In March 2015, Ashanti Lodge ran a six week SEO campaign, offering a Bucket-List-worthy prize valued at $4000 to entrants around the world. This post will outline what the campaign set out to achieve, how the mechanic worked and what the results were.
What Was the Campaign About?
Ashanti offered one lucky winner the chance to win a three week safari adventure of a lifetime. The prize also included a week’s stay in a suite at Ashanti Lodge Green Point and a number of incredible tours around Cape Town.
Prize Details:
- Victoria Falls to Cape Town (Southbound) or Cape Town to Victoria Falls (Northbound) 21 Day overland tour from Africa Travel Co.
- Return airfare from anywhere in the world*
- A week’s accommodation in Ashanti – double room en suite
- R500 Bar Tab at Ashanti
- Shark Cage Tour
- City Sightseeing City Tour
- Wine Tour
- Cape Point Tour
- Airport Shuttles
Competition Entry:
Entrants were asked to find a hidden question on a map of Southern Africa (outlining the route of the overland safari trip). This question was hidden amongst hot spots containing information on locations along the route of the trip – from Victoria Falls to Cape Town.
This question linked to a page on the Ashanti site, which we were targeting for increased time spent on site. Entrants needed to find the answer to the competition question within this page and submit it with their details. Entrants received double entries for sharing their entry to their social media platforms using the #ashantigonewild hashtag, encouraging social sharing.
What Were the Campaign Objectives?
- Increase time spent on site
- Create relevant backlinks
- Increase Ashanti brand awareness
- Create social signals
- Grow database
How Was the Campaign Promoted?
YTravel Blog was the primary influencer involved in promoting the campaign. This is a fantastic blog with huge international following, an active community and solid site performance.
As the primary influencer, YTravel Blog featured the competition in a blog post with evergreen backlinks to Ashanti, a competition banner and social media posts. There was a high level of engagement with the blog post and social media features.
This partnership with the blog also ensured valuable, juicy back links to Ashanti – a primary SEO objective of the campaign.
Organic partners wanting to offer the amazing prize to their readership, as well as the various prize sponsors also featured the competition on their channels, ensuring further reach.
Ashanti pushed the competition on its social media platforms, enticing visitors with the beautiful locations to be visited on the overland trip.
What Were the Results?
The campaign was well received, with a high level of engagement online. There was a high volume of shares in relation to entries, circulating the hashtag and user generated content.
- 1315 entries from around the world
- 2 evergreen backlinks from a reputable site
- A 93% year-on-year increase in Sessions over the campaign period
- A 106% year-on-year increase in Users over the campaign period
- A 53% year-on-year increase in Page Views over the campaign period
- 74% of visitors to the site over the campaign period were new users, demonstrating increased brand awareness
- A high volume of user generated content through social sharing
- Social signals from YTravel Blog and other partners
- Database growth
The campaign was successful in achieving its objectives and resulted in notable engagement online. The winner will be sent on the trip of a lifetime and generate more engaging content of their experience.