Basel-Social_Marketing_Strategy_Project_UCBx_20140529

ATTENTION AMERICAN TOURISTS: Basel is your next European destination

Anne Wang | Begonia Martinez Lobbezoo | Cyrielle Vives | Hristina Bencheva Kirk Nakamoto | Robert Cartlidge | Ziyue Zhang

Basel:The Hidden Gem of Switzerland

Basel (English, German)

Basilea (Italian, Spanish)

Bâle (French)

Located on the Rhine, on the border of France and Germany, Basel is the 3rd largest city of Switzerland

Known for its cultural diversity – art, decorative arts, history

Major transportation hub Home to 2 of the largest

Pharma companies – Novartis and Roche

The Plan:Use Social Media to Boost American Tourism in

2015 American tourism has been flat the past 5

years and we know that Americans rely heavily on WOM/Social Networks to determine their next destination

We also know that ART BASEL in Miami is gaining popularity and has placed Basel on traveler’s consideration set

Current social media strategy is relegated to those travelling within Europe or recurring tourist for the major annual events

There is an opportunity to revitalize social media - broaden target audience, provide relevant content across segments and change overall tone for a more modern and exciting destination

Current Social Media Use:One-Dimensional; Current Need to Change

Perception

Mostly in Swiss German, current social media serves as a centralized forum for major events announcement

Mostly used by nationals

Tone lacks luster

Not used to lure tourists

Current American Perception

Basel is purely a transportation hub

Expensive – out of reach

Too cultural, formal

For the older folk

Only for art and jewelry connoisseurs

The Objective:Transform Social Media to Target World Travelers

Inject humanity, enthusiasm and create engaging content that is still informative

Gear content to the primary American travelers through personalization

Showcase top reasons to make Basel a destination for their next trip

Use Social Media as an empowerment tool – discover the city from a tourist point of view

The Target Audience:Affluent, Trend-Setters, Avid Travelers

Mia & Leon (Couple) Late 40s to early 50s Kids moved out Avid travelers

Nick (Male ) Late 20s to early 30s Hipster,art fanatic Likes to uncover the latest trends

Alina & Julia (Besties – Females) Late 20s to early 30s Not married – travel buddies Fashionista s, Sophisticates

2015 Social Media Makeover: “Basel – The Untapped City to Discover”

Introduce “How I Basel” – a social media strategy designed to engage consumers through the description of what to do in Basel through the eyes of characters

These characters will reflect the target audience

Each character will highlight their experiences and what to do in Basel throughout the year

How do YOU Basel?

@basel_tourism

Content Narrative:The St. Bernard - The Voice of Basel

The St. Bernard is the national dog of Switzerland. Building on this, we will create characters in ‘dog form’ for : - Mia & Leon, culture seekers,

foodies - Nick, male focused trendy

events- Alina & Julia, female skewed

options

These characters will post visual and written content on various social media channels.

We are Mia and Leon. We have been married for 25 years.

Until recently we spent most of our vacations either on the

beach or dragging our kids through the most historical destinations in U.S., Europe and Asia. Ahh… kids are in

college and now we can discover hidden gems at our

pace. We want to do things we enjoy – walks, long romantic dinners, musuems, etc.

3 weeks in Switzerland, here we come. Basel, a must see.

Check out our journal. @babyboomerBasel

Name: MiaAge: 52Job: Interior DesignerStatus: MarriedCity: Laguna Beach

Name: LeonAge: 54Job: Investment BankerStatus: MarriedCity: Laguna Beach

Mia and Leon: No More Family Vacations

I’m Nick from the city by the bay #SF! I am a world citizen by heart and an

artist by trade. I travel for inspiration.

#Basel is my newest discovery and I want to

share with you my journey. Join me on the path of self-discovery, enrichment and adventure in the beautiful

historic town of Basel. Travel. Transcend. Thrive.

@explorerBasel

Name: NickAge: 31Job: Animation designerStatus: SingleCity: San Francisco

Nick: Looking for Inspiration

We are Julia and Alina, #besties forever! We know each other since pre-school but our love for #fashion

and #travel keeps us closer and closer. We enjoy

exploring new cities. That is what happened with #Basel:

a real #crush! Follow us if you want to know

more about this incredible city, we have a lot to share

about it.Au revoir US.. Bonjour Basel!

