Higher click-through rate than the previous quarter
Increase in daily conversions compared with the previous quarter
First directly converting calls tracked
Aqua Restaurant Group venues now using this strategy
Client & context
Aqua Shard sits on Level 31 of The Shard, one of London’s most recognisable dining destinations. As part of Aqua Restaurant Group, the restaurant already had a strong proposition for evening dining and special occasions, but lunch represented an opportunity to attract a different type of guest.
The objective was to make lunch at Aqua Shard feel like an essential stop for tourists planning a day around London Bridge, Tower Bridge and the wider South Bank, rather than simply a lower-profile alternative to dinner.
The challenge
Tourists arriving around London Bridge had no shortage of dining options, and Aqua Shard needed to stand out at the very moment visitors were deciding how to spend their day. While many people naturally searched for a dinner with a view, the campaign needed to reposition lunch as part of the London experience itself.
At the same time, the existing measurement setup did not provide a clear picture of how advertising activity translated into reservations and direct calls. Improving that visibility was essential to understand which activity generated meaningful booking intent.
Strategy & execution
Launched location-first creative
We tested multiple messages designed around the tourist mindset. The strongest creative positioned lunch at Aqua Shard as an essential London sightseeing moment, leading with views across Tower Bridge and St Paul’s rather than relying on broad “skyline dining” language.
This gave potential guests a clearer reason to choose Aqua Shard during the day: not simply for lunch, but for a memorable part of their London itinerary.
Deployed smart retargeting
We retargeted users who had shown interest in The Shard and related London experiences, helping Aqua Shard remain visible as visitors moved from research to decision.
This allowed the campaign to reach people with established interest in the destination and encourage a reservation before they chose an alternative venue.
Built full conversion tracking
We worked with Aqua Shard’s developers to improve measurement across reservations and calls. This created a clearer view of the actions generated by paid activity and made it possible to identify direct calls that led to conversion.
Results
Over three months, the revised, location-first creative delivered a 105% increase in click-through rate compared with the previous quarter. The stronger response showed that specific landmark-led messaging connected more effectively with tourists than broader dining-led creative.
Daily conversions also doubled compared with the previous quarter, helping Aqua Shard build greater lunch-time demand. Improved measurement recorded 89 directly converting calls, giving the team a clearer view of phone-led booking intent alongside other reservation activity.
The strategy was subsequently adopted at three further Aqua Restaurant Group venues, Hutong, Nueva and Kyoto. In total, four group venues went on to use the approach, demonstrating that the underlying idea could travel beyond Aqua Shard without requiring a complete rebuild for each location.
Key takeaway
Tourist demand rarely needs inventing, it needs framing. By positioning lunch at Aqua Shard as a landmark-led London moment and tightening visibility over calls and reservations, the campaign turned existing intent into a measurable acquisition engine that scaled across the group.