From June to September 2023, the Korea Tourism Organization carried out a digital campaign targeting North America. This campaign was aimed at elevating South Korea as the top travel destination in Asia and intensifying the promotion of actual travel products in the key North American markets.
The campaign was executed by utilizing a variety of advertising products and platforms, selecting media channels suitable for the campaign objectives, and maximizing the unique features of each product and platform. Emphasis was placed on achieving the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) through optimizing the synergy between media channels and careful audience optimization based on visitor response rate analysis.
Through programmatic advertising, the campaign achieved a broad reach. It focused on targeting potential high-interest customers via social media and online communities to secure high-quality traffic and excellent response rates. Key campaign messages were delivered effectively through CTV, ensuring a complete and uninterrupted message transmission, and the campaign’s visibility was enhanced through premium platforms like The New York Times.
Throughout the campaign, AI technology and accumulated audience data were actively utilized. AI-specific campaigns were run alongside the application of various targeting techniques such as retargeting and hijacking. Media selection and operation were customized for various events such as giveaways and surveys, supporting the successful execution of these activities.
These efforts led to significantly surpassing the PAX target, including the number of passenger bookings. The accumulated understanding of potential customers in the Americas and the campaign operations approach have become valuable assets, laying a foundation for more successful campaigns in the future.
Interesting Proposal – Inviting Korean OTAs (Online Travel Agencies) and Related Businesses
In tourism promotion campaigns like this, the number of passenger bookings is an important performance indicator, making the performance data from credible institutions or companies very crucial. In the U.S. market, OTAs (Online Travel Agencies) like Expedia, Sojern, Hopper, and Adara play this role.
However, as these are all U.S. companies, there are opportunities for improvement in providing information on Korean travel products and competitive pricing. If Korean online companies (for example, Naver) can offer services of better quality and at competitive prices to North American customers, a significant portion of the budget could be allocated to these companies. This would be beneficial for consumers, advertisers, and those involved in the Korean tourism industry.
