In 2023, as digital travel booking reached a milestone with 62.5 percent of internet users researching travel online and 88 percent of those expected to book accommodations, Miraval Resorts saw an opportunity to boost online bookings for its Berkshires property, especially during the traditionally slower winter period. Building on its previous year's programmatic campaign, Miraval expanded its strategy to include more upper-funnel tactics, adding machine learning-powered connected TV (CTV) advertising and predictive targeting to its existing rich media and cross-device display approach.
Miraval implemented an omnichannel digital strategy targeting luxury travelers and health and wellness enthusiasts throughout their booking journey. The campaign utilized custom machine learning models that analyzed non-individualized statistics across multiple data points to identify potential travelers most likely to convert. It used predictive models which considered factors such as ad position, publisher, geo-intelligence, time of day, and connection signal, while also analyzing real-time contextual signals like publisher visitation to optimize toward users showing interest in travel or wellness.
With 2023 marking the first time a majority of U.S. adults would be digital travel bookers and an increased willingness to spend on travel experiences (pushing the average yearly digital spend per person to $2,218 — a 35 percent increase since 2019), Miraval Resorts aimed to capitalize on this trend. The brand looked to drive online bookings for its Berkshires property at an efficient cost per booking, specifically targeting health and wellness enthusiasts and luxury travelers.
This was the second year of the Miraval Berkshires programmatic campaign, building on learnings from the previous year which had focused primarily on rich media and cross-device display creative to drive bookings. For 2023, Miraval enhanced this strategy by adding AdTheorent's machine learning-powered CTV offering and predictive targeting as part of a full-funnel approach, while campaigns for other Miraval properties continued using only cross-device display and rich media.
The timing was strategic: with 83 percent of luxury travelers planning to spend more on travel in 2023, and 84 percent planning to take longer vacations compared to the past 18 months, it was an ideal time to gain mindshare. While the Miraval brand was well established, the Berkshires property was the newest in the portfolio, and winter traditionally represented a slower booking period, making this campaign particularly important for driving occupancy.
Miraval Resorts' primary target audience profiles included Luxury Travelers and Health and Wellness Enthusiasts:
These profiles aligned with Miraval's key customer attributes and helped focus the campaign on prospects with the highest potential value and likelihood of conversion.
The Miraval Berkshires media and creative strategies engaged the target audience across multiple touchpoints, nurturing potential travelers throughout the booking journey:
This omnichannel approach was targeted by AdTheorent's advanced predictive advertising platform to optimize conversions efficiently throughout the funnel. The system utilized custom machine learning models fueled by non-individualized statistics to identify potential travelers with the highest likelihood of engaging with the brand and ultimately completing a booking. These models considered data elements such as ad position, publisher, geo-intelligence, time of day, and connection signal while also analyzing real-time contextual signals like publisher visitation and browsing behavior to optimize toward consumers showing interest in travel or wellness.
The Miraval Berkshires programmatic campaign relied on AdTheorent's advanced machine learning-powered technology to effectively reach and engage with its target audience across various touchpoints:
Predictive Targeting and Optimization
Throughout the campaign, custom predictive models analyzed real-time contextual signals like publisher visitation to increase reach among qualified users demonstrating interest in travel or wellness (i.e., resorts, fitness, and healthy eating) and optimized display impression delivery toward potential travelers with a higher likelihood of conversion. The custom real-time signal segments performed exceptionally well:
Content Category Optimization
To drive the most efficient cost per booking, the brand optimized impression delivery toward higher-performing content categories throughout the campaign:
Full-Funnel Integration
Implementing a full-funnel strategy with AdTheorent's advanced machine learning-powered solutions led to elevated campaign success and conversion rates:
This sophisticated execution allowed Miraval Berkshires to monitor campaign performance across a myriad of digital signals to optimize impression delivery and achieve superior audience quality, campaign reach, and CPA performance. The use of advanced machine learning for precise audience targeting enabled real-time optimization and continual performance improvement throughout the campaign period.
The Miraval Berkshires programmatic advertising campaign delivered exceptional results across all key performance metrics:
ROI and Cost Efficiency:
Engagement Metrics:
Impact on the Conversion Funnel:
The brand conducted a campaign impact analysis that revealed significant improvements in the customer journey:
These results demonstrate the effectiveness of advanced predictive advertising solutions and machine learning technology in identifying, optimizing toward, and engaging Miraval's target audience throughout the booking journey, from site visitation to confirmed bookings.
The campaign's success in driving bookings during a typically slower period for the newest property in the portfolio underscores the value of the full-funnel approach and the power of machine learning-based optimization. By leveraging predictive models and real-time signal analysis, Miraval Berkshires was able to reach its high-value target audience efficiently and effectively, resulting in substantial return on investment and helping to establish the property as a premier destination for luxury wellness travel.
