For years, tour and activity operators have been chasing the perceived certainty of paid digital marketing. We are constantly told to invest in the channels that deliver the best Return on Ad Spend (ROAS).
But what if your high-performing ads are simply claiming purchases that were going to happen anyway? What if the majority of your digital marketing budget is delivering Fake ROI?
It's time to shift your focus from marketing that claims a purchase to marketing that influences it. This is the heart of the "Advertising Effect" movement, and it’s the key to building a sustainable, long-term customer funnel.
The Digital Marketing Trap: Measuring the "Selection Effect"
In marketing analytics, there are two primary ways to measure impact:
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The Selection Effect: This is the bias where a campaign is credited for conversions that were already highly likely to occur. Digital algorithms excel at finding high-intent users—the people who already researched your tour, checked your reviews, and are one click away from booking.
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The Advertising Effect: This is the true incremental impact—the sales and referrals that would not have happened without your intervention. This is marketing that creates demand, not just captures it.
The problem? Major digital platforms (Google, Facebook, OTAs) are designed to maximize the Selection Effect, often leading to an overstatement of 10x to 50x in their true incremental ROI, according to research from economists who have worked at those very companies
As Fotaflo Founder Ryan O'Grady states:
“What would you rather spend your marketing dollars on? Something that continues to influence a purchase decision or something that claims a purchase decision?”
— Ryan O'Grady, Fotaflo Founder and CEO
When you spend heavily on bottom-of-funnel ads, you are often just paying to get to the front of a line of people who had already made up their minds.
The Fotaflo Difference: Pure Advertising Effect
Fotaflo is engineered to generate pure Advertising Effect—marketing that sparks action where none existed before. It operates at the top of the funnel, influencing future purchases and building long-term loyalty through memory.
Here is why memory marketing works when traditional ads fail:
1. It Influences, Not Just Captures, Demand
Fotaflo's automated reminders (sent months or even years after the trip) and high-quality photo delivery are not designed to capture people about to book. They are designed to remind them of a cherished memory and get them to take action.
“We’re reminding them and then getting them to take action to actually book your experience. We’re the reason why they’re booking the experience. We are actually influencing purchase decisions.”
— Ryan O'Grady, Fotaflo Founder
The memories are the catalyst for the next booking or the referral.
2. Word-of-Mouth Remains the #1 Influencer
In the experience economy, trust is everything. Studies show that 90% of people trust suggestions from family and friends over any other form of advertising. Furthermore, User-Generated Content (UGC) is 85% more influential than branded photos or videos .
Fotaflo turns every delighted customer into a genuine brand advocate by providing them with the high-quality, authentic, and branded UGC they are eager to share.
3. It Identifies Your True Advocates
Instead of blindly targeting a lookalike audience, Fotaflo provides you with a "Who Loves You Most" list—a curated database of customers who have actually shared their photos and driven referral traffic back to your site without incentive.
This allows you to stop paying for leads and start capitalizing on the organic, genuine network effects of your happiest customers. This is the affordable, authentic version of expensive content curation platforms.
Conclusion: Investing in What Truly Works
For tour operators aiming for a sustainable, high-LTV business model, the question isn't whether your marketing spends claims to work, but whether it actually influences future action.
If you are ready to pivot from paying for claimed purchases to investing in authentic influence, the Advertising Effect is your future. Start building your long-term funnel by turning every customer memory into a powerful, brand-driven referral engine.
