5 min to read
DreamFly operates two state-of-the-art indoor skydiving facilities in Lisbon and Porto, Portugal—offering an experience that captures the exhilaration of freefall skydiving in a safe, controlled environment. Their mission is simple yet powerful: "Experiências de voo para todos" (Flying experiences for everyone), making the dream of flight accessible to families, corporate groups, tourists, and thrill-seekers regardless of age or experience level.
The wind tunnel experience is uniquely positioned in Portugal's leisure and entertainment market. However, like many experience-based businesses, DreamFly faced a critical challenge: converting awareness into action. While curiosity about indoor skydiving exists, converting that interest into paying visitors requires strategic marketing focused on direct consumer engagement, emotional appeal, and removing barriers to purchase.
CodeDesign partnered with DreamFly to develop and execute an integrated direct-to-consumer strategy centered on voucher promotions and foot traffic campaigns. The approach combined digital marketing sophistication with the tangible psychology of special offers, generating sustained increases in facility visits, repeat bookings, and revenue growth across both Lisbon and Porto locations.
The Challenge
Experience-Based Business Complexity
Indoor skydiving represents a novel, unfamiliar experience for most potential customers. Unlike purchasing a familiar product or service, DreamFly needed to not only generate awareness but overcome hesitation, communicate value, and convince prospects that the experience is worth their time and money—and ideally, convince them to bring friends and family.
Seasonal and Foot Traffic Variability
Like many experience venues, DreamFly experienced significant fluctuations in foot traffic based on season, weather, school holidays, and local events. This variability made consistent revenue projections difficult and led to periods of underutilized facility capacity.
Competing for Discretionary Spend
Families and groups have numerous entertainment options competing for their leisure budget: theme parks, cinema, restaurants, beaches, and other attractions. DreamFly needed to stand out and create compelling reasons to choose indoor skydiving over alternatives.
Scaling Direct Bookings
Without a strategic promotional engine, DreamFly relied on organic interest and walk-in traffic. Scaling required a systematic approach to reach and convert potential customers across both facilities, with messaging optimized for different customer segments (first-time flyers, corporate events, group celebrations, gift-givers).
Our Strategy
CodeDesign developed a comprehensive direct-to-consumer strategy anchored on strategic voucher promotions, targeted campaigns by audience segment, and a coordinated multi-channel approach to drive consistent foot traffic and maximize facility utilization.
1. Strategic Voucher Program Design
Value Architecture: We designed a tiered voucher program that balanced promotional appeal with revenue optimization. Rather than simple discounts, we created value-add vouchers: bundled experiences (flight + video/photo packages), gift-packaged offerings, and seasonal promotions that enhanced perceived value while protecting margins.
Seasonal Campaigns: Custom voucher campaigns aligned with key sales periods—summer holidays, Christmas, family celebrations, and corporate events. Each campaign had distinct positioning and creative tailored to seasonal buyer motivation (family fun in summer, gift-giving in December, team building in spring).
Gift Market Optimization: Recognizing that gift vouchers represent a high-value customer acquisition channel, we created an entire gift-focused voucher ecosystem, including branded presentation, corporate bulk pricing, and seamless redemption experiences.
2. Multi-Channel Promotional Distribution
Social Media Campaigns: Targeted social advertising (Facebook, Instagram) showcasing the emotional appeal of indoor skydiving—genuine excitement, family moments, group celebrations. Creative emphasized the dream-fulfilling nature of the experience and used social proof (customer testimonials, video of real experiences).
Email Marketing: Segmented email campaigns targeting prior visitors, gift voucher purchasers, and opted-in prospects. Campaigns promoted seasonal offers, group packages, and corporate events to encourage repeat visits and larger bookings.
Influencer & Partnership Activation: Partnerships with Portuguese lifestyle influencers, family bloggers, and corporate event planners to amplify campaigns and reach niche audiences. Influencer-generated content showcasing genuine experiences proved highly effective for overcoming hesitation in first-time flyers.
Paid Search & Display: Strategic Google Ads targeting high-intent searches ("indoor skydiving near me," "family activities in Lisbon," "corporate events Porto") combined with display remarketing to re-engage visitors who viewed the website but didn't convert.
3. Audience Segmentation & Personalization
Family Segment: Campaign messaging emphasized safety, age inclusivity (4-99), family bonding, and creating memories. Promotions targeted family holidays, school breaks, and multi-generational celebration occasions.
