Meridian Regional Airport, located in Mississippi, sought to enhance its brand visibility and market exposure to attract both business and leisure travelers. Despite offering convenient travel options, MEI faced competition from larger airports in neighboring cities and needed to better communicate the advantages of flying locally instead of driving to a distant hub. The key challenge was ensuring that potential travelers in the region were aware of MEI as a viable, efficient, and cost-effective travel option.
MEI decided in partnership with United Airport to develop a campaign driving travelers to both United Airlines and the airport. Traditional advertising methods had limited success in driving measurable engagement and conversions. MEI recognized that a comprehensive digital approach was needed to ensure their message reached the right audience, at the right time, across multiple platforms where travelers actively consume content.
Tasks & Action Items For Propellant Media + MEI
The primary objective was to design and execute a data-driven digital advertising campaign that would:
- Expand audience reach among both business and leisure travelers.
- Generate high engagement rates with video and display banner ads.
- Encourage direct action by increasing airport visits and bookings.
- Measure the effectiveness of the campaign by tracking conversions, including online interactions and in-person visits to the airport.
Given MEI’s need for high-impact, measurable marketing, we structured a campaign that integrated multi-channel digital advertising, audience curation, and advanced geo-targeting techniques.
Media Plan MEI Implemented
To achieve maximum impact, we implemented an integrated digital marketing strategy that combined:
-
-
- Created virtual perimeters around strategic locations to deliver targeted ads to potential travelers.
- Focused on competing airports, travel hubs, hotels, corporate offices, and business districts to reach high-intent audiences.
- Ensured that users within these zones were served display and video ads promoting MEI’s travel convenience and benefits.
- Audience Curation & Data Segmentation
- Developed precise business and leisure traveler segments using behavioral and demographic data.
- Leveraged third-party travel intent data to reach individuals actively planning trips.
- Tailored ad messaging based on user travel preferences, search behavior, and past engagements with airline services.
-
- Delivered high-impact pre-roll and mid-roll video ads across premium streaming platforms, including Hulu, Roku, and YouTube TV.
- Ensured visibility on travel-related content, positioning MEI in front of an engaged audience planning trips.
- Used cross-device targeting to reach viewers on mobile, desktop, and smart TVs.
The team utilize the sample creative ads here:
https://www.loom.com/share/b028a0ba8b924ca794183b2cacaa8675?sid=88894148-2511-4ba5-950f-73a3acff710a
-
-
- Produced a compelling video ad highlighting MEI’s benefits, easy access, and superior customer experience.
- Ran video ads on digital video platforms, including news websites, travel blogs, and social media networks.
- Optimized video length and messaging for maximum retention and brand recall.
- Display Banner Ads & Site Retargeting
-
- Served high-impact display ads across Google’s Display Network and programmatic platforms.
- Implemented site retargeting to re-engage users who visited MEI’s website but did not book a flight.
- Designed visually engaging ad creatives that emphasized ease of travel, cost-effectiveness, and reduced travel time.
- Conversion Zone Tracking
- Established a conversion zone around Meridian Regional Airport to track individuals who saw or clicked on an ad and then physically visited the airport.
- Used location-based attribution modeling to measure how digital impressions directly translated into in-person airport visits.
- Provided real-time analytics to optimize campaign performance and improve ROI.
Results of The Campaign
The data-driven, multi-channel campaign delivered exceptional results, significantly exceeding industry benchmarks:
Video Ad Performance
- Impressions: 731,253
- Clicks: 1,212
- Click-Through Rate (CTR): 0.17% (70% above industry average)
- Walk-Ins (Users Who Saw/Clicked on Ads & Visited the Airport): 186
- Overall Video Watch Rate: 92% (indicating strong audience retention and engagement)
Display Banner Ad Performance
- Impressions: 110,724
- Clicks: 126
- Click-Through Rate (CTR): 0.11%
- Walk-Ins: 25
Key Takeaways from Conversion Zone Tracking (Foot Traffic Monitoring)
Users who were served ads were significantly more likely to visit MEI than those who were not exposed to the campaign. Geo-fencing ensured that MEI’s messaging was delivered to high-intent travelers in competitor airport locations. The campaign successfully influenced travelers’ decisions, demonstrating the power of multi-channel digital marketing.
Through an integrated approach leveraging geo-fencing, audience segmentation, OTT/CTV advertising, pre-roll video, and conversion tracking, MEI significantly increased its brand awareness and engagement among business and leisure travelers. The measurable impact on airport visits proves that a well-executed digital marketing campaign can drive real-world actions. Expanding geo-fencing efforts to additional high-traffic travel zones. Increasing investment in OTT/CTV advertising, which had the highest audience engagement. Enhancing creative strategies to further improve ad engagement and conversion rates.
Impact On The Golden Nugget
