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SAGA: Engaging a New Generation of Discerning Travellers
Project type
Brand Strategy | Luxury | Loyalty | Consumer Insights | Advertising | CRM
Challenge
Saga, known for its dedication to the over-50s market, faced a dual challenge: an ageing (dying) customer base and a dated brand perception in its Cruise and Holidays division, which made attracting newer customers difficult. Despite offering exceptional, premium travel experiences—free from the chaos of family resorts—Saga's unique selling points weren’t being fully recognised.
What I Did
Working directly with the CMO and Heads of Marketing (Cruise, Holidays, and Membership), I led several key strategic initiatives to reposition the brand, drive sales and engagement:
- Holidays Campaign – I developed a fully integrated campaign showcasing the ‘surprising extras’ that make Saga Holidays both great value and an unforgettable experience. This included a radio sponsorship with Smooth FM, along with press and TV ads.
- Membership/Loyalty Programme – I designed a comprehensive loyalty programme across Travel and Insurance, built around events, experiences, rewards, and community engagement—helping members do more of what they love while enjoying exclusive perks. To ensure the programme resonated, I ran co-creation focus groups and launched it across website, ATL, and CRM.
- New Cruise Proposition – I created a new proposition for Saga’s new small ships, focusing on the insight that their new, smaller ships offered a boutique hotel-like atmosphere and took travellers closer to the heart of a city. The tagline ‘Boutique Cruising’ won hands down in consumer testing and remains the brand’s core cruise proposition today.
Results
We successfully launched Saga Membership in record time.
Within the first year, the programme acquired:
1.25 million existing product holders
50,000 new members (who were not previously Saga customers).
Financial Impact: Contributed £2.7 million to travel revenue and generated 1,800 new insurance policies.
By reshaping Saga’s travel proposition, I helped modernise the brand, increase engagement, and attract new customers, strengthening its position as a leading provider of premium, over-50s travel experiences.
