CLIENT: Only Lyon

The Brand & Campaign Context

The opening of direct flights from these lower tier, smaller Chinese cities makes it easier for them to go abroad. In-fact, in 2016, China boasted 180 million tourists. It is important for regions and destinations to work on their online reputation because the Chinese extensively research on the internet before making any trip, they base their decisions on what they find online in the hyper-digital culture of modern China. Lyon set out to become a famous destination for Chinese travelers. With it’s close proximity to Paris, fair climate, natural scenery and heritage architecture, Lyon is arguably one of finest cities in France. They saw China as a huge opportunity and wanted to tap into the growing number of visitors to France. The problem was Lyon was simply not on the map for Chinese travellers. Online itineraries are hugely popular and Lyon was not featured on these. The Chinese traveller would typically see Paris, Bordeux and the South of France presented to them as attractive destinations in forums, websites and on social media. Lyon was almost invisible as a destination online in China. Our task.. To raise the levels of awareness and the reputation of Lyon as an attractive destination for the Chinese tourist. ‘Only Lyon’ Company Aims: • To strengthen the competiveness and reputation of this French city. • To bring people to this destination. Only Lyon’s team used different strategies, including press relations, digital marketing and ambassador networks. • To attract investors and travellers from Mainland China. Social Media The key to this campaign was generating positive reviews of Lyon in targeted communities of Chinese travellers. It was vital to develop a strong WeChat presence, to target travel groups and use China’s largest social network as a platform to share quality content about Leon. Weibo was also key for building reputation and visibility. We were very active in creating and sharing quality content and starting conversations about visiting Lyon from Chinese tourists themselves. ‘Only Lyon’s’ Weibo account became one of the top 3 most influential French accounts in China. Only Lyon had +400% followers by the end of the campaign with levels of engagement increasing by 80% on WeChat and Weibo. Content Marketing We created great Chinese content about Lyon. Some of these were news articles and others traveller reviews of their experiences in the city. Lyon was presented as a luxury destination with quality images and stories. Content was well received with 25 000 responses in forums and on social media. We created Chinese travel itineraries for trips in France, adding a one night stop-over in Lyon after staying in Paris. Chinese Travel Forums Chinese travel forums are vital for building the reputation of a destination. We started conversation threads with reviews, comments and opinions about Lyon. In travel forums such as Douban and Tianya, Lyon became the third most popular topic trending at the time. Users starting posting images of their trips to Lyon as the campaign developed which further promoted user interaction.