Case Studies
Select a logo to read about their case study.

Client:
Vancouver Coast & Mountain BC
www.vcmbc.com

Pain:
To raise visibility and online traffic for partners within their tourism region.

Solution:

• Identified opportunities to increase traffic and online distribution through Web Audit
• Identified top target keywords consumers were looking for in searching Vancouver Coast destinations
• Optimized Website Content and deployed SEO best practices
• Began Online PR/Content Syndication Program pushing out VCM messages online
• Worked through a 12-Month Monthly Training and Support Program with VCM Staff

Result:

• VCMBC is now trained in Search Engine Optimization, Search Engine Marketing Best Practices – and can share with industry partners
• 84% of web traffic is now derived from search engines
• Top traffic source is Google sending 22,000 visitors per month to www.vcmbc.com (and more traffic to partner websites!)
• Majority of online marketing initiatives can now be handled in-house.
  Creation of a “Marketing Partner Co-Op” Program where Industry can participate in Online Marketing Programs along with VCM and Partners

The VCMBC Story:
The Process began with a conclusive Web Audit and Strategy Assessment and determined that Search Engine Optimization and Content Syndication within a 12 month Consulting Program would be best solution to getting the www.vcmbc.com website more visible online and to help guide the VCM team to learn how to be successful over the long term.

A two month Winter Campaign that focused on Winter Packages in the Vancouver Coast regions was deployed using Paid Search (or Pay Per Click) advertising programs with both Google and Yahoo, and Content Syndication of PR to drive traffic to an optimized landing page that featured all partners. The successful campaign was followed by a two month Spring Campaign with measurable results for partners and for Vancouver Coast and Mountains website.

The Consulting Program consisted of Training VCMBC in online marketing tactics with monthly consultation to provide direction and strategy. A review of analytics at the end of every month and ranking reports gave ongoing support which identified trends and clarified where their efforts needed to be focused on.

The process provided Vancouver Coast & Mountain Destination Marketing Organization with substantially more traffic and online visability, as well as the ability to execute Online Marketing programs on behalf of their partners.
By increasing traffic to their website they achieved their mandate to provide more exposure to their partners and they became a valuable resource to partners in their smaller communities.

The www.vcmbc.com website has also become a strong destination website for those looking to visit the area as the information rich site can now be found by perspective visitors through search online. The Vancouver Coast and Mountains Destination Marketing Organization can now perform Online Marketing Strategies in-house to continue with Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Marketing best practices for their web asset and can assist in developing programs for Partner communities to reach the millions who are using the World Wide Web to research and book travel online.

“Successful business leaders understand that it’s the relationship that makes the difference in long term agreements. The Chicks get it, deliver more than they promise and always with their quirky brand of humour. Just love doing business with them! By the way, the results are great too!”
Kevan J. Ridgeway, President & CEO, Vancouver Coast & Mountains
www.vcmbc.com

Client:
Destination Halifax
www.destinationhalifax.com
Destination Halifax Facebook Page

Pain:
Destination Halifax wanted to use social media to extend the Halifax brand; create a dialogue with past and future visitors; and drive traffic to their website.

Solution:

After having “optimized” Destination Halifax’ s web presence—developing overall web strategy to increase visitors to the site, thus driving traffic to partner sites like hotels and restaurants – the next step for Destination Halifax was social media, starting with a Facebook page for the city of Halifax.

The Destination Halifax uses signature festival and events as well as sponsored contests to encourage dialogue. This approach, used from the very beginning, has generated significant conversation among people who grew up in Halifax, those who’ve visited, and those who are planning to come. In effect, the users are branding Halifax themselves with just occasional touch points from the organization. Discussions center around favourite things to do in Halifax and surrounding area, places to go, shop, eat and much more.

Result:

• After a carefully planned launch, the Destination Halifax Facebook Page grew to 14,000 fans in just 2 months.
• Facebook is now the 4th top referrer of traffic to the destinationhalifax.com website.
• Outstanding consumer engagement with the contests. Destination Halifax has created a community of people talking about the city, expressing their "love" for Halifax - commenting on their favorite things about the city and what it means to them. It is truly a fan page; there are many more comments from "real" people than marketing messages from the visitor bureau.

The Destination Halifax Story:
ACOC worked with Destination Halifax for a year to fine-tune their web presence through SEO, web re-development, content development, online marketing, ad buying and more. The second phase of the project included social media strategy that would brand Halifax and drive traffic to their site. ACOC consulted with Destination Halifax’s internal PR and Marketing team while their marketing agency created the page.

The brand has a "place" or a role to play in Social Media communities such as this - to "start" the conversation, to populate the page with events, photos and information about the destination - but the consumers take it from there. This is the new "word of mouth" and this is an incredible brand marketing success story.

Destination Halifax has also recently launched a Twitter page and will use it primarily to "speak" to media and consumers - to continue the conversations around Halifax and all it has to offer as a hidden "Canadian destination" gem.