How did three haunted attractions use cross-device display and paid search to increase awareness and ticket sales during peak season?
The haunted attraction organization wanted to increase awareness and ticket sales for three of their haunted attractions:
- Haunted House#1: Aurora, IL
- Haunted House#2: Downers Grove,IL
- Haunted House#3: Seekonk,MA
BACKGROUND
Over a 6-week campaign, they targeted adults, ages 18-34, using animated banners and paid search ads. In addition, radius targeting was used around each location:
Haunted House #1 & #2
- Display ads: 50-mile radius
- Paid search ads: 50-mile radius
Haunted House #3:
- Display ads: 30-mile radius
- Paid search ads: 40-mile radius
STRATEGY
To achieve this goal, Digilant built a custom strategy using a mix of upper and lower-funnel tactics focused on finding the right audiences.
Cross-Device Display Tactics
A mix of tactics was used to reach new visitors and drive them down the funnel to purchase tickets, including:
- Adaptive Segments: Segment users who have engaged with the haunted attraction’s website based on activity, pages visited, action taken, and adjusting bidding strategy to drive even stronger conversions.
- Algorithmic Optimizer: Customize the haunted attractions’ buying algorithm towards views and clicks to reach their awareness and visitation goals.
- Behavioral Targeting: 3rd party data segments to reach adults 18-37 years old, and entertainment enthusiasts interested in visiting haunted houses.
- Contextual Targeting: Align with relevant content such as “haunted houses,” “Halloween activities,” and other similar terms to keep the attractions in mind.
- Curated Marketplace: Custom whitelist was created running across News, Sports, Weather, Entertainment, Home & Garden, and Parenting sites.
- Site Retargeting: Deliver ads to users who visited the haunted attraction’s website but didn’t purchase tickets. This keeps the attraction top of mind after they leave the site.
Paid Search
Digilant also leveraged paid search to reach people who searched for Halloween attractions, competitors, and other local haunted attractions/events in the area. The following strategies and tools were utilized to drive strong performance across SEM:
- Extension creation: Used for custom conversion event tracking & improved ad quality (with a “Buy Now” button in the ad).
- Custom dashboards: Granular data access, including day & hour performance by click, impression, and total investment plus granular data at the campaign, ad group, and keyword level for traffic.
- Conversion setup + custom event tracking (sitelink clicks) and reporting via reporting docs
- Routine optimizations,including bid and budget management with pacing, negative keyword additions and search term reviews, week-over-week KPIreviews & adjustments
The combination of display and paid search allowed each haunted attraction to reach its goals and exceed the client’s expectations.
KEY RESULTS
Haunted House #1
- Visitation increased +60% year-over-year
- 0.51% click-through-rate
Haunted House #2
- Visitation increased +60% year-over-year
- 0.31% click-through-rate
Haunted House #3
- Visitation increased +25% year-over-year
- 0.36% click-through-rate