By: Marina Krizman, Chief Travel Officer, Envy Zagreb
Let’s start this story with a throwback which none of the readers will complain about in these cold days. Let us remember the first day of summer, 21 June 2016. We were in Rovinj, small Istrian town that is loved by the entire region. The sun was shining strongly that day over Rovinj’s Lone bay, which houses the eponymous hotel, well-known for its distinctive design.
The first day of summer is usually not the peak of the season in the city, but the Lone Hotel was packed full. Some were enjoying the sun at the Mulini Beach, for some it was still too early for swimming so they were just sipping lemonade in the shade of pine trees in front of the hotel. Gourmands were enjoying the new summer menu on the terrace of the restaurant L. But, apart from this wonderful offline story, Hotel Lone on that day also had an online version of their idyll. On 21 June 2016, hotel’s video campaign started on social networks, called Lone Seasons. This year-round campaign was launched with the summer edition of the hotel, with a concise 30-second video communicating the delightful summer feeling that Lone offers its guests.
With the premise that hotel’s goal is positioning on their interest markets as a destination that is much more than a summer vacation, Lone Seasons story continued on 23 September, with Lone Autumn video, followed by the Lone Winter and Lone Spring edition, presenting the characteristic atmosphere and the diversity of offer provided each season at the hotel.
In order for the whole design concept to have an interactive and sales side of the story, after the posting of videos on social networks of the hotel, a contest followed that took visitors to the Lone Seasons microsite, where fans can win a hotel stay in the current season. Summer and autumn edition of the video campaign brought more than 1,200 participants in the contest, while visits to the website from social networks increased by 20-30% during the contest.
There are many of us research the purchase process online users in the tourist segment, convinced of the importance of video formats as marketing media. The goal is simple: to evoke the experience and feeling that provides tourist brand, relying on the emotional component that will attract the attention and interest of the viewer, and begin the process of making the decision to purchase that takes users to the final step – booking.
Numerous studies on consumer journey of online users in the travel segment convinced us in the importance of video as the marketing medium.
The goal is simple: convey the experience and feeling provided by a tourist brand, relying on the emotional component that will attract the attention and interest of the viewers, and begin the process of making the purchase decision that takes users to the final step – booking.
Each of the displayed brand videos was advertised in the key markets of the hotel on social networks, resulting in excellent reach and interaction with the desired audience. Proof that the video format is really a desirable form of content for the audience comes in the fact that the promotional video of Mulini Beach, posted on Facebook page of Hotel Lone in early June this year, was the most successful post since the page was opened in 2012 (reach without advertising: 107,000, 30,000 video views, 1,100 likes and 140 shares).
Why have a single brand video when you talk about a hotel which changes its diverse offer throughout the year, when you can tell the story in multiple instances, through creative storytelling, while maintaining the focus of the target audience constantly on your brand? Concise approach in preparing the video concept, attractive content that consistently represents the characteristics of the brand and a clear strategy for online marketing are the guidelines on how to set up and implement a successful video campaign on digital platforms.
