Self drive boat operator Le Boat has won the Gold award for the best ‘Advertising Campaign at the Travel Marketing Awards.
They won the award in the ‘under £250k media spend’ category. The campaign was conducted by the UK based marketing agency Accord.
The boat operator was recognised for advertising that was carried out during their 2017/2018 multi-screen campaign.
The campaign capitalised on the involvement of Le Boat in the Channel 5 television series ‘Celebrity 5 Go Barging’ and the more popular Channel 4 show ‘Great Canal Journeys’. That programme starred Timothy West and Prunella Scales. They were seen enjoying a spectacular river cruise along the Marne-Rhine Canal in Alsace and Lorraine. We made this same trip last year.
Drawing on the increased brand exposure generated by the programmes, Accord’s campaign objectives were simple They sought to elevate brand awareness, drive online traffic and generate enquiries.
Le Boat – Award
The winning advertising activity took place from November 2017 to April 2018. Prior to both shows airing, Accord launched a targeted paid social campaign encouraging viewers to tune in. To build early interest, they used a series of News Feed and Carousel adverts. These encouraged users to watch both shows and see Le Boat’s products in action.
Accord then secured premium TV advertising spots during the first ad break of each programme. That achieved 4.2 million impacts. While, at the same time, they conducted a simultaneous drive through Facebook to reach multi-screening audiences. To maximise enquiries, the agency even followed up with a TrueView campaign and display retargeting.
Le Boat increased sales
This multi-channel activity was incredibly successful in maximising awareness of Le Boat’s holidays. During the ‘Great Canal Journeys’ campaign, Le Boat’s website experienced a 116% increase in traffic. This resulted in a 48% year-on-year rise in transactions.
Similarly, pleasing results were also seen for the ‘Celebrity 5 Go Barging’ campaign. That one generated a 174% traffic increase and an 82% rise in transactions year-on-year.
While both campaigns were effective in driving short-term sales, they also had an impact on long-term brand engagement. Following the ‘Great Canal Journeys’ activity, Le Boat experienced a staggering 167% rise in brochure requests. Whilst ‘Celebrity 5 Go Barging’ generated an equally impressive 137% growth.
The awards ceremony took place in March at the London Hilton on Park Lane. Now in its eleventh year, the event celebrates innovation and excellence across a wide range of travel marketing disciplines.
Le Boat is a provider of boating holidays on Europe and Canada’s inland waterways. It operates the world’s largest fleet self-drive boats.
Le Boat fleet numbers 900 +
Within that fleet of over 900 boats, is its newest premier Horizon cruiser, boat we have yet to put through its paces. The company offers the widest choice of boating destinations. Operating a network of more than 39 departure bases across 9 destinations. These include Canada which we have yet to experience.
Le Boat’s boating holidays can be whatever you want them to be, from a full-on action-packed adventure to a slow-paced relaxing chance to unwind.
With no previous experience necessary, boating holidays can be enjoyed by anyone.
Accord is a marketing agency whose offices are in London, Manchester and Devon. Blending innovative ideas with data-driven strategy, they devise and deliver branding building campaigns. These then drive audience engagement and increase sales.