Building Sales Online

How to cultivate community and attract customers
early in the travel purchase cycle

Building sales online is usually accomplished by giving customers information that will inspire them to make a purchase then and there. As with everything, there are right and wrong ways of doing that. We think Virgin Atlantic (with a little help from their friends at Lonely Planet) did a good job.

The need

Virgin Atlantic holds a unique position in the international airline market with its dedication to making air travel a more rewarding experience. Online bookings are crucial for all airlines, and Virgin Atlantic saw the direct link between content that engages the user and makes them want to see the world, and bookings!

Our advice

Virgin Atlantic's key market wants to be up on what is happening all over the globe and they want to be in the middle of it. The drivers for this demographic are more than just getting from A to B. Traditional destination content needed to be expanded to include concert and event listings as well as fantastic images. Together with WhatsOnWhen, this is exactly what Lonely Planet delivered.

The solution

In-depth and multi platform destination content was delivered. The content is constantly updated with the latest events happening in any of the over 20 destinations Virgin Atlantic flies to and with great images, is the catalyst for converting a site visitor to an online customer.

Results

Making the Virgin Atlantic site a one-stop shop for planning and booking a trip saw site traffic increase dramatically. Virgin Atlantic love it so much, they are looking at other ways Lonely Planet can help them increase sales.