Historic Boutique Hotel Sees
See how we increased brand awareness & boosted direct booking revenue for this iconic landmark of waterfront Madison culture
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The Background
The Edgewater Hotel is an iconic waterfront boutique hotel in Madison Wisconsin USA that first opened its doors back in 1948. Throughout the decades it’s hosted celebrities and prominent figures including Elvis Presley, Elton John, Bob Hope, Bob Marley, and the Dalai Lama, just to name a few.
The Challenge
Although the property was widely known among local residents as one of the city’s favorite places for drinks, lakeside events, fine dining, and business meetings, it lacked brand awareness outside of the city and in different target markets.
Family, business, couples, private events, weddings & weekend travelers were identified as potential target audiences but it was important to make sure that we didn’t alienate the existing guests and local customers in the process.
The management also felt as though the brand identity was not being conveyed through the website or social media. The old website and social media simply didn’t capture the essence of what makes the property so historic and famous within Madison culture.
The Objectives
Highly Persuasive was approached to modernize the website, increase brand awareness on social media amongst key target audiences & increase direct bookings & inquiries on the website.
- To build awareness in desired target groups
- To recruit relevant followers on social media platforms.
- To boost direct bookings on the website
- To increase inquires related to events, weddings, and spa packages
- To promote events and specials for the properties 5 restaurants
- To rapidly increase room occupancy right from the onset.
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GET STARTEDThe Solution
Conversion Optimized Website To Drive Direct Bookings
We implemented a conversion-focused design strategy that worked to highlight the features of the property while also subtly nudging visitors to take action with direct bookings, inquires, or calls to action for social media or email marketing signups.
The Solution
Finding the Right Followers On Social
Targeting customer groups with the highest potential for lifetime value was among our top priorities. We identified two key factors: the cost of customer acquisition and their potential for repeat revenue in accommodation, food & beverage.
We focused on Edgewater’s desired target group of young, sophisticated, and tech-savvy travelers while developing other target groups that had emerged from our own research, including families, couples & business travelers.
The Solution
Social Brand Differentiation™ To Stand Out From Local Competitors
In order to make The Edgewater stand out among the other highly competitive destinations in downtown Madison, we needed to focus on social brand differentiation and what makes The Edgewater truly unique.
We quickly identified that brand storytelling was one of the biggest advantages that Edgewater retained over the competition. It was interesting, engaging & resonated well with the target audiences.
We focused on a social media strategy that highlighted the celebrities & prominent figures who stayed there and tying it in with Edgewater’s own brand values of comfort, people & the need to get it right.
The Solution
Direct Response Advertising On Social Media To Convert New Guests
To complement our social marketing strategy, we developed a feature-focused direct response advertising campaign for Facebook and Instagram to bring attention to the features of the properties.
From accommodation features like guest rooms, amenities, and what’s in the minibar to more brand-centered posts that focus on attributes & values, we ran custom targeted campaigns with separate buyer persons for each key audience and ad creative.
Hotel Marketing Strategies
Key Results
71% Increase in Organic Search Traffic (SEO)
Key Results
54% Increase in Direct Booking Conversions
Key Results
34% Increase in Occupancy Rate
The Results
With aggressive social marketing & advertising strategy paired with a conversion-focused website, The Edgewater was able to achieve an exceptionally high rate of growth within the first 3 months of the campaign.
- 639% Increase in Social Media Followers
- 1,900,000+ Impressions
- 9,500+ Social Stories Created
- 34% Increase in average occupancy rate during first 3 months
- 54% Increase in Direct bookings through the website
- 71% increase in organic search traffic
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