Case Study
Promoting Ground Travel Across North America
Company: Wanderu
Disciplines:
- Media Relations
- Brand Marketing
- SEO
The Project
Wanderu is a bus and train travel booking platform. Since its inception, Wanderu has been dedicated to simplifying the ground travel booking experience and encouraging people to travel by bus and train.
From the moment I joined the company, my mission has been to go beyond just promoting Wanderu’s services and focus on positioning bus and train travel as desirable and efficient modes of transportation. That would not only drive brand recognition but also foster a broader shift in consumer behavior.
The Challenge
When I first joined Wanderu, bus travel was widely seen as a low-cost, uncomfortable option, with many picturing rundown vehicles. But bus (and train) carriers had already started evolving, offering modern amenities like free WiFi, power outlets, extra legroom, entertainment, and clean restrooms. Unfortunately, these upgrades rarely made headlines.
At the time, media coverage focused almost exclusively on flights and road trips, particularly around major holidays, leaving buses and trains overlooked. Many travelers didn’t realize how affordable and comfortable these options had become. My challenge was to change that narrative and ensure bus and train travel got the attention it deserved.
The Goals
- Position ground travel as a top-of-mind, viable option for travelers.
- Increase visibility and conversation around bus and train travel as popular modes of transportation.
- Create a lasting association between ground travel and the Wanderu brand.
The Strategy
- Promote the advantages of bus and train travel by highlighting each mode’s benefits over flying or driving, while showcasing the modern amenities carriers offer.
- Ensure consistent visibility of ground travel in national and local media across North America, keeping it top-of-mind for travelers.
- Establish Wanderu as the leading authority on ground travel, positioning it as a go-to source for key journalists and opinion leaders.
The Tactics
Launch ongoing media outreach program
- Engage with travel editors at major national and local news outlets to communicate the pros of bus and train travel and include the ground travel standpoint in the stories they are working on.
- Actively pitch Wanderu as a must-have platform for travel planning to popular travel and lifestyle outlets.
- Develop story ideas and pitches based on editorial calendars and popular travel holidays and occasions.
Utilize the power of data for storytelling purposes
- Publish reports based on pricing and demand trends around key travel-heavy holidays to provide useful context for news coverage.
- Develop itineraries for unique epic journeys that people can take using buses and trains and pitch them to travel and lifestyle media.
Partner with social media creators to destigmatize the bus and train travel experience and encourage travelers to give ground travel a try.
The Results
- Secured 2,000+ pieces of coverage in various national and local news and lifestyle media outlets over the course of 9 years.
- Successfully placed ground travel as a staple in annual holiday travel coverage, positioning Wanderu as a top-of-mind resource for bus & train travel data among leading editors and reporters.
- Developed lasting relationships with key journalists and opinion leaders in the news, travel and tech sector.
- Secured a steady influx of inbound “follow” links from high-quality domains leading to an increase in Wanderu’s domain authority (DA) by 20+ points.
Media Coverage Highlights
