Landmark Venues' Strategic Shift Increases Leads by 83%

Overview

Landmark Venues manages multiple premier wedding venues across New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The Landmark team is dedicated to enhancing lead generation and attracting couples to their distinctive locations. Landmark aims to provide an exceptional wedding planning experience through its Memorymakers, who assist couples in every step of their journey. Despite these efforts, Landmark Venues faces challenges in generating leads, particularly at some of their locations, highlighting the need for continued innovation and optimization in their marketing strategies.

Objectives

Generate More Wedding Leads: Focus on increasing lead volume for all venues, particularly those struggling.

Prioritize Underperforming Venues: Identify and address specific venues with declining leads.

Challenges

Decline in Search Interest: Since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a notable decrease in search interest for “wedding venues,” which has adversely affected lead volume. Google Trends indicates a consistent decline in search activity.

Underperforming Venues: Certain venues occasionally underperform, with performance varying significantly across locations. This variation highlights the disparate capacity of different venues to handle lead volume effectively.

Lead Structure: The current structure makes it difficult to track individual venue performance. Leads may convert for one venue but choose another, complicating accurate tracking.

Strategy

Dual-Platform Approach: To tackle these challenges, Landmark Venues is employing a dual-platform advertising strategy, leveraging both Google Ads and Meta Ads. On Google Ads, the focus is on capturing high-intent search queries related to wedding and event planning. This includes targeting a mix of keywords, and utilizing ad extensions such as site link, callout to enhance visibility and increase the highlighted content for the venues. 

Remarketing campaigns are also used to re-engage users who have previously interacted with the Landmark Venues website but have not yet converted. It’s a big decision, and often couples are sourcing a couple different venues. The importance of staying top of mind with our core audience is a big part of our success. We aim to have multiple touchpoints while they navigate their buying journey.

On Meta Ads, the strategy involves precise interest and behavior targeting, reaching users who are actively interested in wedding planning and related topics. Carousel ads showcase multiple venues with high-quality visuals, while lead ads capture user information directly within Meta's platform. This approach facilitates quick and easy sign-ups for venue consultations, driving lead generation effectively.

Seasonal Trends: Recognizing the significant impact of seasonal trends on lead generation, Landmark Venues adjusts their campaigns to align with peak periods. For instance, there is a strategic increase in budget allocation during high-demand periods, such as post-holidays in January, with a focus on optimizing cost-efficiency during off-peak times. Seasonal adjustments are also made to ad copy and bid strategies to maximize visibility and engagement during these crucial periods.

Diverse Appeal and Visual Marketing: Landmark Venues offers a wide range of settings to cater to various preferences, including estate, waterfront, rustic, and historic venues. Each venue is presented through high-quality, striking photos and exceptional videos that showcase their unique charm and versatility. Whether couples are seeking a grand estate, a picturesque waterfront, or a charming rustic setting, Landmark Venues provides options that fit different tastes and needs. This diverse appeal is complemented by personalized consultations, allowing the team to match clients with the venue that best suits their vision. Each venue type—whether estate, waterfront, rustic, or historic—is highlighted through tailored ad content and venue-specific landing pages. This approach ensures that potential clients are presented with options that match their preferences and enhances the likelihood of conversion.

Tailored Ad Copy: Our ad copy is crafted to resonate with the target audience, and to create a sense of place. Emphasizing the unique aspects of each venue and providing a sense of connection. Compelling calls-to-action encourage users to book consultations or request more information, reinforcing the appeal of the venues.‍

Targeted Local Engagement: Precise targeting is crucial, as most inquiries come from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and lower New York, where the venues are located. To enhance user experience, hyper-relevant landing pages have been implemented for specific states and counties, ensuring a seamless and localized experience for users.

Social and Corporate Events: While weddings are the primary focus, Landmark Venues also caters to a variety of social and corporate events. To capture demand for these services, the strategy includes targeted ads that highlight the versatility of the venues for different types of events. This involves crafting ad copy and creative that appeals to corporate event planners and organizers of social gatherings, emphasizing the venue's ability to host a wide range of events, from business conferences to private parties.

Expansion and New Strategy: In June 2024, Landmark Venues acquired a new hotel in Northern Jersey. This acquisition has led to a new strategy involving hotel ads aimed at consumers planning stays and a search intent approach targeting corporate event planners in the NY/NJ metro area.

Platforms Leveraged

Google Ads

Meta Ads

Results

+83.29% in  Leads

-39.09% in CPA 

+66.23% in Impressions

+85.36% in Reach