacy

10. Targets, Objectives and Strategy
Influencing circa £190 million in additional value
Big focus is improving reputation
Awareness, consideration and advocacy
“Those people who have not yet considered Wales”

11. Source | Flickr | lucyparry1
So, what works?

12. Thinking beyond paid media
Source | iCrossing | Slideshare

13. Develop themes and tell a story

14. Source | Flickr | Interbeat
Right content
Right person
Right device
Right time
Right action

15. We watch search like a hawk
Source | Visit Wales | Tracked search terms and volume (Log10)

16. Create useful and engaging
content on our own site
Get our engaged users involved
Reach out and place
content and widgets
Develop relationships
with key partners
Develop creative and
credible content
Maintain
momentum
in the run up
to Valentines

17. Improving search visibility
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Positions 1-1:
Positions 2-5:
Positions 6-10:
Long Tail Analysis
and Optimisation
Adjustments
Romantic Break
Section Live
Widget creation
and placements
started

18. Increasing share of relevant traffic
500
450
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
Search Interest
Visits
Search Interest vs Organic Traffic (around target terms)

19. But, there were challenges
Diverse audiences (and needs)
Integration and joining things up
Scale

21. Source | Flickr | lucyparry1
Data-driven content specification

24. Customer Centric Campaigns
Paid Media Audience Access
Integrated Marketing Support
Data Driven
Acquisition
Strategy
Technical SEO & On Site Optimisation
International Development
Measurement & Reporting
Customer
Insight
& Priority
Visit Wales
CRM data
Experian
research
data
Hitwise
web
behaviour
data
Website
Analytics
3rd Party
Audience
Data
Search
Data

27. Site Traffic
+56%
(year on year)
Business Outputs
~16%
(year on year)

28. Source | Flickr | lucyparry1
Planning around audiences and themes

31. Source | Flickr | lucyparry1
Delivering scale and using paid media

33. Primary Objective
Secondary Objective
Awareness
Ensure that a large audience is made
aware of Wales / Generate lasting
Earned Media which will exist after the
end of the campaign.
215,000 Individuals reached
Brochure Downloads
Ensure the new Visit Wales brochure
is viewed by the maximum amount of
people.
22,000 Engagements with the
Brochure
3,000 Email Brochure
Requests

35. +31% +639%

37. 41 original posts
348,600
visits per month
13 original posts
78,252
visits per month

38. 1:1:1 Split of Creative
Castles, Bikes & Walking

39. £0.11
Cost per completed video view
Clicks
22,000+
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
25% 50% 75% 100%
% Viewers Remaining
% Video Completed

40. 40
Total reach:
2,416,626
impressions
£10.26 CPM

41. Primary Objective
Secondary Objective
Awareness
Ensure that a large audience is
made aware of Wales / Generate
lasting Earned Media which will
exist after the end of the campaign.
426,852 Individuals
reached (+99%)
Brochure Downloads
Ensure the new Visit Wales brochure
is viewed by the maximum amount of
people.
240,969 Engagements with
the Brochure (+639%)
3,947 Email Brochure
Requests (+31%)

42. Source | Flickr | lucyparry1
So, what next?

43. Source | Flickr | Interbeat
Right content
Right person
Right device
Right time
Right action

44. Wider transformation
across the business

45. Source | Flickr | daniel0685
Is advertising dead? Probably not!

46. Source | Instagram | @flyjon
Content-led Destination Marketing
Thanks J