goal:
Increase direct bookings online
the challenge:
Silver Airways is a regional airline that operates routes within Florida and between Florida and the Bahamas. Known to have the most routes to the Bahamas and Key West, the airline tasked us with increasing brand recognition and direct bookings online.
insight & strategy:
We started by defining the airline’s core target audience from demographic data on site conversions. We then identified the brand’s unique selling proposition and developed appropriate messaging for the consideration and decision stages of the sales funnel. Our strategy included using specific landing pages for route awareness versus travel deals to better serve prospects at different stages of the buyer's journey.
To maximize the budget, our primary tactic was online advertising and paid search. With a focus on performance, we cleaned up the Google Ads campaign and partnered with a leading ad serving platform to deliver programmatic campaigns.
We deleted low performing keywords (such as overly broad terms) eliminated wasteful ad groups and optimized geo-targeting. We aligned ad serving by daypart and device type based on conversion data. This combination led to lower acquisition costs and increased return on ad spend (ROAS).
Working with the airline's revenue management team, we identified the routes in need of a boost and created a promo strategy timed to coincide with capacity needs. Additionally we implemented an evergreen campaign focused on the brand's benefits messaging including "Freedom Fares."
Geographically, we targeted campaigns only to those markets served by the airline and shifted the primary media focus to search with very targeted display actions. We also implemented a retargeting strategy on both the website and social channels.
We used data analysis to consistently improve returns while reducing overall spend. By the second year our campaigns had nearly doubled in performance, and by year 3, we achieved a 250% growth in ROI with less than 1/3 of the original spend.
the result:
- Click-thru rates (CTR) increased by 44%
- In the first year, the campaigns increased monthly Average Bookings Revenue by 17%
- Over a 12-month period, we lowered the Average CPA (Cost Per Acquisition) by 59%
Year 1 ROAS – $9.49 return on every $1
Year 2 ROAS – $13.91 return on every $1
Year 3 ROAS – $23.54 return on every $1
*ROAS data source: Sabre DX booking engine revenue tracking
about the client:
Silver Airways operates the most routes within Florida and between Florida and the Bahamas from its hubs in Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, and Tampa, and also operates Essential Air Service between Boston and Bar Harbor, Maine. In 2019, Silver Airways acquired Seaborne Airlines with flights in Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and the Caribbean. Silver is the first North American line to feature the all new ATR-600 offering best-in-class quiet cabins, premium leather seats with more legroom, and spacious overhead bins that accommodate full-size, carry-on roller bags. Silver Airways is owned by affiliates of Philadelphia-based investment firm Versa Capital Management, LLC.