@bestiesBasel ;)

Name: Alina Age: 27Profession: Fashion DesignerStatus: SingleCity: New York City

Name: JuliaAge: 28Profession: Art DealerStatus: SingleCity: New York City

Alina and Julia: Not your Average Gals

INTRUIGING HEADLINE

REAL TIME/DYNAMIC

The New Approach:Intrigue, Engage, Target

TARGETED CONTENT

VISUALLY APPEALING

The New Approach:Social Media Channels to Utilize

• Provide insights and travel tips• Supplement short

form content with details

• Build community• Share travel

experiences and event ideas• Post real-time

events

• Build community• Share travel

experiences and event ideas• Find advocates• Post visual material

WR

ITTEN

VIS

UA

L

• Staged and Informal visuals• Provides visual

content for FB and Twitter

• Pins to be used for vacation planning folder with photos

The Channel Strategy:How do I Basel?

Events and

Promo-tions

25%

Basel Tourist Expe-

ri-ences

35%

Tourism Support to facili-

tate travel

20%

Lifestyle Content

10%

Real-Time Content

10%

Mia and Leon: Example Posts

Mia and Leon: Example Posts

Nick: Example Posts

Nick: Example Posts

Alina and Julia: Example Posts

Alina and Julia: Example Posts

Content Frequency: Post When Audience is Focused on Travel Planning

MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN

Posts 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

Time 6PM 6PM 6PM 6PM 4PM 7AM 11AM

Posts 4 4 4 4 4 4 4

Time 7AM/12PM/6PM/9PM

Posts - - - 1 - - 1

Time 4PM/9am

Posts 3 3 3 3 3 3 3

Time 7AM/12PM/5PM

Posts 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

Time 7AM/5PM

And QUALITY is more important than quantity.

*Pacific Time** The number of posts is subjected to

change (±15% tolerance per week).

PUBLISH

• Co-ordinate and manage publishing to multiple platforms

• Provide content approval process and central resource

ANALYZE

• Measure reach (Facebook, Twitter, blogs)

• Measure engagement (share/ comments on Facebook, comments on posts, re-tweets)

• Measure conversion (click throughs to Basel website, visits to Basel)

LISTEN

• Monitor conversations in social media relating to Basel or tourist events

• Respond to any criticism or questions

MANAGE

• Manage content production and approval

• Third-party licensed content to keep us moving

Management of the Strategy:Measuring Success

Management of the Strategy:Platforms Enlisted

SPRINKLR

• Sprinklr will be used as our major platform to allow us to post to Twitter, Facebook and WordPress. Manage workflow, listen and assess responses.

• Pinterest and Instagram are not compatible with most integrated publishing tools, so will be managed directly.

• This tool was selected as a cost-effective integrated approach.

Yoast SEO

• Yoast SEO provides a plug-in application that will be used for WordPress long form content, to ensure our search results show up well when individuals are planning their trips.

FANCORPS

• Fancorps will be utilized to help build our customer advocate group.

• This tool will be integrated into our Basel Facebook page.

• We will use this to promote content sharing and other tasks in exchange for prizes or vouchers to promote repeat visits to Basel by our advocates.

YAMMER

• Yammer will be used as an internal brainstorming and discussion platform for the Basel social media team, and also allow input from the local tourism board or even other stakeholders.

• This will be used for future planning, and not as a process management tool for current content streams.

Management of the Strategy: Center of Excellence

Community

Manager(CM)

Editor

Content Strategi

st

Analyst

Content Editor

Creative Editor

Community Manager• Social Strategy Oversight• Coordinate, approve, respond• Liaise with marketing team

Content Strategist• Develop and maintain 2015

calendar

Creative Editor• Oversee 3rd party creative

agencies• Creative content strategy

Channel Editor• Oversee 3rd party content

agencies, create content• Written content strategy

Analyst• Monitor/measure

performance• Report

Timeline:Kick Off in June 2014 and Launch January

2015

LIVE CAMPAIGN

Launch January 2015

Weekly Review and Content Adjustments

Preparation• Hire Community

Manager• Finalize CofE

team• Software

Purchase/Training

• Interview stakeholders

• Catalogue previous content

• Select 3rd Licensed Content Vendor(s)

• Finalize Process/Approval Chains

• Finalize Launch Content

SPRING 2015 SUMMER 2015 AUTUMN 2015

Real Time PostsSwiss National Day

Build-up to Basel Herbstmesse

Quarterly StrategyReview

Outside Culture Campaign

Real Time PostsBaselwalt

Forward Thinking:“How I Basel” Longevity and Sustainability

Character development will last at least 1 calendar year, enhance and/or introduce new individuals in year 2 depending on year 1 performance

Identify real people influencers and advocates to eventually migrate to a testimonial based strategy in year 2-3

Add YouTube as social media channel and potentially integrate approach across all marketing channels in year 2+

Weave in promotions and sweepstakes to encourage engagement

@basel_tourism

Welcome Americans…Welcome!