Digital PR Agency

Building digital relevancy for Destination2

When luxury travel brand Destination2 set out to boost brand awareness and search visibility for key destinations like Dubai, the Maldives and Thailand, it turned to Smoking Gun – not just for our digital PR expertise, but for our deep understanding of B2C storytelling that drives results.

Our team of travel and leisure PR experts built a reactive, always-on press office grounded in compelling and relatable newsmaking. By blending linkbuilding content with insight-led news hooks, we didn’t just secure coverage – we created stories that resonated.

In just six months, Destination2 went from underdog to a top contender in the online travel space, earning over 1,000 high quality links. But we haven’t just won links and increased digital visibility – we have cemented authority and built trust.

Objectives:

Boost backlinks through online media coverage
Improve search engine rankings for core holiday destinations – Dubai, Maldives and Thailand
Increase share of voice across the travel media landscape

strategy

We leaned into what we do best - bold, culture-driven and insight-led storytelling.

To build consistent and effective digital relevancy, we employed Smoking Gun’s proven approach to achieve digital PR goals.

Rather than churn out linkbuilding content and remain solely on fixing broken or lost links, we leaned into what we do best – bold, culture-driven and insight-led storytelling.

We connected with prospective holidaymakers through the things that actually matter to them: saving money, travel tips, new trends and destination inspiration.

By applying a storytelling mindset to digital objectives, we created stories that travelled in the earned media space.

execution

Here’s just a snapshot of how we did it:

Hacks that hooked: We turned “Cruise & Stay” and multi-centre holidays offers into smart money-saving travel hacks – widely syndicated across Newsquest & National World networks
Newsjacking done right: Jumped on the viral ‘Dubai Chocolate’ trend, coining a new travel niche: Taste Tourism – securing 45 hits and 70 backlinks alone
Sweet stories that stick: Spotted a quirky Candy Spa for kids in a Maldives hotel – a fun media hook that set Destination2 apart
Expert-led editorial: Secured inclusion in MailOnline, Express, Mirror, and Travel Weekly with expert commentary on trending topics like destination dupes, travel etiquette and off-season hacks

results

24% YOY increase in bookings

Our campaign supported a 24% YOY rise in bookings to key region United Arab Emirates, despite cost-of-living pressures and uncertain economic climate

Ranking rises

Achieved significant ranking improvements for two priority keywords, with a combined total of 41 position increases – including raising Destination2’s position for ‘Dubai Holidays’ from 9 to 6 and ‘Thailand Holidays’ from position 54 to 16

Share of voice domination

Increased media share of voice from last to 2nd in competitor set

Site traffic up 13%

Drove over 35,000 new users through organic search and referral traffic between Q1 and Q2 — a 13% increase across both traffic channels

280 media hits

up 117% on KPI

1,038 quality backlinks

up 900% on KPI. We achieved a 66% follow-link rate, with the average domain authority of media outlets at a high 60