The Question:
In a competitive market place where our competitors are spending several times our budget and with a remit that includes marketing both the Isle of Man and our product, the ferry, as the mode of transport, how do we achieve an increase in sales and our market share of the domestic tourism market?
The Answer:
We have worked with this dilemma for a number of years and therefore our solution must always be the perfect balance between tourism and transport. By making the ferry the start of your holiday we make the two things synonymous in the minds of the consumer. This year, we also introduced the idea of a ‘bargain’ between Isle of Man Steam Packet Company and the consumer inviting them to ‘bring their love of history /sense of adventure’ and we would ‘bring them great ferry fares / to the Isle of Man in comfort’. There were several iterations of this including them bringing as much as they can pack in their car – another USP and especially important for families! We executed this in press and online and out of home, working closely on audience selection with the media buyers taking into account geographic location, age demographic and interests.
We also developed a second strand of creative, aimed at the more discerning travel audience, inviting them to ‘bring their curiosity’ as the Isle of Man has several unique facets that the traveler can’t access in Scotland or the Lake District or Wales.
The Result:
A 1.3% increase in bookings in an economic environment where people are feeling the cost of living squeeze and are favouring their ‘abroad’ holiday over shorter domestic breaks. Our only call to action was the website and online bookings are up 3%, now accounting for 78% of all bookings, a cost saving for Isle of Man Steam Packet Company. In addition to this our audience profile has seen a shift towards the older, less urbanite and more affluent traveler.