Corporate & Groups: Messaging emphasized team building, unique experiences, and memorable corporate events. Campaigns targeted HR managers and event planners with special group pricing and customized packages.
Gift Market: Positioned vouchers as unexpected, memorable gifts—emphasizing the experience value and emotional impact. Campaigns ran year-round but intensified during major gift-giving seasons (Christmas, birthdays, anniversaries).
Tourist & Visitor: Targeted international tourists and travelers seeking unique Portuguese experiences, emphasizing the "bucket list" nature of indoor skydiving and the Instagram-worthy moments.
4. Conversion & Experience Optimization
Booking Process Simplification: We streamlined the voucher redemption and booking process, reducing friction and enabling same-day or next-day booking to capitalize on immediate interest.
Customer Journey Mapping: From voucher discovery through post-visit follow-up, we optimized every touchpoint. Post-visit email campaigns encouraged reviews, repeat bookings, and social sharing—extending the customer lifetime value.
Dynamic Pricing & Availability: Real-time campaign management adjusted offers, messaging, and inventory availability based on facility utilization, ensuring voucher promotions filled gaps while protecting premium pricing for high-demand periods.
Results & Impact
The integrated voucher and foot traffic campaign drove substantial, measurable growth across both DreamFly facilities, transforming customer acquisition efficiency and establishing consistent, predictable revenue streams.
Strategic Achievements
- Facility Utilization Optimization: By strategically timing and positioning voucher promotions, DreamFly achieved significantly improved facility capacity utilization. Rather than seasonal peaks and valleys, the facilities now experience more consistent traffic, enabling better staff planning and operational efficiency.
- Customer Lifetime Value Expansion: The voucher and promotional strategy successfully converted one-time visitors into repeat customers. Follow-up campaigns targeting gift voucher recipients and prior visitors achieved 40% repeat booking rates—significantly higher than industry standards.
- Segment Diversification: By targeting distinct audiences (families, corporates, gift-givers, tourists), DreamFly reduced dependence on any single revenue stream. This diversification provides resilience and multiple growth levers.
- Brand Amplification: The social media and influencer components of the campaign significantly expanded DreamFly's digital presence, increasing brand awareness and establishing the brand as the leading indoor skydiving provider in Portugal.
Client Testimonial
"CodeDesign transformed how we approach customer acquisition. Their voucher strategy isn't just about discounts—it's about psychology, timing, and reaching people at the right moment with the right offer. We went from hoping people would walk through the door to having a systematic, predictable engine generating consistent foot traffic. The corporate events segment alone has become a substantial revenue driver. They understand our business, our market, and how to scale experiences."
— DreamFly Management Team (Lisbon & Porto)
Key Takeaways
- Vouchers as Strategic Tools, Not Discounts: When designed as bundled value offers rather than simple discounts, vouchers become powerful acquisition and loyalty mechanisms, protecting margins while driving volume.
- Segment-Specific Messaging Works: Families, corporates, gift-givers, and tourists respond to completely different messaging. Tailored campaigns to each segment significantly outperform generic promotions.
- Experience-Based Businesses Need Social Proof: For novel experiences, peer testimonials and user-generated content from influencers dramatically reduce hesitation and drive conversion. Video and authentic customer stories outperform traditional advertising.
- Post-Visit Engagement Drives Lifetime Value: The customer journey doesn't end at departure. Strategic post-visit campaigns encouraging reviews, repeat bookings, and referrals dramatically extend customer lifetime value and reduce overall acquisition cost.
Conclusion
DreamFly's success demonstrates that experience-based businesses can achieve sustainable growth through strategic, data-driven marketing. What began as a challenge of uncertain foot traffic and seasonal variability transformed into predictable, consistent customer acquisition supported by rising facility utilization and revenue growth.
The 76% increase in monthly foot traffic, 185% growth in digital voucher sales, and €890K in annualized revenue increases represent more than metrics. They represent thousands of families and individuals experiencing the dream of flight, corporate teams building bonds through shared exhilaration, and gift-givers creating unforgettable moments. That's the human impact that sits behind the numbers.
For experience-based businesses seeking consistent growth, the lesson is clear: combine strategic promotional architecture with audience-specific messaging, enable easy conversion pathways, and maintain customer engagement beyond the initial experience. The results will fill your facility and exceed your revenue goals.
Add comment ×