Expedition Engineering is a luxury tour operator specializing in skiing, sea kayaking, hiking and surfing adventures to remote destinations around the globe. They had been shut down (due to covid) for nearly two years and were seeking to restart the business, grow the brand and increase new bookings, when we began working with them in late 2021.
Building the Foundation
We learned from the owners that many people enquiring about their trips assumed they were a travel agency and did not realize that they in fact designed these trips themselves.
Our work began by conducting customer research and ideal client interviews with past customers. We discovered that their affluent guests consider themselves ‘adventurers’ and that component is more important to them than traditional luxury. The quality of guiding and unique, one-of-a-kind expeditions were also key differentiators. Based on that we did a website refresh and created new core messaging that emphasized these attributes and spoke directly to their key personas.
Expedition Engineering had very little brand awareness and did not have strong Google rankings (SEO) for their more competitive tours and destinations. We focused our efforts on growing brand awareness through social media and public relations. But with their long customer journey, we did not want our PR efforts to be wasted, when someone searches for the trips they offer, so we had the twin task of also improving their rankings on Google.
Growth Tactics
We created several story pitches for their key audiences that emphasized Expedition Engineering’s unique adventure tours and destinations. We targeted mainstream, business and luxury media outlets, where we knew their audience was likely to be found, and our hard work began to pay off. We picked up press in Travel + Leisure, Luxury Travel Magazine, USA Today 10Best, National Geographic (UK) and Bloomberg Pursuits and we hosted a writer from Financial Times for a major heli skiing feature.
The Results
The press increased awareness for Expedition Engineering’s tours with high-value audiences. It also improved their authority and trust in their niche. Further, the PR has boosted brand awareness (and branded search) and the SEO work we did improved Google rankings, moving them onto page one for many of their most valuable keywords. The combined results from our work have enabled Expedition Engineering to sell out several of their most profitable tours.
Angela Bueckert
Owner, Expedition Engineering
“After three months, we are seeing bookings and inquiries that are at pre-COVID levels. Darryl’s work has put us on the top page of google and in numerous high-profile magazines. His approach is creative, he believes in long-term thinking, and his step-by-step approach is systematic yet allows for the unique elements of our business.”