Cannes seduces the British in London

After 3 weeks of digital billboard advertising in autumn 2023 in Paris la Défense and 2 weeks at Nice Côte d’Azur airport, accompanied by online and social network advertising, the “Rendez-vous à Cannes” campaign continues the second phase of its campaign in spring 2024, targeting the UK market exclusively.

Published on 20 March 2024

“The history of Cannes is intimately linked to that of England. The British attachment to our town goes back several decades, to the time of Lord Brougham, and has forged a deep and lasting relationship. Every year, we strive to enhance the appeal of our region by showcasing its rich cultural and natural heritage. We also undertake numerous renovation and beautification projects in all parts of the town to make it ever more pleasant and attractive. In addition, we carry out a wide range of targeted communication campaigns, particularly with our British customers, with whom we enjoy an exceptional relationship. We are constantly striving to offer a warm welcome to those who have the privilege of discovering the timeless charm of Cannes. This special relationship with the British continues, helping to make Cannes a key tourist destination in the UK market. We are determined to preserve and enrich this special connection with the English.”

David Lisnard, Mayor of Cannes

“The teams at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès are mobilizing on a daily basis to develop the tourism economy 12 months out of 12, with promotional actions targeting spring, autumn and winter. We’re launching an ambitious communications campaign, “Rendez-vous à Cannes”, and creating a network of ambassadors, “les talents cannois”. For two weeks, the destination will be on display in London, inviting the British to come to Cannes, as we look forward to welcoming them.

Jean-Michel Arnaud, President of the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès de Cannes

“The Syndicat des Hôteliers de Cannes et Bassin Cannois has been working with SEMEC to develop large-scale promotional actions in certain markets for 2024. The British market represents a potential customer base that is highly valued by our hoteliers: these are customers for all categories of establishment, from luxury hotels on the Croisette to charming hotels in the heart of the city. These are visitors who can opt for a short stay thanks to the airline offer in place in Nice, or decide to spend their vacation and take more time to discover Cannes.

Traditionally, British customers choose the wings of the season, and as such we have supported SEMEC’s campaigns with attractive pricing offers. The last few years have been difficult, but the love story between Cannes and the British is stronger than anything!

Christine Welter, President of the Syndicat des Hôteliers de Cannes et du Bassin Cannois

Cannes and the English, a timeless romance

The love affair between Cannes and the English is nothing new. In 1834, Lord Henry Brougham, an English politician and writer, fell in love with Cannes when he discovered what was then a small fishing village. He decided to settle here, building the first holiday villa in the Croix-des-Gardes district. This decision marked the beginning of a lasting relationship between Cannes and the British, attracting many members of the English aristocracy in later years.

This historic affinity has helped make Cannes a popular destination for British visitors, with over 60,000 overnight stays recorded annually in Cannes hotels as of 2014. This unconditional relationship has endured over the years, resulting in a significant presence of British and Irish visitors in Cannes hotels, representing 13% of foreign overnight stays in 2023, with an average length of stay of 2.75 nights. What’s more, for air travel, including all types of accommodation, the share of British-Irish visitors has risen from 20.2% in 2014 to 22% on average from 2022 to 2023, with an average length of stay of 6.5 nights. (*)

Cannes and the British thus enjoy a long-standing relationship of affection, underlining the crucial importance of British clientele for the destination.

(*) These figures are taken from the CRT Côte d’Azur’s Touriscope tables.

Cannes now in London

The “Rendez-vous à Cannes” campaign continues with new visuals and will be on display in the heart of London for 2 weeks (from March 11 to 24, 2024).

This awareness campaign is also developing through a social-media campaign via the official Instagram and Facebook accounts of the Cannes destination through Reels and stories.

Two conversion campaigns (*) in the UK market

In order to attract a maximum number of British customers to Cannes, the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès, in charge of promoting the destination, has undertaken two conversion campaigns on the UK market:

A conversion campaign with expedia.co. uk for 4 months (from February 7 to June 15, 2024) on an offer from 40 committed Cannes hotels of up to -20% per night.
A conversion campaign with lastminute.com in partnership with the CRT Côte d’Azur over the February-March-April 2024 periods.

(*) A conversion campaign is a specific marketing strategy focused on converting a target audience into actual customers. Conversion occurs when people perform a desired action, such as buying a product, subscribing to a service, downloading an application, or any other specific action the advertiser wants users to perform.

The main objective of a conversion campaign is to maximize the conversion rate, i.e. the percentage of people who go from being mere visitors to actual customers or users.

In these two cases, the aim is to target British customers making a hotel reservation at Cannes via the expedia.co.uk and lastminute.com websites.

See you in Cannes!

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