knowledge mascot promotions Family market
ttglive.com
If you sell family holidays, then don’t underestimate the power of a cuddly mascot such as Haven’s Bradley Bear or Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob SquarePants. Debbie Ward finds out how agents have used these friendly faces to help drum up business
It pays to get into character
Haven’s Rory the Tiger and Bradley Bear are a family favourite for branches of The Co-operative Travel A 30
costumed bear or tiger might seem a strange addition to your team, but plenty of agents have found a helping paw from a mascot has improved their bottom line. Some furry visitors from Haven helped a branch of The Co-operative Travel in Talke, Staffordshire to promote family holidays last year. Bradley Bear and Rory the Tiger greeted shoppers at the Freeport Outlet Mall, where the agency is based. “We did it in the school holidays, February half term, so we knew we’d have a few more families out that week,” says shop manager Emma Prender- gast. “We took it in turns to take them out and around. We had flyers with the top 10
18.02.2011
deals with Haven and Butlins and balloons and sweets to give to the kids. A lot of people said ‘I didn’t know we could book that with you’. It did heighten awareness.” The mascot visits arose from a discussion on promotional opportunities with a Bourne Leisure sales rep. “We’d definitely do it again,” Prendergast says. “We tracked the books and we had three or four bookings from the event and a lot of the offers we handed out were for later in the year.”
Kiss and sell
Haven also sent the characters to help at The Co-operative Travel in Heath Hayes. The agency is based in a branch of Tesco, so
staff chose a Saturday to surprise families shopping in the aisles. Others turned up specially, having seen a notice in the agency window. “We took them round with buckets of lollipops,” says shop manager Barbara Reeves. “One 18-month-old couldn’t wait to see the bear, then she saw him and freaked and ran off! A lot of the children wanted to kiss the characters.
“I think for travel agents now, the UK market has declined and it was good to raise awareness that we still book UK breaks.” First Choice’s store in Newport’s retail park used Pontin’s Florence the Ostrich and a couple of Blue Coats to help promote a family-themed weekend pushing discounts
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