Lucidity London Inspiring Growth CASE STUDY

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1 Lucidity London Inspiring Growth CASE STUDY Establishing a brand in a crowded market The owners of a new development on the island of Skiathos were entering the lodging industry in Greece at a difficult time. Insight. Strategy. Implementation.

2 LEADING WITH DIGITAL IN GREECE S LODGING INDUSTRY Executive Summary Digital marketing has been a consistent income and profit generator for Dajon Luxury Apartments (DLA). With a limited budget for brand development and sales generation, Lucidity s team delivered an ROI of 476% in the first year (2009), and have continued to help grow the business s top and bottom line ever since. Dajon Luxury Apartments are now firmly established in the highly competitive lodging sector on Skiathos Island. About Dajon Luxury Apartments Dajon Luxury Apartments (DLA) is a relatively new development in Skiathos, Greece comprising eight large self-catering apartments and two studios. It is quietly located five minutes walk from the centre of the popular and lively resort of Skiathos Town. Situation Dajon s management were entering the lodging industry in Skiathos at a very difficult time. Over the previous 10 years, the number of rooms available for rent on the island had increased dramatically, so they would be competing in an over-supplied market. Furthermore, competition was beginning to intensify as previously reliable markets in Britain, Germany and Scandinavia started to show signs of decline. The global financial crisis recession was beginning to affect the plans of holiday-makers throughout Europe. Lucidity London Case Study Dajon Luxury Apartments Page 2 of 6

3 Task Lucidity London was commissioned by Dajon s owners to devise and implement a marketing plan to achieve the following goals: 1. Raise awareness of the new apartments among holidaymakers and regular visitors to the island 2. Stake out a position at the top end of the lodging market in Skiathos, Greece 3. Achieve an occupancy rate of 70% in the summer season (Jun to mid-oct) 4. Make effective and efficient use of the budget and deliver an annual return on investment of 300+% Action A review of competitors in Skiathos helped us identify space for the newly christened Dajon Apartments at the top end of the mid-market, and informed the creation of a brand name and identity which positioned Dajon as an affordable luxury. Now we needed to find a way of placing the brand among the choices of accommodation that the island s visitors see and actively consider. But who were these visitors? And how would we reach them? For this group of visitors, online was a key research tool for lodgings and a small number of online directories were highly influential in driving traffic to the websites of service providers. We created a high profile presence on each directory to guide potential customers to a new website designed to reflect the luxury attributes of the Dajon proposition and produced in 3 languages; Greek, English and German. Visitors to the site were able to download brochures, price lists and maps for circulation among decisionmakers, and designed to boost consideration and preference for Dajon. Photographs of the modern, spacious accommodation were interspersed with images from around Skiathos to promote the island as an idyllic holiday destination. With the start of the first summer season approaching, we selected independent travellers as our primary target audience; secondary research revealed more than 60% of European holiday-makers arrive on the island without the assistance of a tour operator. Lucidity London Case Study Dajon Luxury Apartments Page 3 of 6

4 Communication Materials Website ( House Banner Ad Brochure (English) Promotional Banner Ad Jan 2010 Guest Satisfaction Survey (English) Rates Summer 2009 Lucidity London Case Study Dajon Luxury Apartments Page 4 of 6

5 Results Digital marketing works well for Dajon s management, comfortably exceeding their targets each year. By tracking room nights booked following an online enquiry, and then calculating the total revenue generated by these room nights, they have found that online marketing is a reliable, consistent income generator delivering an ROI of over 400% a year. Over the past 5 years Dajon s management have consistently achieved an occupancy rate over 70%, an incredible performance given the heightened level of competitive intensity at the time and the initial inexperience of the team in the lodging industry. Results from Guest Satisfaction Surveys have revealed consistently high levels of approval with the lodging - Dajon averages over of 8 out of 10 every year for the overall experience, while qualitative feedback from the surveys help management continuously improve the customer experience. All the experience gained from early digital campaigns has been fed back into an annual planning cycle which informs tactical changes to the marketing plan for the following year. With a high profile presence firmly established on the key online directories in Skiathos itself, Dajon have shifted their focus to reach out and develop a digital presence in key country markets (Serbia, Italy and the UK) to stimulate advance bookings and help them towards their occupancy target for the season. Every January, an Early Booker pay per click campaign is created for each country market which produces more than 60 bookings a year. Today Dajon s websites attract more than 1,000 unique visitors each month, with each in-market visitor spending an average of 6 minutes spending time browsing around. Annual Performance: Sales & Web Visitors Annual Web Visits Revenue Growth on LY 23% 11,558 15,138 12,370 12,426 9,586 7% 5% 5% Source: Dajon Luxury Apartments, Jan 2014 Lucidity London Case Study Dajon Luxury Apartments Page 5 of 6

6 About Lucidity London Lucidity London is a marketing consultancy which provides research, strategy and programme implementation services to local, national and international clients. We combine in-depth customer insights with practical expertise in marketing and operations to help our clients evolve and grow. Our home page is Copyright 2014 Lucidity London All rights reserved. Lucidity London and its logo are trademarks of Lucidity London.