With research revealing people are increasingly more likely to spend big on experiences rather than material possessions, the savviest visitor attractions are gearing up to promote their gift vouchers all year round. Here’s how to make the most of the experience economy and cut through the gifting noise at Christmas, on Valentine’s Day, and any other time of year.
According to a study from Barclaycard, 52% of the nation would prefer to splash their hard-earned cash on memorable entertainment and events instead of material goods. Additionally, the same number stated they are more likely to spread the word about an enjoyable experience than a fancy new product purchase. Throw the world’s growing focus on sustainability and the reduction of waste into the mix, and it’s clear experience gifting wields the power to fill a substantial gap in the market. Yet just 28% of businesses are seizing this lucrative opportunity and investing enough time and energy into the experience economy trend.
While the Christmas season is traditionally an excellent time for visitor attraction marketers to package and push their experiences, if you get your strategy right, you could get the jump on your competitors and cut through the saturated gifting market at any time of year.
3 tips to nail your experience gifting
1. Emotive content takes the crown
Top notch content, tailored to audience trends, should form the backbone of your marketing strategy all year-round. But when it comes to key gifting dates in the calendar, it’s time to switch up the standard format to ensure your message stands out. With Harris Group research revealing 72% of millennials are keen to up their spending on experiences that form life-long memories, it’s essential to design exciting, engaging content that packs an emotional punch.
Our successful partnership with Zip World is a perfect example of how emotive storytelling and experience gifting are a match made in visitor attraction marketing heaven. We designed a Christmas campaign using authentic adventure footage teamed with stylish animation, aiming to spur consumers on to give the gift of adventure instead of the usual material goods. This targeted festive campaign resulted in Zip World nearly 25% up on sales, and provided a whole host of satisfied customers with wonderful memories they ‘ll never forget.
2. Target the right audience
It’s all very well creating red-hot content, but if you’re not getting it seen by the right people, you won’t get the results you’re hoping for. Think ahead to key gifting dates throughout the year, so you can use your tailored content to target the right audience well in advance of the big day. Developing a marketing calendar guarantees you won’t miss any crucial opportunities and you’ll crush every holiday sale in a smart and methodical way.
To score the most impactful ad placements at the best value for money, we employ a blend of social media advertising and paid search to get your messaging seen by the right eyes. By targeting Facebook ads based on interest, demographics and location as well as utilising top keywords and search intent through PPC, we gained Zip World 270,000 engagements and 3.5m impressions. The power of targeting should never be underestimated.
3. Retarget on-the-fence buyers
Why target once when you can target twice? The stats show that retargeting can deliver 2-3x the conversions of regular advertising efforts, so if your experience gifting campaign is allowing on-the-fence customers to slip through the net, significant revenue could be passing you by.
If you’re concerned about pestering potential customers, you can put those fears to rest. Google’s report ‘The Future of Travel’ discovered that consumers who are retargeted with display ads are 70% more likely to convert as long as ads are tailored correctly. Place an emphasis on getting your timing right and retarget using personalised high-spec images and video across social platforms – compelling content will do the talking as consumers get into the gifting frame of mind.
As the drive towards experiential gifts shifts up a gear, your visitor attraction marketing needs to roll with the times. Offer your customers something unique at key gifting times throughout the year to make voucher sales and the experience economy work together to boost your revenue. Need assistance to get the show on the road? Call on the experts to put together a winning strategy and contact Digital Visitor today.
Simon is one of the founders of Digital Visitor and has over 20 years marketing experience in the tourism sector, particularly with destinations and visitor attractions.
