Located in East Africa, Uganda closed its borders during the height of the pandemic, effectively halting Uganda Tourism’s international promotional messaging for travelers to “visit now.” Uganda’s economy suffered a steep downturn as tourism is one of the top sources of income, particularly surrounding the high-value bucket list activity of mountain gorilla trekking. Uganda Tourism tasked PTG Consulting with creating a new promotional strategy to keep the destination and this activity top-of-mind for future consideration once international travel resumed.
Client
Uganda Tourism Board
Industry
Tourism
Services
PR & Media Relations
Digital Marketing & Social Media
The Solution
PTG Consulting shifted messaging from “travel now” to “plan now” in a social media brand awareness campaign titled “Uganda’s Vast Horizons Await,” designed to encourage travelers to begin planning a future trip. PTG Consulting chose three wide-reaching focused influencers who had previously visited Uganda to serve as brand ambassadors. These brand ambassadors were asked to post about their personal experiences in the destination on World Gorilla Day (September 24), linking to their own travel planning resources whenever possible. The influencers PTG Consulting selected for this campaign were Oneika Raymond (98,500 Instagram followers), Kristin Addis (124,000 Instagram followers and 54,000 Facebook followers), and Natasha Alden (98,000 Instagram followers, 94,000 Facebook followers, and 1.5 million monthly views on Pinterest). Influential North American journalists who had previously visited Uganda were also asked to participate.
The Results
Secured 50 Instagram stories, Instagram posts, Facebook posts and Pinterest pins
Received additional social media support from nine top-tier journalists and media publications, which included 1,000 Places to See Before You Die and NUVO Magazine
PTG Consulting received a prestigious Hospitality Sales and Marketing International (HSMAI) Gold Award for the campaign
86,234
Total impressions
10,240
Total engagements
3:1
ROI