Tourism New Zealand is a great case study for digital marketing

While I was doing some research on New Zealand tourism for a family trip next winter, I came across an interesting interview on Skift.com with the CEO of Tourism New Zealand, a destination marketing company. This article caught my eye because it reads like a perfect case study on the kind of company/product that would be perfectly suited to digital marketing and the techniques we have learned in class for marketing via search engine optimization, display, and social media.

Tourism New Zealand was intimately involved in the branding and promotion of the country of New Zealand after the Lord of the Rings movies came out. Their strategy relied heavily on "laser focused" digital marketing. In the interview CEO Kevin Bowler talks in particular about a strong focus on search engine optimization and display networks, extolling the importance of identifying your niche market and targeting them effectively.

"We get about 2.8 million visitors a year, which is pretty small in comparison to a lot of major destinations. They tend to be attracted to New Zealand’s outdoors, spectacular scenery and nature. They are not your average international traveler; they are not looking for an ordinary destination. 

We use a lot of digital media to reach that group. We’re very active with Google. We spend quite a bit on search engine marketing and use their display network to leverage intelligence on what people are searching and to identify people who are interested in the types of activities that our destination does really well. 

We’re basically looking to connect our assets and stories with people who are interested in the sort of destination that New Zealand represents. Rather than thinking about mass channels, we spend much more on finely targeted channels."

Bowler also noted some interesting trends that he has seen over the life of their tourism campaign:

"One of them is the trend towards video. People want to consume a lot of destination video content and we’re producing a lot more of it. Even two years ago, the level of interested in video was much lower than it is today. 

The other trend that overlaps with video is access to the site via mobile devices and tablets. It is growing really fast and we expect access from mobile devices to soon be bigger than access from PCs."

It is interesting to see that such a large and long-lived digital marketing campaign has been successful using the same exact techniques we have been learning in class. Definitely check out the interview for more detail.

Mobile SEO: More than a Smaller Screen

Google 'Mobile SEO best practice', and you would see experts and enthusiasts giving countless bullet points on how to succeed over a handheld device.

Some top results have given explicit details on 'make your website mobile friendly', 'content optimization plus mobile ads' as well as other definitely 'do's for website managers and business owners. I attach two useful links in case you would like some background information. Optimizing for Mobile - Moz Best Practices for Mobile SEO | Mobile Marketing

However, it takes a lot more than that to adapt to the emerging mobile market. A recent report claimed that in holiday season 2014, mobile device drove 39% of paid traffic in 2014 Q4, and the share is still growing. Besides adding a mobile url to your website or calling up the mobile ads sales rep, there are a few trends to take into account for both marketers and search engine operators (Baidu I'm talking to you!).

1. Shorter key words

Mobile searchers often type in shorter phrases - especially with non-Roman languages. Who wants to tap out a long sentence on a touchscreen keyboard? Longer phrases such as 'what's the best pizza in Upper West' could be shortened as 'pizza upper west' or even 'pizza UWS', and the basket of keywords would be optimized if more typos are considered. 

2. Geographic information

Phones go wherever users go, while desktops stay still in homes and offices. For the local business who hesitated to build up a website and start a campaign, now it is the time. Either it is a pastry shop or a food truck, start with small and attract those nearby.

3. Search on the go (and in the bed)

Mobile searchers move fast, act fast, and expect the results to appear in the first screen. More impatient than traditional searchers, they are also more interested in actionables. Those considering promoting sleep remedy or instant in-store coupon might find mobile ad a worthier investment.

5. Revised algorithm

Type 'Bose' in regular Google you get a handful of ads. Type the same keyword via phone and you get one - sometimes, none. The search engine giants are more cautious with what to place in front of their users - quality score, especially measured by websites' mobile device performance, take a larger portion compared to bidding price.

6. Bye search hi apps

Search engine got all the users flow on desktops. But this is no more the situation with mobile users. Yelp, Accuweather, Chase and other apps are giving users shortcuts avoiding search engines. Can't rule Google? Go for Yelp, or your own app to promote your business.

A picture is woth 1,000 words (or a Big Mac)

It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words, and we now know that a picture is apparently also worth a Bic Mac.

During the Super Bowl, McDonald's will air a commercial about their new "Pay With Lovin'" campaign (see "source" for a clip of the commercial). McDonald's employees will ask customers to take a selfie in McDonald's, or do something nice like call their mom to wish her a nice day. Doing so will earn the customer a free meal, and McDonald's hopefully some viral buzz and goodwill.

As seen in the commercial, this is a "feel-good" campaign about bringing people together, similar to the Coca-Cola Happiness Machine (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqT_dPApj9U) or Thai Life Insurance (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R39_RVmNg8E) campaigns.

Campaigns like these are designed to develop goodwill towards a brand, reinvent their image, and develop emotional attachments with the brand. This is exactly what McDonald's needs, given its image as an unhealthy, cheap, fast-food restaurant that hasn't overhauled its brand ethos much since days of Grimace, Mayor McCheese, The Hamburglar, et al.

I believe that this campaign will be a success- at least based on the initial advertisement- injecting some fun and new life into a company that is struggling to compete against the new normal of healthier, higher quality, "fast casual" restaurants.

The fact that McDonald's is integrating mobile technology (taking and uploading selfies) shows that they are in touch with how digital branding works today. The success of this campaign will rely on in-store execution (are minimum wage employees going to be pysched up and energetic about this campaign?);  virality of the selfies on social media; and minimal negative backlash (there are a lot of ways that this could backfire). Stay tuned, and make sure you have your cell phone on you next time you pop in to grab a McFlurry.

Source: http://www.dailydot.com/technology/mcdonalds-accepts-selfies-as-payment/