The Client
Tongariro Expeditions is the longest-running shuttle service provider for the iconic Tongariro Alpine Crossing, built on over 25 years of local knowledge, safety, and a passion for outdoor adventure.
It is through their variety of transport options that visitors are able to get to and from New Zealand's most famous day walks seamlessly and hassle-free.
The Problem
While Meta campaigns were ran in the 2024–2025 season, budgets were previously scaled around pre-planned "key months" rather than adjusting dynamically to real-time booking demand. Additionally, international markets remained largely untapped on Meta.
Rebuilding post-COVID shuttle volume required testing whether top-of-funnel engagement could build awareness among international visitors early in their planning stages, while refining domestic retargeting to capture high-intent local bookings.
The Solution
Tomahawk implemented a full-funnel Meta Ads strategy designed to build top-of-mind awareness early in the traveller journey, drive qualified site traffic, and convert high-intent audiences through remarketing ads.
Key strategies included:
- Dynamic Campaign Budgets – Using previous season data, budgets were scaled ahead of real-time demand surges (Boxing Day, New Year, and Easter/Autumn peaks) rather than sticking to set monthly allocations.
- User-Generated Content (UGC) - Leveraged experience-led creator content to showcase authentic trail experiences and capture high-intent traffic organically.
- Incentive-Driven Offer Creatives - Used offer-led carousels highlighting early bird savings, family packages, and local discounts to remove friction and close buyers who may be on the fence.
The Results
The full-funnel Meta strategy proved highly effective, validating that combining brand awareness with targeted conversion campaigns, powered by 1st-party data, drives exceptional reach, engagement and revenue.
Campaign Performance Highlights:
- 481% Increase in Total Users and 405% Increase in Total Sessions year-on-year.
- 738% Surge in International Users, significantly expanding global brand awareness
- Leveraging Lookalike and Remarketing audiences resulted in a standout 13.02 channel ROAS.
- User-Generate-Content (UGC) ads generated 72% of all landing page views, and drove 22 direct purchases. This demonstrated the direct sales power of authentic, experience-led content - even within a traffic-only campaign.
- Offer-focused ads were a major driver of action, generating 35% of all Meta ad revenue.
- Despite running as a Traffic-only campaign, the International Traffic expansion achieved a 17% higher ROAS than its domestic equivalent - confirming strong overseas demand and highlighting a lucrative opportunity for full-funnel retargeting in future seasons.
