In The Pink

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And the traffic and buzz produced more bookings: there was a 110% increase in conversions on search engine traffic from pay-per-click ads on branded keywords, such as variations of Endless Vacation Rentals, Kornacki says. She notes branded keywords are cheaper than more generic terms, such as “vacation,” and that the conversion lift was better than anticipated.

Kornacki learned from the promotion that marketers have to have some courage to venture into social media. “You can’t control it,” she says. “You have to accept it.” For instance some people criticized the pink theme color-it looks like Pepto-Bismol, one said-and Kornacki says her team learned to focus on the message they were trying to convey, and not be distracted by the occasional brickbat.

Endless Vacation Rentals judged the test enough of a success that it planned to launch a larger-scale contest early this month. There will be much larger prizes, Kornacki says, and maybe even a slightly larger marketing budget.

don@verticalwebmedia.com