The Partnership Award
2024
Nominee
Finalist
Shortlist
Winner
Hilton x Saudi Tourism Authority Project
Hilton
Since opening its doors to international tourism in 2019, Saudi Arabia has undertaken significant efforts to establish itself as a global tourist destination. The government has implemented various measures, such as online eVisas and the development of major tourism projects, to attract visitors for both leisure and religious purposes.
The Hilton x STA Content Development Project & Summer Destination Marketing Campaign is a collaborative initiative aimed at further elevating Saudi Arabia's global appeal. By highlighting the country's hidden gems, this partnership seeks to position Saudi Arabia as a premier touristic destination and a hub for religious tourism, aligning with the ambitious goals of Vision 2030 to attract 150 million travelers in the coming few years.
The first-of-its-kind project involved producing over 3,000 lifestyle photos and hours of video footage across four key cities in Saudi Arabia (Al Ula, Riyadh, Jeddah & Makkah) in over 15 locations (Elephant Rock, Maraya the beautiful, Guinness World Record holding mirror-clad building in Al Ula, Diriyah, Souq Al Zal and the Red Sea) within 14 days.
Whilst Tourism Board content typically tends to be brand neutral, featuring only destination highlights, thanks to our extensive partnership with Saudi Tourism Authority, Hilton was the preferred partner on this exclusive project. This partnership enabled our brands and properties to be featured and integrated into destination content, which will be used globally across numerous channels and occasions, by both STA and Hilton.
The content project was fully funded by STA, with a total investment of $240,000, with an additional $60,000 from the tourism board for our KSA Summer Destination Marketing Campaign.
The first use of the new content went live in our KSA Summer Destination Marketing Campaign from June until September 2024. We aimed to target audiences who were showing an ‘intent to purchase’ from the GCC markets, Egypt, Jordan, South Africa, and UK who were looking to travel to Saudi to explore new summer experiences or religious travelers looking for their Umrah trip.
Key goals included increasing awareness of Saudi’s tourism offerings, supporting Hilton’s expansion in the region, and driving traffic and consideration to Hilton’s exclusive offers.
The campaign achieved 261 million impressions, 2.1 million landing page visits, and a 1.75% click-through rate, significantly exceeding targets. It enhanced Hilton’s brand visibility, drove substantial traffic and conversions, and strengthened Hilton’s partnership with STA, laying a foundation for future growth and collaboration.
Judges Comments
This is a campaign which really delivers superb results and is a testament to the strength of partnership between destinations and their hospitality partners. Hilton have certainly done well to position themselves as the premium hospitality partner in the region, garnering confidence through their astute understanding of the market, their coordination of an impactful and engaging omni-channel campaign and the careful consideration given to the different markets and draws, reinforcing Saudi's competitive position at the core of Vision 2030.
The judges were particularly impressed with the volume of content produced for this campaign, which showed itself to be effective in resonating with its intended audiences. The proactivity on Hilton's part to visit so many locations and shoot fresh content really delivers in the end result in terms of clickthroughs and conversions. This campaign has demonstrated a truly incredible above average, target smashing metrics with impressive clickthrough rates both on the campaign itself and through the conversion funnel. Hilton have shown their ability to keep the destination top-of-mind, whilst also delivering impact at a performance level.
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