CASE STUDY: How Windstar Cruises drove $20M in Bookings
Windstar Cruises is a luxury small-ship cruise line known for its intimate and unique itineraries. With a focus on delivering exceptional travel experiences, Windstar sought to optimize its marketing efforts to ensure digital advertising directly translated into confirmed bookings. Windstar Cruises' mission is to imagine and deliver personalized and immersive experiences 180° from ordinary with the vision to enrich people’s perspective through inspired travel.
The Challenge
For travel and hospitality brands, proving that marketing efforts lead to actual bookings is crucial. Windstar Cruises had many top-of-funnel metrics—impressions, clicks, website sessions, and cruise quote requests— but struggled to connect these to confirmed reservations. This made it difficult to identify valuable audience segments and measure return on ad spend (ROAS). Traditional attribution methods and limited booking system data left Windstar uncertain about which media channels and strategies were driving revenue. Without clear attribution, they risked wasting ad spend and missing opportunities to engage with high-value travelers.
Windstar's Goals
- Establish closed-loop attribution to directly link digital engagement with confirmed bookings.
- Refine audience segmentation to identify and reach high-value travelers more effectively.
- Optimize media spend to maximize ROAS and reduce cost per booking.
The Solution
Experian and MMGY built a seamless marketing measurement strategy that connected digital campaigns with actual reservations. They deployed pixel tags across Windstar's digital media placements to capture event-level data like clicks, site visits, and exposures which were then matched back to future bookings. Using Experian's identity graph, Experian linked Windstar’s reservation data with Experian’s extensive consumer database, providing a clear view of how digital interactions led to real-world sales.
Additionally, MMGY utilized its Terminal audience modeling platform, integrating:
- MMGY's Travel Intelligence performance and intent data
- Experian’s consumer intent data
- Windstar’s first-party data This allowed them to create custom audience segments, identifying travelers most likely to engage with Windstar’s unique offerings.
The Results
With this identity-driven strategy, Windstar:
- Allocated budget to the highest-performing channels.
- Refined messaging based on audience behaviors.
- Adjusted campaign tactics in real time to improve engagement.
By combining data connectivity, advanced audience segmentation, and precise attribution, Windstar Cruises saw significant business impact:
- 6,500+ bookings attributed to digital efforts, totaling over $20 million in revenue.
- 13:1 ROAS on $1.48M in ad spend $236 cost per booking, enabling greater efficiency in acquisition strategies.
- 28:1 ROAS for Terminal Audiences, proving the power of advanced segmentation.
About MMGY
MMGY is a leading integrated marketing company dedicated to the travel, tourism, and hospitality industries. With deep expertise spanning research, brand strategy, media planning, and creative execution, MMGY helps global travel brands forge meaningful connections with consumers. By utilizing data-driven insights, cutting-edge technology, and decades of experience, MMGY delivers strategic programs that capture attention and drive measurable results for its clients—ensuring that every marketing investment is tied to clear business outcomes.