NEWS — HOT STORIES 2
As Scotland votes, Cook says strategy won’t alter
Hollie-Rae Merrick
Thomas Cook boss Harriet Green weighed in on the Scottish independence vote this week as few industry figures were prepared to publicly back a Yes or No vote. Harriet Green, chief executive of Thomas Cook, which has 85 stores in Scotland, said she would prefer the UK to remain united but said the operator’s plan of action would remain the same either way. Her comments came as the Scottish Nationalist Party vowed to scrap Air Passenger Duty should the party form an independent Scottish government. Green said: “My personal view
is we’re stronger together [but] Scots have shown enormous resilience.
“Scotland has one of the worst
climates in the world and vacation is extremely important. “Scotland is an important region and business for us with key airline hubs in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen.
“Our Scottish customers and
employees are very important to us and as a European business we see no plans to change our
approach whatever the outcome of the referendum on Thursday. “Our approach as a group is
international and pan-European.” Gary Lewis of The Travel
Network Group, which has about 15 Scottish members, said a Yes vote would cause “disruption and uncertainty” for all businesses. He said licensing for Scottish agencies would need to be looked at if the Scottish people vote for independence. Scottish
agent Brian Potter, of Clyde Travel, declined to give his personal opinion but said he expected his business to be unaffected by a Yes vote on the assumption the currency remains the same. Alan Bowen, legal adviser to the Association of Atol Companies, said he would be surprised if Scotland created its own version of the CAA rather than opting to buy in to the regulatory regime currently available. ❯ Letters, page 31
3 Lee Hayhurst
Thomson has reverted to a strategy of kicking-off peak season TV marketing campaigns months early in a move observers predicted would see it steal a march on rivals. The Tui brand’s latest campaign will debut this Saturday during The X-Factor, introducing viewers to Miles, a teddy bear with one eye and the ‘Thomson smile’. The ‘Discover Your Smile’ advert, with a soundtrack of William Shatner’s version of Bohemian Rhapsody, will run until the end of October and return before Christmas. It follows on from last year’s ‘Simon the Ogre’ campaign, which debuted on December 27, a more traditional time for travel firms to target the early-booking market. In 2012, Thomson went out in September with its ‘Holidays Just Got Better’ adverts, as it did in 2011 with its ‘Quality Time’ campaign. Thomson joins rivals such as Expedia,
Booking.com and BA Holidays in running TV marketing campaigns this month. Steve Dunne, executive chairman of the Brighter Group, said Thomson still lagged Thomas Cook in terms of brand recognition, adding: “If they want to get this smile
motif etched into the heart of the consumer, it’s better to do brand- building when the market isn’t too crowded. “This is going to wrong-foot the opposition – there is always first-mover advantage in marketing.” Trevor Beattie, founding partner of Tui’s ad agency BMB, said Miles the Bear “is going to be a star”, adding: “One-eyed and raggedy he may be, but he’s out to steal your heart.” Funds for the Family Holiday Association will be raised from sales of Miles the Bear cuddly toys in Thomson stores from November.
18 September 2014 —
travelweekly.co.uk • 5
A still from Thomson’s
new TV advert
Thomson reverts to early launch for TV campaign
“Scotland is an
important region for us”
PICTURE: DAVIDROSE/REX
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