Case Study: Moody Gardens

Overview

Moody Gardens, a well-known family resort and attraction in Texas, partnered with Calculated Conversions to launch a 17-day digital campaign focused on awareness, engagement, and bookings for its hotel and attractions.

To maximize results in a short time window, the strategy blended cross-platform display and retargeting, Device ID targeting, and OTT/CTV, reaching high-intent families who had previously visited the property. The campaign drove over 2.79 million impressions and 11,259 clicks, and delivering $80,000+ in tracked revenue at a 40% conversion rate. This does not include additional bookings that occurred after the campaign ended or revenue generated once families arrived at Moody Gardens.

Challenge

Moody Gardens needed to generate measurable results quickly with a short campaign window and a diverse audience mix: local families, drive-market tourists, and past visitors. The brand wanted to boost not only top-of-funnel visibility but also mid- and bottom-funnel conversions, especially for hotel bookings and attraction tickets.

To make that happen, we had to:

• Reach families likely to return without wasting budget on broad awareness.
• Balance brand storytelling through video and CTV with direct-response tactics that could convert.
• Optimize toward lower CPA and higher CTR throughout the campaign window.

Solution

We built a retargeting-first, conversion-optimized campaign focused on reaching high-likelihood audiences:

• Device ID Targeting – We used historical visitor data to build an audience of families who had previously visited Moody Gardens, lived within driving distance, and had children in the household. This allowed us to skip the awareness curve and focus on return visits.
• Cross-Platform Display & Retargeting – Our team activated a mix of display and interstitial placements across web and app environments, driving traffic back to hotel booking and ticketing pages.
• Pre-Roll & OTT/CTV for Awareness and Reinforcement – To complement conversion-focused ads, we used video placements and CTV ads to build brand recall and support longer-consideration purchases like hotel stays.

Results

• 📈 2.79MM Impressions Delivered
• 📲 11,259 Clicks with a blended CTR of 0.59%
• 🏨 83 Hotel Bookings + 435 Attraction/Ticket Purchases – Driving signnificant revenue
• 💰 $80,000+ in Generated Revenue – Bookings made during the campaign window
• 🕓 Post-Campaign Conversions Continued – Many families booked after seeing the ads, driving more revenue beyond what’s reported

Key Takeaways

• High Intent Retargeting Drove Results – Targeting past visitors with kids produced a 40% conversion rate, making the most of a short campaign window.
• Video + Display = Full Funnel Impact – OTT and pre-roll drove awareness, while device ID display brought users back to convert.
• Revenue Didn’t Stop When Ads Did – Continued bookings after the campaign ended confirmed the strength of brand recall and message resonance.