CHE Proximity and Louder help Tourism and Events Queensland encourage exploration

Tourism and Events Queensland completed a digital transformation focused on promoting tourism and events across Queensland, Australia.

Image source: Tourism and Events Queensland.

Few industries have been hit as hard by the COVID-19 pandemic as tourism. For Tourism and Events Queensland (TEQ), the organisation in charge of promoting tourism and events across Queensland, Australia, the answer to this challenge was flexibility and agility.

The frequent changes with COVID-19 have necessitated the TEQ marketing team to frequently update the website and tweak campaign messaging to align with changing government rules and health recommendations. Additionally, TEQ increased focus on local intrastate tourists less impacted by travel restrictions. A core part of this has been designing personalised digital experiences aimed at getting people excited about exploring areas of Queensland that they’ve never seen before.

One reason why TEQ’s marketing team adapted so quickly to the challenges was because the organisation had recently completed a digital transformation built around five key Experience Pillars that set Queensland apart to potential and returning visitors.

The transformation included the implementation of an organisation wide data strategy focused on creating and activating first-and third-party data at scale to deliver the Queensland experience. This was achieved through the design and implementation of a multi-solution architecture, including the implementation of Adobe Experience Manager, Campaign, Target, and Audience Manager. With a single solution and data design underpinning all of the platforms supporting web, digital, and email marketing, TEQ gained the modern digital tools to create a single view of customers, better understand local and international audiences, and deliver personalised recommendations for tourism operators and experiences throughout Queensland.

“Massive digital transformations like this can be a huge undertaking, but it’s also an incredible opportunity to rebuild everything from the ground up,” says Julian Croft, platforms, media, and partners director at TEQ. “Choosing the right partners was critical for us. Louder and CHE Proximity worked exceptionally well together, combining strategic thinking, creative talent, and technical skills to help us realise our digital transformation vision.”

Louder was the agency tasked with designing a technology and data strategy and architecture to deliver the TEQ experience. This included creating new and real-time proprietary data sets to enrich the analytics. By understanding what content and personalisation inspired travelers to take action, TEQ could test and tailor experiences to best meet customer needs.

With its eye for design and strong technical skills, CHE Proximity was the perfect choice to transform the customer journey and deliver on the strong strategy collaboratively developed with Louder and built on first-party rich and immediately actionable data. CHE Proximity spent nearly eight months working with TEQ to understand its audiences and develop a customer engagement strategy. The agency’s efforts focused on three main components:

1. Understanding audiences

2. Mapping the travel cycle

3. Finding TEQ’s unique value

Understanding audiences

CHE Proximity first wanted to understand who the audiences were to better develop strategies for personalisation. TEQ is known for its engaging marketing campaigns, but the organisation previously focused on just three key consumer segments.

Through multiple focus groups and one-on-one customer interviews, CHE Proximity learned that TEQ needed much more nuanced segments to properly target experiences for audiences. For example, families traveling with adventurous teenagers might jump on the opportunity to dive along the Great Barrier Reef, while families traveling with toddlers would probably prefer slower-paced inland activities. In total, CHE Proximity helped TEQ develop 150 audience segments based on information including personas, online behaviors, and location.

Mapping the travel cycle

After researching audience preferences, CHE Proximity needed to understand the travel cycle. The agency broke down travel into four main stages.

1. Dreaming. This is the stage where travelers explore online and try to decide what experiences they want on their next holiday.

2. Planning. In the Planning stage, travelers take a closer look at their options. They have a rough idea where they want to go and what they want to do, but they’re ready for recommendations and specific details about what they can do on their journey.

3. Booking. This is when travelers book their accommodations, travel, and activities.

4. Experience and Sharing. The highlight for any traveler: actually going on holiday.

Finding TEQ’s unique value

CHE Proximity determined that the primary strength for TEQ comes during the dreaming and planning stages of travel. Through TEQ’s network of operators and insiders from across Queensland, the organisation offers unique insights that other websites cannot match. By turning these recommendations into personalised offers, TEQ can find ways to promote more activities to new audiences and support tourism across Queensland.

CHE Proximity encouraged TEQ to lean into its strengths to better attract travelers. The organisation had originally considered building an itinerary planning feature into the website, but the audience research indicated that people preferred emails, sharable spreadsheets, travel apps, or even paper. Instead, TEQ refocused that energy into building a holiday finder that allows travelers to input travel preferences and see a personalised list of suggested experiences and destinations.

Image source: CHE Proximity.

“During our research, we discovered that experiences are particularly important for travelers, even more than location,” says Olivier Laude, client partner at CHE Proximity. “The trick is surfacing the right experiences to the right people. This is where Adobe Experience Cloud comes in. Adobe Experience Cloud gives us the power to personalise experiences in great detail for all TEQ audiences. We can understand people’s travel aspirations and then deliver content tailored to their dream holidays.”

Read more to discover how TEQ, Louder and CHE Proximity use Adobe Experience Cloud to start personalising experiences for potential travelers across Queensland and beyond.