The region and city of Valkenburg wants to improve their awareness among Chinese travelers. They have setup a clear proposition and target and came to us wanting to spread the word. 

Proposition & Target
For the Chinese market Valkenburg wants to be known as the “Fairytale hometown”. A home away from home for Chinese travelers that want to discover Europe in a new way. Not packed together in buses being dragged from tourist spot to tourist spot, but instead immersing themselves in the local environment. This proposition is strengthened by a target audience selection focusing on the “Seeker of Relaxation” and the “Knowledgeable Connoisseur”.

Online Activation
First of all, in order to communicate the proposition to the Chinese audience Valkenburg needed an online Social presence. The basis of this is a WeChat and a Weibo account which we setup for the client. This provides a strong base for the travelers that become interested in following Valkenburg and the content it publishes. Next on the agenda are the Niche platforms such as Mafengwo and Qyer. These platforms are ideal for the Research and Inspiration Phase of the Traveler. And finally a presence on platforms such as Baidu Baike (the Chinese Wikipedia) and Zhihu (Chinese Q&A platform) to strengthen the SEO and general online presence of Valkenburg and the region. Through creation of presence and content on all these platforms Valkenburg is able to capture the travelers at various stages throughout their Customer Journey. 

KOL Campaigns

Every new brand that enters China has to find ways to reach their Chinese target audience. And for most of them they do so through KOL campaigns (Key Opinion Leaders, or Influencers in the West). AgencyChina setup a strong KOL campaign for Valkenburg as well. From a short list of potential strong KOLs the client chose one lucky gentleman who got to travel to Valkenburg to experience the sites and the beautiful culture and delicious local cuisine it has to offer. For the KOL this meant a great trip, but more crucial, for Valkenburg this was a great source of User Generated Content and tons of exposure. 

The KOL posted on a daily basis about his adventures, showing of the area and all there is to do around here. With the schedule that we put together with Valkenburg this aloud us to guide the content to match the proposition of Valkenburg being the  “Center of Europe”. Besides the daily posts the KOL also posted before and after the trip on Weibo and WeChat. And finally, to round it all up, a long form article on Mafengwo detailing the whole trip and daily schedule. This is already being referenced by other users in their preparations for trips to Europe. 

Another KOL campaign was held several months later, 2 female KOLs were invited this time around. They each traveled the city of valkenburg and the suroundings more independently, resulting in very different experiences, and great exposure, over 17 million impressions for the two KOLs together. 

Lucky Draw Campaign

And of course the new followers of the accounts of Valkenburg also got a chance to win a Lucky Draw for being the first loyal followers. Among the followers that joined the account in the first month gave away one round trip ticket + hotel stay for a unforgettable trip. This campaign generated over 2,5 million impressions and one lucky winner who  will be visiting Valkenburg for his Honeymoon in October of 2019.