Winter magic display campaign evokes emotional response driving increased revenue

MARKETING

Boston Harbor Hotel faced a challenge: increasing bookings and revenue during the cold winter months when tourism typically declines. The Winter Magic display campaign was created to evoke emotional responses and drive increased revenue, with a goal of achieving a monthly Return on Ad Spend of $10:1.

Why it matters: The Boston Harbor Hotel strategy shows that hotels and destinations can grow revenue in slow seasons without heavy discounts by leveraging emotional storytelling. Well-crafted imagery and messaging can inspire bookings during traditionally slow periods, unlocking untapped seasonal potential and paving the way for more creative, profitable marketing strategies.

Emotional appeal works: The campaign's success without explicit offers proves the power of evoking emotional responses in advertising. Winter tourism potential: Boston's winter charm can be effectively marketed to boost tourism during traditionally slow months. Imagery over discounts: Carefully chosen imagery and messaging can outperform campaigns relying on discounts or offers. Continued innovation: Future campaigns can build on this success by further exploring emotional connections with potential visitors.

Top 3 Core Objectives: Boston Harbor Hotel launched the Winter Magic display campaign to boost bookings and revenue during the slow winter season, aiming for a $10:1 monthly ROAS by sparking emotional connections with travelers.

Winter imagery: Display banner ads featured carefully chosen winter scenes to enact a visceral response, rekindling a childlike sense of wonder about snow and the winter season.
Romantic scenes: Images included couples ice skating hand in hand, capturing the magic of winter romance in Boston.
Boston beauty: Snowy cityscapes of Boston showcased the city's winter charm, enticing visitors with its unique seasonal appeal.

Innovators Mentioned

Boston Harbor Hotel

GCommerce

Alex Horrocks

Senior Paid Search Strategist

Boston Harbor Hotel

Jennifer McMahon

Regional Director of Sales & Marketing

Boston Harbor Hotel

"Stepping away from discounts and diving into emotional storytelling was a powerful reminder that marketing is about building trust and resonance with audiences."

Alex Horrocks

Senior Paid Search Strategist

👍 Senior Paid Search Strategist Alex Horrocks said that Marketing isn’t just about driving sales, it’s about creating connections.:

"Stepping away from discounts and diving into emotional storytelling was a powerful reminder that marketing is about building trust and resonance with audiences."

⚖️ The selection process: During their research process, Jennifer McMahon evaluated GCommerce's product differentiators, customer support, and holistic value as a strategic partner and ultimately decided that GCommerce was the best fit solution:

Regional Director of Sales & Marketing Jennifer McMahon said, about their decision: "The Boston Harbor Hotel always appreciates GCommerce's proactive suggestions and creative thinking. We have also seen a 26.1% increase in YOY produced revenue with our partnership."

📈 The results: The Winter Magic campaign became the top performer of the entire year, outshining other seasonal campaigns such as the Autumn and Evergreen campaigns.