Objectives
- Introducing the advantages of a winter vacation in Eilat with an emphasis on affordability, quality, and diversity of content.
- Promoting local businesses during the winter season, when demand is low due to the massive hosting of institutional markets in hotels that offer full daytime and evening programs.
- Establishing connections between the community and tourism
Campaign:
Eilat Package
The Strategy
An advertising campaign to promote the winter season
'Eilat package' - the perfect winter getaway!
The package included a flight, two nights in a hotel, meals in restaurants, and a content package for 999 NIS per adult and 499 NIS per child.
Eight weekend getaway packages targeted at different audiences: couples, families, friends, and culture enthusiasts.
Each weekend included a variety of activities! Meals at leading restaurants, stand-up comedy shows, extreme activities, yoga sessions, beach parties, nature trips, performances for children, escape rooms, plays and shows, including accommodation and flights – ‘all inclusive’ but completely different.
Advertising Strategy
As a non-profit organization, the tourism corporation partnered with Arkia Airlines to sell the packages. In collaboration with Arkia, we promoted the packages through many channels, with the main channel being the Arkia website, which provided detailed information to visitors interested in flying to Eilat. To generate awareness and wide exposure, we utilized television as the primary platform and radio to convey specific messages over a three-month period. Providing high visibility to the general public, through mobile/press, which enabled an image change along with targeted exposure to appropriate target audiences for the various activities, as well as using a variety of digital tools for broad coverage, niche websites and focusing on relevant websites, as well as social networks, primarily Facebook, for targeted marketing according to interest.
Target Audience
Packages adapted for couples, families, groups of friends and culture enthusiasts.
Campaign Clip Examples
Analysis
Eilat’s winter season is characterized by institutional tourism (conferences/organizations/corporate vacationers, etc.), which presents a challenge for small businesses such as attractions, restaurants, places of entertainment, etc. Among other factors, the decrease in individual tourism demand can be attributed largely to the fact that Eilat is not perceived as an appropriate winter vacation destination for Israeli tourists, particularly due to the assumption that Eilat lacks activities that do not include sea and pool associated activities.
Establishing a Competitive Advantage
In tourism and recreation, the term ‘all inclusive’ refers to accommodation, food, and content all in one place – the hotel. Many businesses in the city participated in the creation of this ‘all inclusive’ package with the corporation subsidizing the contents. Every event included free participation for city residents.
Campaign Duration
Winter 21.11.17-24.02.18
The Challenge
The inability to control direct sales and the use of websites offering real ‘all-inclusive’ packages in hotels. Moreover, price competition from other hotels not participating in the campaign, based on dynamic market conditions.
Results
The campaign was a great success, and all the booked packages were sold, with families and groups of friends expressing the highest interest. Following the buzz the campaign generated on social networks, the managers of leading communities contacted the Tourism Corporation with a request to arrange a special weekend for members of their Facebook groups
