2023 Trailblazer Award Winner: Branding Awareness Campaign
ELEVATOR PITCH:
One of the business goals in the Jacksonville Port Authority's (JAXPORT's) 5-year strategic plan is to improve brand awareness domestically and internationally.
The Jacksonville Trade & Logistics 2022 campaign organized by JAXPORT aimed to improve brand awareness among maritime and logistics professionals who make or influence decisions on routing freight through Southeastern U.S. seaports. The campaign was highly successful in achieving its goals.
The campaign included an advertorial in industry publication Journal of Commerce as part of an integrated marketing campaign that ran from April 25 to May 13, 2022, a time period that included National Supply Chain Day on April 29. The campaign's key messages highlighted JAXPORT's congestion-free container service, efficient supply chain network, and fast access to the growing Florida market and Southeast U.S.
Campaign tactics included print, web, social and email channels, and the budget was $9,237. The results of the campaign were outstanding, with the JOC Jacksonville feature coverage tripling from 8 pages in 2021 to 24 pages in 2022, and overall impressions exceeding the benchmark by 123% (314,541 impressions).
The campaign generated more than 38,000 pageviews of the JAXPORT.com blog post highlighting the JOC feature, and the targeted ads on Twitter accounted for thousands of clickthroughs from international visitors. In the quarter following the campaign, JAXPORT had increased TEU volumes (4,500+) from countries who visited the blog post during the campaign period, which represented an 1,100% hard dollar ROI for the campaign.
The JAXPORT campaign is an excellent example of a well-executed, integrated marketing campaign that utilized a variety of channels to achieve its goals. The outstanding results demonstrate the effectiveness of the chosen tactics and the importance of targeting the right audience with the right message. As such, the campaign can serve as a model for future marketing efforts in the transportation industry.
MEASURABLE RESULTS AND OBJECTIVES ACHIEVEMENT:
The Jacksonville Trade & Logistics 2022 campaign had three main goals and objectives:
1) Double the JOC Jacksonville trade feature coverage from 8 pages in 2021 to 16 pages in 2022.
2) Exceed total benchmark impressions by 25%. The benchmark of 141,000 impressions was based upon performance during the prior 6-month period including JOC subscribers, blog post pageviews, social post reach and email opens.
3) Generate 500 views of the JAXPORT.com blog post highlighting the JOC feature. The average monthly views of the top five viewed blog posts on JAXPORT.com were 100 pageviews per month in the six months prior to the campaign.
To achieve these goals, the campaign utilized a multi-channel approach, including print, web, social and email tactics:
Print: We launched a letter campaign from JAXPORT's CEO to port partners, encouraging participation in the advertorial. The campaign also supported the JOC with JAXPORT information, interviews and port imagery.
Web: We published a blog post on JAXPORT.com to recognize National Supply Chain Day and celebrate Jacksonville trade and logistics. We included a PDF of the advertorial, which was ungated and available to all visitors.
Social: We published organic social posts on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook;paid social ads on LinkedIn and Twitter;and a personal LinkedIn post;all with links back to the blog post.
Email: We sent an email blast to JAXPORT subscribers and included the report in the port's May 2022 monthly enewsletter. We also sent a separate email blast to supply chain professionals via a paid third-party platform, which was synced with business SIC codes from the port's customer database to ensure appropriate reach.
The campaign was successful in achieving its original goals and objectives as evidenced by the following results:
1) The JOC Jacksonville trade feature tripled in size from 8 pages in 2021 to 24 pages in 2022, due to the increased level of advertiser support from eight companies.
2) Overall campaign impressions exceeded the benchmark by 123% (314,541 impressions). The ads on Twitter reached more than 2.5 times the benchmark impressions (160%), and email outperformed the benchmark by 6%. Organic social (Facebook, LinkedIn & Twitter) and paid LinkedIn generated impressions but underperformed relative to the benchmark (-45%).
3) The campaign generated 38,439 pageviews of the JAXPORT.com blog post highlighting the JOC feature. Targeted ads on Twitter accounted for tens of thousands of clickthroughs from international visitors.
Aggregate TEU volume from countries visiting the blog post during the campaign period increased by more than 4,500 TEUs in the quarter following the campaign, when compared with the prior year's quarter. Countries who did NOT visit the post AND who shipped through JAXPORT in Q3 2022 had no change in volume year over year. TEU data was sourced from PIERS, and web analytics from Google Universal Analytics. The additional 4,500 TEUs represents an estimated $110,000 in revenue, which would equate to an 1,100% hard dollar ROI for this campaign.
BLAZING A TRAIL!
The Jacksonville Trade & Logistics 2022 campaign blazed a trail by being both innovative and unique in several ways:
First, the campaign used a multi-channel approach that combined both traditional and digital marketing tactics to reach its target audience including print, web, social and email, with a foundation of data supporting its objectives.
Second, the campaign's targeted ads on Twitter were particularly innovative, as they accounted for tens of thousands of clickthroughs from international visitors. By targeting ads to supply chain influencers and lookalike audiences in specific international locations, the campaign was able to generate significant interest and engagement from a global audience.
Third, the campaign was unique in its use of the National Supply Chain Day as a key date around which to center the integrated marketing campaign. By aligning the campaign with a recognized industry event, JAXPORT was able to create a sense of urgency and relevance for our target audience.
Lastly, the campaign's success was not only measured by brand metrics such as impressions and pageviews, but also with verifiable container volumes and revenue generated by countries visiting the blog post. This approach provided a clear ROI for the campaign and demonstrated its impact on JAXPORT's business goals.
Overall, the Jacksonville Trade & Logistics 2022 campaign submission blazed a trail by being both innovative and unique in its approach, targeting and measurement. Its success serves as a model for future marketing efforts in the transportation industry and demonstrates the importance of integrating traditional and digital marketing channels to achieve business goals.
WATCH THEIR VIDEO HERE.
View a PDF FROM THEIR AWARD SUBMISSION HERE.
