In 2021, Australia and New Zealand were put into repeated, long term lockdowns. At any given point, both countries were under some form of restriction with Trans-Tasman international travel a distant memory.
This led to a challenge and a new marketing opportunity - with restrictions in place and a culture of nervousness and uncertainty around travel in both countries, how could we effectively run digital marketing for a travel & tourism business? As always, the first step was to look at the data.
Social listening tools were a great place to start. Analysing posts & comments on social media, we found that even though people in both countries were nervous about travelling, the actual desire to travel hadn’t diminished. If anything, being stuck at home led to an increase in posts about the trips & holidays travellers has planned once restrictions were eased.
Along with social commentary, we also looked at our previous marketing data. We’d already been through a number of lockdowns so we were able to build a strong understanding of how travel intent changed based on length and the specific restrictions in place. As expected, searches and bookings plummeted as soon as a lockdown was announced. However, in the two weeks prior to restrictions being eased, search volume and bookings steadily increased as potential travellers began to confirm those plans they’d been dreaming about while at home. The week after a lockdown ended was even stronger as people got back out into the world and felt more confident about travelling.
Understanding the psychology of these lockdowns was crucial to our digital planning. Based on what we’d learned, we built a phased strategy where we maintained a low level of visibility during the first two thirds of the lockdown period. This visibility kept the brand top of mind for potential travellers with messaging centred around post-lockdown travel inspiration and what the business was doing to keep travellers safe.
As we entered the final third of the lockdown, we increased visibility and changed our ads to feature a more direct sales message. We knew that this period coincided with higher booking volume & we were rewarded with increased bookings & ROI as those travellers we’d been visible to throughout the lockdown came back and completed their bookings. Meanwhile, our competitors had paused their marketing completely meaning it took them much longer to bounce back from each lockdown.
We can’t guarantee that lockdowns won’t happen again, but with a strong understanding of our data and the psychology around a lockdown, there’s always a way to ensure your digital strategy remains effective, whatever life throws at you. For more information or to learn how Scope Digital can help your business, get in touch.