Exceeding Expectations: How Eco Africa Digital Drove Unprecedented Tourism Marketing Results for Saruni Basecamp

A Results-Driven Digital Marketing Strategy That Delivers 

The ultimate KPI for Saruni Basecamp was generating high-intent email leads—potential guests who actively showed interest in a safari. These leads allow Saruni Basecamp’s consultants to provide personalized recommendations, tailoring multi-day and multi-location safaris to suit their guests' preferences.

Our initial goal was ambitious: 600 email leads per month, or 2,400 over the first four months. By strategically combining awareness campaigns, retargeting, and advanced audience insights, we exceeded expectations with over 3,000 email leads—a 25% surplus!

This success is a testament to our tailored approach and continuous campaign optimization.

Crafting a Winning Content Strategy

To achieve these stellar results, we began by deeply understanding the Saruni Basecamp brand, unique offering, and core values: these are built around luxury, sustainability, and community-driven tourism. From there, we focused on:

• Positioning Saruni as a High-Value Offering

Luxury accommodations and eco-conscious travel were emphasized to appeal to target audiences.

• Localized Messaging for Global Markets

Through analysis, we found distinct preferences: UK and US audiences were highly responsive to sustainability and community-focused content, while the UAE market gravitated towards luxury and high-end accommodations. This informed all content.

• Continuous Content Adaptation

By leveraging AI tools and Meta and Google algorithms, we fine-tuned audience targeting and messaging to adapt to user behavior, ensuring the right message reached the right audience.

Staggering Paid Ads Results in Just Four Months

Through a finely-tuned mix of creative assets and paid advertising, our campaigns yielded exceptional outcomes:

• Email Lead Submissions

Surpassing the goal of 2,400 leads, the campaigns generated over 3,000 leads. This steady month-on-month growth showcases the compounding power of retargeting and optimized audience engagement.

• Conversion Rate Optimization

By retargeting high-intent website visitors and refining audience behaviors, we achieved a 228% increase in conversion rates in month 4. Our Google Ads campaigns reached an impressive 18% conversion rate!

• Social Media Reach and Engagement

Through storytelling and emotive Reels, the campaigns achieved a reach of 779,000, resulting in 120 On-Facebook Leads These were nurtured through email campaigns.

Key Takeaways for Tourism and Hospitality Marketing

The success of Saruni Basecamp highlights the power of:

• Deep Market Segmentation: Tailoring content to the unique preferences of different international markets.
• Continuous Optimization: Using AI and data insights to refine campaigns and drive exponential growth.
• Multi-Channel Integration: Aligning Google Ads, Meta campaigns, and email marketing to guide users down the funnel efficiently.

The Road Ahead: Booking Direct

With Saruni Basecamp set to launch a direct booking engine on their website, we’re gearing up for a new phase of digital marketing excellence. By retargeting highly engaged audiences with strong calls to action, we expect a surge in direct bookings, particularly from the US market, which has shown a strong inclination for online self-service bookings.

Meanwhile, the UK audience, which values tailored itineraries and personal consultations, will continue to be nurtured through lead-focused campaigns designed to build trust and engagement with Saruni’s in-house consultants.

At Eco Africa Digital, we specialize in helping tourism brands achieve measurable results by combining creativity, data-driven insights, and strategic execution. Saruni Basecamp’s success story is just one example of how we’re transforming the digital marketing landscape for the tourism and hospitality industry.