Anglo Welsh Waterway Holidays
How Jazzbones Helped Anglo Welsh Transform Their Online Presence and Accelerate Growth in the Competitive UK Travel Sector
As a seasoned veteran in the travel and hospitality sector, Anglo Welsh operates a fleet of 160 narrowboats across 11 prime UK locations. Despite their solid reputation and loyal customer base, their online presence was lagging behind. They needed a comprehensive digital strategy that would boost customer engagement, simplify online bookings, and crucially, grow sales significantly.
Jazzbones’ collaborative partnership with Anglo Welsh had already been developing for 10 years prior to this specific campaign, allowing the team to build a deep and comprehensive understanding of the business and its unique requirements. Narrowboat holidays are highly niche yet fiercely competitive, dominated by a small number of major players. Anglo Welsh needed rapid visibility and impactful connections with both new and existing holidaymakers.
Under the leadership of Jazzbones’ founder and creative director Nathan, the team mapped out an integrated digital transformation strategy combining user-centric website design, bespoke web development, SEO excellence, and targeted digital marketing campaigns. Delivered in 2018, the campaign was developed in close collaboration with Anglo Welsh’s Managing Director, Robert Lawrence.
Central to this strategy was the development of a state-of-the-art, fully responsive website. Built using the bespoke ‘Reuben’ CMS, a robust and flexible asp.net platform coded entirely from the ground up, the website empowered Anglo Welsh’s team to manage content efficiently. With easy-to-update features, they could swiftly respond to market demands, offering time-sensitive promotions to customers at the click of a button.
Jazzbones’ digital designers understood the importance of first impressions in the competitive travel sector. They combined bold, engaging visuals with intuitive, user-friendly navigation. The new site structure effortlessly guided visitors from initial browsing to booking their perfect holiday, reflecting the leisurely yet practical pace of narrowboat travel itself.
Given that over 50% of online travel bookings come from mobile devices, ensuring the Anglo Welsh website was fully responsive was a non-negotiable priority. The Jazzbones design team created a seamless user experience across smartphones, tablets, and desktops, significantly reducing bounce rates and increasing user engagement.
Jazzbones’ expert SEO team conducted detailed keyword and competitor analyses, strategically embedding key travel and hospitality sector search terms throughout the website content. This SEO optimisation boosted Anglo Welsh’s online visibility rapidly, ensuring potential customers searching for narrowboat holidays quickly found exactly what they were looking for.
To further enhance reach and engagement, Jazzbones developed and implemented targeted digital marketing campaigns across social media platforms, email marketing, and Google Ads. Each campaign was tailored precisely, using customer insights to ensure high levels of relevance, impact, and conversion.
The impact of this 2018 digital transformation was immediate and tangible. Following the launch of the new digital strategy and website, Anglo Welsh experienced a remarkable 14.5% increase in sales within the first year alone. Traffic to the website surged, supported by enhanced SEO strategies and dynamic, targeted digital marketing campaigns. Crucially, the ease of online booking dramatically improved conversion rates.
Reflecting on this journey, the key to success was undoubtedly the collaborative partnership. Anglo Welsh valued Jazzbones’ ability to deeply understand their brand, market, and goals, making this project a true collaboration rather than simply a service delivery.
Managing Director Robert Lawrence sums it up perfectly:
“The ability of Jazzbones to listen to our requirements and really get to know our market is a rare commodity in the design world. It has enabled us to work very much as a partnership.”
This case study highlights exactly why clients in the travel and hospitality sector trust Jazzbones Creative. With over 20 years of proven experience in strategic branding, digital transformation, and targeted marketing campaigns, Jazzbones provides measurable, rapid results. Their approach isn’t just about short-term wins; it’s about creating sustained growth and positioning brands like Anglo Welsh as market leaders well into the future.
If your business is looking to transform its digital presence and achieve measurable growth, Jazzbones Creative is here to help you navigate the waters and reach your goals—fast, even if your business moves at a leisurely 4mph!
Find out how Jazzbones can help your business achieve similar results. Get in touch today!
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