Click to Call to Cruise
South Eastern Ontario boasts some of the best waterfronts in the province. From the St. Lawrence River, which winds through the 1000 Islands, to the lakes that dot the UNESCO Rideau Heritage Route and the towns and cities that call Lake Ontario home, there’s a reason this region used to be called the Great Waterway.
With all of this sparkling blue water comes boating enthusiasts, and for a good reason. The region is well known for its chartered cruises through the 1000 Islands. As a close-to-home destination, visitors pack up the car to drive from Toronto, Ottawa, or New York for a weekend getaway on the water — and that’s how we reached them.
Giving traditional marketing a wide berth.
Operators are docked throughout the region, offering countless options for sea-faring visitors to sight-see, enjoy a lunch or dinner cruise, and experience live entertainment. Tickets are sold at the dock or over the phone, making it hard for spontaneous afternoon cruisers to book their passage while on the road. So, we turned to geo-fencing to connect consumers to the closest cruising port along their route.
We created a mobile website environment with a GPS-enabled “Cruise Finder” to give real-time information about cruises and special promotions that cruise operators could update themselves.
Mobile display ads on websites like Post Media, Canada.com, Global News, and the Weather Network were served to road trippers while browsing on their phones. When they stopped to refuel at a Highway 401 OnRoute, digital signage was customized based on their distance to cruise operators. The boards were inspired by departure and arrival displays at airports and train stations and provided a clear call to action to book passage.
Calls, not clicks,
were the ticket.
Geo-fencing found consumers, Cruise Finder allowed them to find the perfect cruise package for their trip, but it was phone calls directly to operators that sealed the deal. Click-to-call buttons on the website put customers directly in touch with operators to complete their purchase on the go. In a time when many people feel more comfortable making online orders and arriving with a confirmation code, this was an achievement, and the results were significant.