With Chinese borders closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, PTG Consulting was tasked with keeping Suzhou’s one-of-a-kind cultural experiences top-of-mind among U.S. and European consumers, media, key opinion leaders, and influencers to ensure travelers keep the destination under consideration and are inspired to book trips there once travel is again possible.
Client
Suzhou Municipal Bureau of Radio, Television, Culture and Tourism
Industry
Tourism
Services
Digital Marketing & Social Media
The Solution
Without the option of hosting U.S. or European travelers in Suzhou, PTG Consulting turned to foreigners based in China and experts in Suzhou culture in other international markets to tell the city’s dynamic stories to the target audience through social media and special events. Further, PTG Consulting developed a series of events targeting English-speaking expats living in China to promote travel to Suzhou, encourage posting about the destination on Chinese and international social media channels, and generate positive media coverage.
The Results
The campaign resulted in some of the strongest engagement for Suzhou since PTG Consulting began working with the destination in 2014. Highlights include:
Partnered with TimeOut Shanghai to host readers with influential social media audiences for a one-night stay in Suzhou to document their experiences on WeChat and Facebook, which resulted in 10,187,533 impressions; concurrently, worked with a Beijing-based DMC to develop weekend getaway packages that were promoted for sale via TimeOut Shanghai
Held a consumer event targeting English speakers during Jiangnan Culture Suzhou Week at Beijing’s 798 Arts District, which resulted in 35 positive stories that generated 23,094,490 earned media impressions
Planned and executed a Kunqu Opera showcase for more than 50 media and influencers in London, which resulted in more than 15,000 social media impressions and 26 articles that generated 2.7 million media impressions
Orchestrated a #SecretsOfSuzhou IGTV video series starring English speakers living in Suzhou that generated the strongest Instagram engagement for the destination since the channel was launched in 2015, garnering more than 20,000 impressions and 1,500 engagements
Worked closely with expats to develop friendly, first-person video content shared across @VisitSuzhou on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube, via monthly expat features on the @VisitSuzhou Facebook page, and within the destination’s newsletters distributed bimonthly to the U.S. Travel Trade
25 million+
Media impressions
61
Positive editorial stories
10 million+
Social media impressions
39,000
New followers across all social media channels
Client Testimonial
"PTG Consulting has helped put Suzhou on the map through engaging events and impactful travel trade programs. The amount of exposure they have achieved for the destination throughout our longstanding relationship is truly outstanding."
Suzhou Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television, and Tourism