Regional Australia relies on caravan tourism to survive. In fact, every $1 spent at a caravan park generates $3.92 for the local community. Yet increasingly, highways divert caravanners from these towns - taking them from A to B in the fastest way.

A phenomenon that is at odds with the slow-paced caravanning lifestyle which is about slowing down, reconnecting with nature, loved ones and the wonders of regional Australia.

With unprecedented numbers of caravanners taking to the roads in 2020, NRMA Insurance - a brand that’s been helping Australians for over 100 years - developed a compelling brief: protect the slow caravanning lifestyle and the communities that rely on them.

Objectives were to increase caravan insurance policy quotes and new policies by at least 10% and help inject economic support into regional communities.

Sloways is a 1400km network of road signs and billboards that divert caravanners away from fast-paced highways towards 30 struggling towns - helping them slow down, travel safer and boost economies. Journeys could be planned online and integrated into Google maps. Sloways cash VISA cards were provided for every caravan insurance, encouraging caravanners to spend at local businesses. To motivate caravanners to take the Sloway, influencers and photographers shared content as they journeyed regional Australia. While a 90s launch film inspired caravanners across the country to hit the road. Slowly.

Caravanning no longer appeals to just edlerly retirees. Research shows that young families are taking up caravanning too. This was the main audience NRMA Insurance wanted to target.

The approach was to divide this audience into three segments: Existing Customers (who have a high propensity to own a caravan), Prospective Customers (engaged through online acquisition) and Win Back customers (no longer owning a caravan NRMA policy). We adopted the ‘catch, connect and convert’ methodology to target all three segments.

The methodology drove awareness, beginning with motivating the consumer to engage with the campaign and explore the Sloway (catch). Customers were then inspired to embark on their journey through the creation of hyper relevant real world connections, prompting individuals to take the Sloway route (connect). The final phase of the strategy was to Convert. Converting new NRMA insurance caravan policies from the high intent audiences identified throughout the journey.

The Sloways campaign ran for 10 weeks in New South Wales and Queensland, Australia from the 18 September 2020 to the 30 November 2020. The campaign was initiated via a soft launch of ‘Sloways’ through a bespoke microsite (sloways.com.au) which acted as the engine of the overall campaign. It was from there that the campaign took a heavy digital approach across multiple platforms including; Google (Google Maps and Waze), Social (Facebook & Instagram), YouTube and NRMA owned channels, with personalisation in direct channels powered by Adobe (sloways.com.au).

Campaign activity continued with a 90” brand film that captured the romance of slowing down in a caravan, highlighting the need to not just protect caravans, but the very way of life that surrounds them. All these digital assets served to complement a 1400km of highway signs and billboards, directing caravanners to each of the Sloway towns.

The Sloways platform not only supported caravanners to plan their ideal Sloway caravan trip, but reinvigorated the Caravan Insurance offering from NRMA Insurance. Results include:

112,000 visitors to Sloways.com.au indicated Sloway trip planning behaviour.

An estimated $22 million injected into regional communities.

30% increase in Caravan Insurance quotes year over year.

22% increase in Caravan Insurance policies year over year.

A 1400km network of road signs forms the start of the Sloway road network, which will continue to add new routes and regional destinations. Sloways isn’t just a campaign, but an enduring road network to help caravanners and regional towns alike.