A digital campaign to raise awareness among doctors of Virgin Atlantic and drive sales of the airline’s fully flexible fares has proved a soaring success.
With more than 19,900 members of Doctors.net.uk engaging with the campaign, the results demonstrate the potential for commercial brands to exploit online networks when targeting professionals.
Phase one, an eight month campaign which has just ended, was devised by Doctors.net.uk, the largest and most active network of medical professionals in the UK. It highlighted the benefits of flying with Virgin and offered an exclusive 20 per cent discount on flexible fares to all members of the network.
Showcased via a dedicated microsite, the campaign included a range of tools and offers including direct access to flight routes, flying club information and details of existing offers, as well as the option to book a flight at the reduced rate.
To drive engagement and ensure the campaign met with doctors’ requirements, an online survey was carried out with 1,800 doctors to assess their travel habits and preferences and the campaign content was refreshed to reflect the results. With visitor figures surpassing 19,900 and each returning to the campaign on average 1.9 times, doctors have demonstrated engagement with the messages and proposition.
Simon Grime, head of healthcare for Doctors.net.uk, said: “With doctors proving a key consumer for Virgin, it was essential that we used the breadth of the network, coupled with our doctor insights to engage a large number of members rapidly and fully. Utilising our insights, we ensured content was refreshed regularly and we introduced an interactive online survey to drive repeat visits and engagement.
“The result is a hugely successful campaign showcasing the unrivalled opportunities that Doctors.net.uk presents on a commercial scale – enabling brands to target and engage consumers by profession, both precisely and effectively, with truly measurable results.”
Sue Allen, Industry Partnerships Manager for Virgin Atlantic added: “The doctor market is important to Virgin Atlantic so it made absolute sense for us to target them within a professional capacity. Offering the combined package of an unrivalled breadth of access to doctors, a real understanding of doctor motivations and the capability to tailor our proposition to fit these needs and requirements, all within a trusted and credible setting, made Doctors.net.uk the obvious partner for us. In harnessing the phenomenon that is online professional networking we have developed a campaign that is truly delivering impressive results.”
www.Doctors.net.uk