Center Parcs decided it was time to up their game in social media. As a leading provider of short breaks in the UK, they commit to staying agile, responsive, and competitive in the ever-evolving hospitality landscape. But even for an agile business, it’s hard to stay up to date with social!
With our data-led approach, passion for collaboration and creativity, we were the perfect choice to rip up the rule book and create a strategy which wouldn’t simply languish on a shelf gathering dust!
We kicked things off with immersive meetings, digging deep into data and sparking debates to understand their particular challenges – then set about delivering several workstreams to interrogate the “normal”, ask why, get teams collaborating internally and leave them with actionable plans.
What we did:
- Interdepartmental workshops – involving teams from marketing, operations, and analytics ensured alignment across departments. This collaborative approach allowed for a comprehensive understanding of the challenges and opportunities in leveraging social media effectively.
- Refining channel strategy – our in-depth analysis and research identified key social media channels for reach, engagement, community management, customer service, and crisis management, set cadence objectives, and agreed on the content output’s purpose. We also set a strategy for paid social and influencer engagement and considered specific requirements for their regional location in Ireland, and their leisure offering, Aqua Sana Spa.
- Measurement mechanisms – we developed robust measurement frameworks to track the impact of social media on brand awareness, customer engagement, and conversion rates.
- Actionable playbooks – we developed dynamic playbooks that could evolve with changing market dynamics and consumer preferences. These playbooks provided clear guidelines for leveraging social effectively while incorporating feedback loops for continuous improvement.
- Martech for social – through a robust process of enquiry and elimination, we provided impartial advice on implementing new technology to simplify all elements of the social process, from content delivery to performance reporting and customer service.
The impact we made:
- Performance – a refined strategy led to performance optimisation across all channels, with social media playing a pivotal role in driving brand engagement and customer interactions.
- Reporting – it is now possible to accurately quantify the impact of social media initiatives on brand perception, customer sentiment, and conversion metrics.
- Data-driven decisions – the availability of real-time analytics in the new technology empowers Center Parcs to make data-driven decisions, allowing for agile adjustments to marketing strategies and resource allocations.
- Brand presence – a clear and cohesive strategy across all channels, coupled with effective social media engagement, enhances Center Parcs’ brand presence and relevance in the market.
Our strategic approach to refining the Center Parcs social media strategy with a focus on impact highlights the importance of adapting to changing consumer attitudes, behaviours and technological advancements. By fostering collaboration, leveraging data analytics, and embracing agility, our work successfully positioned Center Parcs for sustained growth and relevance in a competitive landscape.
Steps towards success:
- Get the data right – spend time understanding internal data thoroughly, and noting caveats and trends. And invest in gathering accurate and recent audience insights, don’t rely on just one source!
- Balance data-driven insights with intuition and creative thinking.
- Stay agile – during our project, we had to adapt to shifting priorities and stakeholder timescales. Stay flexible to take advantage of changing market conditions.
- Collaborate, collaborate, collaborate – we can’t say it enough. It’s essential to foster a culture of shared goals and innovation so cross-functional teams can thrive with diverse perspectives.
- Agree on metrics – not just for performance, but to check and measure the success of any project. We utilised OKRs, KPIs and our OIA framework to align outcomes with goals.
- Listen hard to your customer – all the internal goals and successes in the world won’t matter a jot if you aren’t aiming to solve customer issues, or at least to incorporate their motivations and feedback into your strategy.
Do you think we can do this for you? Let’s chat!