Driving Parking Bookings and Commuter Convenience at Toronto Pearson
Industry
Aviation
Headquarters
Toronto, Canada
Geo targeted
GTA
Institution Size
6,000 Staff
The Challenge
Toronto Pearson International Airport operates the largest parking garage in North America, yet it faced a significant utilization problem—up to 40% of spaces sat empty during off-peak periods. Most travellers either didn’t consider parking until the last minute or chose cheaper offsite options. The airport needed to not only increase advance online bookings but also reposition its parking as a convenient, cost-effective option for both air travellers and suburban commuters.
Adding complexity, the airport’s non-aeronautical revenue growth targets required creative thinking beyond traditional travel campaigns. Pearson needed to attract new user groups and convert parking from a utility into a product with clear value.
The Approach
I led a full-funnel digital marketing campaign that combined paid media, CRM, audience segmentation, creative testing, and a strategic external partnership to activate dormant demand.
We started by segmenting audiences based on proximity, travel frequency, and behaviour. Key personas included suburban families heading on vacation, business travellers booking last-minute, and weekday commuters avoiding downtown traffic.
On the media front, we launched a multi-channel digital campaign across Google Search, Display, Meta, and YouTube:
- Search ads captured high-intent users looking for parking deals or proximity to the terminal.
- Display and social were used for retargeting and awareness, supported by A/B-tested creative that highlighted time savings, security, and special discounts.
- Landing pages were optimized for mobile-first experiences and tested with different messaging angles (“No shuttle needed,” “Book early, save more”).
One of the most innovative elements of the campaign was a partnership with Metrolinx, the regional transit agency. We promoted a new use case: park at Pearson and take the UP Express train downtown. This repositioned the airport as a convenient commuter hub for suburbanites heading into Toronto, offering both cost savings and time efficiency. It also unlocked demand during weekday periods when the garage was vastly underutilized.
Behind the scenes, we aligned with the CRM team to re-engage previous customers, upsell new ones, and deploy retargeting journeys across email and display.
The Results
Thanks to the agility and precision of paid social, we transformed what was shaping up to be an empty room into a full-house networking success.
- 📅 32% YoY Increase Online parking reservations (🚗💻)
- 💰 27% Decrease Cost per reservation (📉🔍 ongoing optimization)
- 🔍 Bing Ads Surprise High-ROI channel (🖥️👴 especially older desktop users)
- 🚆 Metrolinx Partnership Win Filled weekday inventory (🏙️👔 commuter targeting)
Thiago Silva 