The Little [Marketing]Engine That CouldHow to do a lot --- with a little

BRONTO LONDON SUMMIT – SEPTEMBER 18, 2014

The Little [Marketing] Engine That Could How to do a lot --- with a little

Cathy ThomsonHead of Customer Engagement Cathy.Thomson@webresint.com

Outline

1. Who we are

2. Where we were

3. Where we are now

4. Tangible results

5. Lessons learned along the way

6. Next steps in customer engagement

Who we are

► Founded in 1999, headquartered in Dublin, Ireland with offices in London, Shanghai, and Sydney

► Leader in online budget accommodation for independent-minded travellers (“the young and the young at heart”)

► Award-winning websites – up to 19 languages eacho Hostelworld.como Hostelbookers.como Hostels.com and o Bedandbreakfastworld.com

► Long-standing affiliate relationships with many of the world's leading travel brands – Lonely Planet, TripAdvisor, Trivago

► 250 employees► Database of 15 million global customers

About Us:

Brand Pillars:► Largest selection of hostel properties online (Scale)

► 100% Booking Guarantee (Trust)

►WRI knows hostelling & hostels better than anyone (Leadership)

► Authentic, validated guest reviews (Credibility)

►Unique content for travellers – videos, podcasts, pocket guides (“Insider Experts”)

What we’re all about...

What we’re all about...

What we’re all about...

Online Travel Agent (OTA) Sector:Our competitive environment has intensified more in the last 3 years

than in the previous 10

Challenges & OpportunitiesChallenges

• Rising cost of acquisition• Competition from Booking.com, hostels’

own sites, other OTA’s• Other OTA payment models (no pay

upfront, no cancellation fees)• Brand emotional resonance/awareness

Opportunities• Solid mobile platform – new app

innovations• Asian market growth• Customer retention, personalisation • Rich content for travellers• Highly engaged fans & followers

Where we were

2011 Email Program► Outsourced - full service ESP agency model► 2 general newsletters a month► Non-segmented► English-language only► No control groups, limited A/B testing of subject lines► Average opens & click-thru’s► Limited email database growth► A start – walk, jog, then run

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Where we are now

2014 Email Program► In-house – switched to Bronto in 2012► Increased reach & frequency► 3 website brands► 10 languages► 13 different ad hoc campaign types & 5 automated workflows► 109 version sends in September (ad hoc only)► Personalisation - variable data, content, images► Multiple waves + auto-reminders to non-openers► Hold-out control groups in every wave to measure incremental lift in bookings

and revenue► A/B testing of frequency & offers► Cool content

Lifecycle Campaign Roadmap (per brand)PROSPECT NEW REPEAT FREQUENT LOYAL LAPSED/

DORMANT

Welcome Journey (segmented by language)

“Membership” Repeat Booking Stim (by language)

Booking Anniversary – 6 & 12 months post last booking /by language

Reactivation Push- by value/tenure

Member-Get-Member – by value/language

Review Reminder w/ VIP Experience Offer - by language & reviewer status

Review Thank You (as above)

Tri-Weekly Deals / 24-hour Flash Sales (segmented by preference)

Monthly News & Tips (language & nationality)

Contest Promo Campaigns (language & nationality)

Daily Abandoned Browse – segmented by destination searched

Pre-Trip 1 & 2 – local info & weather, Extend-Your Stay (by location, length-of stay)

App Download Alerts (by language & device type)

Weekly NPS Surveys (segmented by current point in customer journey)

Booking Anniversary Campaign – Immediate Response via Social Media

Cool Content

Cool Content

Cool Content

Cool Content

Cool Content

Cool Content

Cool Content

Our (Massive) CRM Team

(Heather!)

Tangible Results

“ Show Me The Money”

► Incremental Revenue + 101% YOY

► Incremental Bookings + 107% YOY

►RPM (Revenue Per Thousand Emails) + 122% YOY

►CPM (Cost Per Thousand Emails) - 25%

Lessons Learned Along the Way

Lessons Learned► Perfection is the enemy of “good enough”

►Maintain your creativity - especially as you scale up

►Measure & prioritise

► Test and learn, test and learn, test and learn

► It’s OK to walk before you jog – just learn to walk really, really well

► Pick the right ESP - simple intuitive user interface/reliability/scope of functions

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Next Steps to Customer Engagement

Agile Email Content

►Real-time local weather apps in Pre-Trip emails

►Real-time local events & gigs

► Live countdown clocks for 24hr flash deals

►Regional extend-your-stay recommendations

►A/B content testing & optimisation

Mobile CRM Activation

Onsite CRM & Personalisation

Multi-Channel Campaign Automation

Quadrupling the CRM Team

Questions?