TTG Toolkit Marketing magic
Put on a medal-winning performance in 2012
Patrick Whyte joined senior industry figures at a Cimtig panel discussion last week to share views on marketing best practice in the Olympic year
I
n light of the natural disasters, political upheaval and economic crises of last year, delegates at a Chartered Institute of Marketing
Travel Industry Group meeting in London last week had much to discuss. Here are the key points to emerge from the debate:
Is the UK ready to enter the spotlight in 2012? The European Tour Operators Association’s Jenkins spoke about the difference between expectation and reality. The Olympics have been sold to the UK public using much hyperbole, with the assumption that it will boost tourism before, during and afterwards with no bearing on past examples. “Every Olympic Committee has
exaggerated the numbers coming in, and most games saw a slump in visitors afterwards,” he added. Jenkins pointed out that Athens failed to fill its 15,000 beds in 2004 while Barcelona had similar problems in 1992. However, Taylor struck a more
update note, saying: “The legacy in Barcelona and Sydney has proved to be quite positive; I would be amazed if London wasn’t full this summer.” He added: “We can really muck this up if we price it wrong. It’s about how sensible as an industry we are at doing this.”
How can travel brands protect themselves if disaster strikes? Michels & Taylor’s Hugh Taylor thought that challenging circumstances offered successful brands the opportunity to grow. “You just have to be smarter than anyone else,” he said. Tui’s John Wimbleton said travel firms needed to “have a sufficient contingency” for the unknown. “Last year was exceptional [but] whatever happened we still managed to get through it; we know how to deal with a crisis,” he added.
Jenkins pointed out that riots in the UK last summer were dealt with well. Despite the fact that TV channels carried many disturbing images, he claimed his inbound
Olympic-themed packages need to be sensibly priced
operators saw no cancellations as a result.
Sukie Rapal of
cruise.co.uk highlighted how Carnival decided to cut its marketing after the Costa Concordia disaster, removing the name from press releases to stop it damaging other brands in the portfolio.
What are the consumer trends to watch? British Airways’ Richard Tams called this “the era of coupons and vouchers”. He said travel brands did not need to partner with sites such as Groupon to
capitalise on this but should create their own coupon-themed deals. Wimbleton agreed that discount
portals posed a danger to travel firms as they can de-value your brand. ■
cimtig.org
THE CIMTIG PANEL
John Wimbleton managing director of Tui Specialist & Activity
Sukie Rapal marketing director for
cruise.co.uk
Hugh Taylor OBE chief executive of hotel asset management firm Michels & Taylor
Richard Tams British Airways head of sales and marketing for UK & Ireland
Tom Jenkins executive director of the European Tour Operators Association
The UK riots in summer 2011 did not affect inbound operators Coupon-themed deals will be big this year 09.02.2012 27
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