Case study · Travel & Hospitality
Press Trips and Full-Funnel Media Turn a Travel Myth Into Bookings
An integrated earned, social, and paid strategy educated travelers that Disney Vacation Club ownership isn't required to book a Deluxe Disney Resort stay, driving 26,200-plus bookings at a $31.57 blended cost per acquisition.
26.2K+
Completed bookings, FY2025
$31.57
Blended CPA
Overview
The brief from David’s Vacation Club Rentals
David's Vacation Club Rentals (DVCR) gives travelers access to Deluxe Disney Resort stays without Disney Vacation Club ownership, a model most travelers don't know exists. 5W was brought on to build awareness of that model, correct the misconception blocking bookings, and drive high-intent demand through a single, coordinated media strategy.
Discover
5W mapped the full vacation-planning journey, from the traveler who first hears about Disney Vacation Club and assumes it's out of reach to the traveler actively comparing hotel options weeks before booking. At every stage, the same misconception kept surfacing: that DVCR stays require DVC ownership. That persistent myth became the through-line the strategy needed to dismantle.
Define
“You don't need to own the club to stay like a member.”
Reframing DVCR needed to correct a belief. Once travelers understood that Deluxe Disney Resort access didn't require Disney Vacation Club ownership, the rest of the value proposition—price, flexibility, resort quality—sold itself. Every subsequent tactic was built to deliver that one correction at scale.
How 5W ran the program
Drive
- Built a press trip pipeline. An always-on program of first-hand experience trips gave travel, lifestyle, and family journalists direct proof of the DVCR stay, generating a steady stream of top-tier coverage and award recognition.
- Owned the editorial calendar. A trend-forward content and social strategy kept DVCR visible in cultural and seasonal travel moments year-round.
- Prioritized intent over reach in paid media. Search and intent-based targeting on Google and Programmatic captured travelers already comparing options, while Meta supported top-of-funnel discovery and full-funnel conversion.
Results
26.2K+ completed bookings, fy2025 · $31.57 blended cpa
The correction took hold, and converted.
- Secured top-tier coverage in outlets including Southern Living, USA Today, and Business Insider, alongside award recognition from Good Housekeeping.
- Grew social presence to 4.6M+ combined Instagram and TikTok impressions and 79K+ engagements in Q2 2026.
- Drove 26.2K+ completed bookings on an $826K paid media investment across Meta, Google, TikTok, and Programmatic in FY2025.
Coverage included
More client work
