Visit Coolum - Tourism Body

Brand Story

Visit Coolum, driven by Coolum Business and Tourism, is a brand with the mission to showcase Coolum Beach and the local community to tourists and travellers keen to explore the best of the Sunshine Coast.

Coolum is located in the centre of the Sunshine Coast and boasts a unique combination of a relaxed and lively community.

“Live Like A Local, Coolum Style”

Goal

With very little brand awareness outside of the Sunshine Coast, the main objective of the campaign was to:

• Generate leads in order to build an email database
• Increase engagement on Instagram

 Our focus is always also to drive awareness of any brand we work with and so this was taken into consideration as well.

Solution

In April 2021 we launched a 4 week giveaway with weekly prize packs including somewhere to stay, eat and play in Coolum. Local businesses that generously gave prizes for the giveaway were featured across social media and onsite. Focusing on the various touchpoints in the user journey, our strategy included:

• Facebook ads targeted to the drive market around Coolum (Brisbane, Gympie, Gold Coast and SE QLD) ran with a strong CTA to enter the giveaway onsite. A/B testing of creative variations allowed us to hone in on the best performing ad to build on initial momentum and continue to see great results over the month.
• Organic Instagram content was actively managed throughout the month. Consistent posting and stories featured a variety of content themes (beach, businesses and locals). Content planning and being consistently active on the platform were the focus to increase reach and engagement.
• A website landing page was designed and built specifically for this giveaway. Optimised for maximum conversion and to drive brand awareness, the custom landing page was the destination for Facebook ads and linked to from the Visit Coolum homepage and Instagram profile bio.

Results

In a month, we saw:

1. A total of 4,564 leads were generated. This email database will then be used to re-engage these users and continue the conversation that Coolum is an ideal holiday choice.
2. An onsite conversion rate of 77% and 5,541 unique users to the site in the campaign period. As site traffic was very low before this, it’s an increase of 100% since the previous period.
3. Excellent results on organic social media. The Instagram following grew by 19.88% and engagement increased by 152% since the previous month. The reach of organic posts increased by 399%, driving brand awareness.