Switzerland Tourism: Growing awareness & generating demand

Switzerland Tourism (ST) has been promoting demand for Switzerland as a holiday, travel and congress destination at home and abroad on behalf of the federal government for over 100 years.

The Challenge

Switzerland Tourism challenged Strava users in Germany to run 10 kilometers in 10 days to enter a prize draw for a chance to win a trip to Basel for two.

Why Strava

Switzerland is known worldwide as an outdoors mecca, with world-class hiking, mountain biking, trail running, and mountaineering. That being said, Switzerland’s beautiful cities are also well-worth spending time in, with vibrant arts, culture, and architecture to explore. Switzerland Tourism wanted to promote the country’s cities as an integral part of any Swiss holiday, especially if you enjoy running. Recognizing that Strava is home to the world’s largest community of active people, Switzerland Tourism wanted to build awareness among an audience receptive to active tourism. Additionally, Switzerland Tourism was drawn to the fact that Strava supports a plethora of activities, including mountain biking, running, walking, skiing, and hiking, which Switzerland is known for. Given that Germans comprise the largest nationality amongst tourists to Switzerland, Switzerland Tourism wanted to grow mindshare among and generate future demand within the German market. The Strava community in Germany is large, active, and highly engaged, making it a key channel to help further Switzerland Tourism’s marketing goals.

Impact

Switzerland Tourism used this Strava activation as a part of a wider campaign to increase awareness of running in Swiss cities. With 17,537 German Strava athletes joining the challenge, 12,265 completions, and 5 percent of athletes signing up for their mailing list, the challenge surpassed their initial projections. The challenge garnered 1.14M unique impressions and grew their club to 1,145 members by the end of the challenge. Strava clubs are a key component of any brand’s presence on Strava, as a club is a lifelong community for brands to tap into, grow, and continually engage with. 

Learnings

Switzerland Tourism was pleased with overall results of the challenge and is looking at further opportunities to engage with their audience on Strava. For future activations, they are exploring how they could better optimize in-feed units and other additional promotions for their challenge to drive even more participation. They would like to explore challenges targeted at other key markets vital for Switzerland Tourism. They would also like to explore how they can run challenges for a broader range of activity types reflective of the wide range of sports and activities that Switzerland is famous for.