Wilderness Selects Merkle to Lead on Global Rebrand and Search Strategy

Wilderness, a leading conservation and hospitality company, partnered with Merkle, dentsu’s leading data-driven customer experience management company, to support in a complete relaunch of their brand and online presence. The partnership has allowed Wilderness to dominate in both paid and organic search, whilst maximising consumer engagement with the brand through a new approach to advertising strategy, in a bid to support the company’s vision to become a consumer-centric lifestyle brand.

The rebrand and digital transformation has seen the company go from a traditional safari operator to a global experiential travel brand. This required a large shift in PPC, SEO, and digital strategy, directed and supported by Merkle’s cross-channel collaborative approach. Merkle completed an overhaul of all their paid search ads, focusing on customer-centric messaging to align with their new brand positioning and to increase lead generation.

The collaboration further strengthens Wilderness’ presence as a top provider of luxury travel experiences, as well as ensuring that the brand’s unique offerings are showcased to the right consumers at the right time.

Merkle also consulted in site performance optimisation by adopting a granular, data-led approach by assisting in template definition and improved user experience, allowing users to navigate seamlessly between interactive touch points on a highly intuitive site.

Commenting on the partnership, Simone Strahle, CMO at Wilderness stated: “This project marks an exciting new chapter for Wilderness and we couldn’t be more proud of the result. By pairing with Merkle, we can present our collection of iconic destinations and experiences on offer in a truly innovative way for existing and new guests alike. Merkle’s search and paid strategy has elevated our online offering to customers and has bridged the gap between the online and offline experience. We are very pleased to have partnered with Merkle on this project and look forward to continuing the collaboration moving forwards.”

Reflecting on the latest win for Merkle’s consultancy and search strategy, Sarah Painter, VP customer experience at Merkle commented: “We are thrilled to be working with the Wilderness team on their exciting offering. With a clear brand identity and mission to innovate in the travel sector, what Wilderness stands for is unique and we are very much looking forward to elevating their online visibility as this partnership goes from strength to strength.”