Wests Group

Category

Marketing Communications

Wests Group is a not-for-profit member-based organisation. Includes accommodation, hospitality industry, Balance Collective gyms, and the Newcastle Knights NRL & NRLW teams.

Key Tasks

  • Internal communications with employee support and retention objectives


  • External communications with key messaging to maintain community engagement


  • External communications on behalf of NRL and NRLW Knights captains


  • Analysing and managing brand communication channels


  • Managing Anchorage Hotel & Spa's social media 


  • Locating relevant brand collaborators


  • Campaign ideation, research and roll-out


  • Market research to locate relevant industry price points


  • Audience profiling and segmentation


  • Improving communications evaluation strategy

Major Project

Sought to identify new growth potential arising from the 2025 launch of the international airport in Newcastle by analysing tourism forecasts and projecting inbound traveller growth from China, India and broader Asian markets.

Took initiative to independently analyse Anchorage Hotel & Spa's CRM system and booking data to map customer journeys, key behavioural touch points and booking patterns.

Audience segmentation and communication needs

Two key markets emerged:

Chinese

  • China is also Australia's fastest-growing inbound market, with arrivals increasing about 21% year-on-year in recent recovery periods


  • 100% booking via third-party channels, little to no large proportion of group tours (though independent travel is growing)


  • Many family or multi-generational groups


  • Iconic natural landscapes


  • Wildlife experiences


  • Photography and scenic locations


  • Planned habits, extra activities and spending potentially limited on site


  • Peak travel in winter seasons

Indian

  • Travels in large groups of 8+

    Recent boom of the middle class, thereby increased spending potential


  • Luxury activities


  • Increased spending potential on-site


  • Peak travel in winter seasons


  • Communication preferences: luxury, unique brand positioning


  • Penetration of direct Hotel marketing via targeted adverts, and potential collaborators to increase booking potential via direct channels (more direct revenue, no commissions)


  • Potential: leverage third-party booking systems to create localised content


  • Integration of Hotel amenities, package capabilities via third-party channels

Communications Campaign
'Spritz and Dipz' by the Anchorage, 2024

A seasonal spring campaign designed to drive revenue during a traditionally low-occupancy period.


  • Assisted in campaign synergy: content creation, asset design, EDMs, etc.


  • Researched and identified key influencer collaborators.