Travel marketing - What to expect in 2024
Part 2: Customer, Brand and Comms
In the second of our articles on the big trends in travel marketing in 2024, the customer, brand and comms Llamas give their views on the tides and currents which they believe will shape their channels in the year ahead.
CUSTOMER - Lisa Edwards-Webb, CRM and customer acquisition Llama
For most travel brands, 2023 has seen the return of a more ‘normal’ year, and what better way to start 2024 with a proper delve into your customer data. As budgets and resources also return to a better balance, you can really afford to spend the time getting back to best practice and intelligent marketing. Here’s what I’d like to see brands do more of next year:
Do a full analysis of your customer data; note any changes vs what was the norm back in 2019 and look for opportunities to better target customers. A good place to start is what’s happened to your repeat customer base - has it shrunk? If so - think about what targeted comms could help re-engage and reactivate. If you’re not sure what message will work - do some testing via surveys or email A/B versions to see what sticks. Conversely, and possibly more lucrative, is how your new to brand customers are looking. Many brands will probably have attracted a fair number of new acquisitions as consumers return to travel, and in so doing re-appraised the brands they want to travel with. What a rich field of opportunity awaits those brands willing to invest time and planning in specific activity to drive that second purchase. Techniques such as booking anniversary, holiday anniversary and ‘remember your last holiday with us’ are sure fire techniques to re-convert these hot prospects and make them a second-time booker - and with that will come an increased chance of repeating again. Happy Days!
Personalisation in communications is lacking in our industry vs other sectors, especially smaller brands. Yet, for those brands willing and able to invest energy in getting some smart communications planned and activated, it can reap rewards. The key to success often is allowing time and patience to prevail, and having a thorough understanding of your data set and CRM. I would always recommend starting with a small idea and building it out. It is possible to segment your data set and deliver targeted communications, even on a small budget. A top tip is to think about your customer journey - what are the obvious trigger points to target a personalised message, and launch a test campaign on a small data set e.g. by customer type, or product type, and only personalise one to few parts of your communication. Email is the natural place to start these days, but if you are using print (and remember many of older consumers will still prefer receiving certain comms through the post), a good print partner can often lend a hand too, advising on how best to format the data, how to bring the personalisation to life creatively, and how to write the rule set.
Multi channel engagement - using your customer data to retarget through other digital channels should be the norm for us travel marketers today, whether that’s through display remarketing to website visitors, or retargeting through social channels. Taking it to the next level means building customer sets based on that first interaction to retarget with specific messages through other channels e.g. if a customer has downloaded a brochure - what’s the next action you want them to do? Requesting a quote or a call back may be a better conversion approach than pushing straight to book now. And, remember your sales team can pay a vital part in this journey too - so make sure you onboard them and reach out for their ideas and support.
First party data capture - with changes in regulation regarding cookies data, it’s crucial to keep your sales funnel topped up with new leads. Make sure you have an always on lead generation plan in place through social media and offer a value exchange for that precious customer data. You can use custom match/ lookalikes modelling to target effectively, but if that’s not an option the Meta algorithm will quickly learn how best to target its universe and optimise the longer the campaign runs.
BRAND ADVERTISING - Heath Heise, Brand Llama
After years of limited marketing spend in general, and more recently, spend that has been directed to tactical direct response marketing as brands have scrambled to recover their pre-pandemic market share, I believe that 2024 will see a return to big brand campaigns by UK travel companies. Unforeseen events aside, the industry is forecast to continue its recent return to growth, creating a strong need for brands to differentiate themselves with consumers and build long-term connections.
There are many reasons why travel companies will likely run big brand campaigns in 2024, but here are a few:
Increased consumer spending: As interest rates and inflation continue to stabilise, many consumers are expected to have more disposable income in 2024. The high street may continue to suffer as consumers will opt to spend their pounds on experiences, with travel getting a big share. They will be more likely to splurge on luxury travel and very memorable travel experiences.
Increased desire for travel: Consumers are still eager to get back out there and explore the world. This demand, some of it still pent-up from the pandemic, will create a strong pull for travel companies. They will need to run big brand campaigns to capture consumer hearts and minds to capitalise on this demand.
Increased competition: The travel industry is intensely competitive. This forces travel companies to step up their marketing efforts to differentiate, and emotive and emotional big brand campaigns will be an important part of this strategy.
Here are some examples of how travel companies could be expected to use big brand campaigns in 2024:
Thematic campaigns: Travel companies will likely create thematic campaigns that focus on specific themes, such as: unique adventure; relaxation and wellness; sustainability; or family time. These campaigns will use evocative imagery and storytelling to capture the imagination of consumers and inspire them to investigate their brands to travel.
Location-specific campaigns: Travel companies will also likely run location-specific campaigns that promote specific destinations. These campaigns will highlight the unique attractions and experiences that each destination has to offer.
Digital marketing: Travel companies will heavily leverage digital marketing platforms, including Connected TV and digital radio, to run their big brand campaigns. These platforms will allow them to be more targeted and track the performance of their campaigns in real time, which is a shift for traditional big brand campaigns away from more traditional, and less accountable, broadcast channels.
In addition, travel companies are also experimenting with new and innovative ways to reach consumers. For example, some companies are using virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) to allow consumers to experience travel destinations virtually. Others are using social media influencers to promote their brands and destinations.
My prediction is that travel companies in the UK will heavily invest in marketing. Big brand campaigns will play a key role in these marketing efforts, as they will help travel companies to reach a wider audience and capture the hearts and minds of consumers who are eager to be inspired and to travel.
PR & COMMS - Phil Bloomfield, Comms Llama
In 2024, I think we’ll witness the continued transformation of what one might define as being ‘traditional’ PR - the generation of favourable, objective editorial coverage for a client or brand in earned media (whether that is in print, broadcast or online environments) - into an increasingly ‘paid for’ function. There’s two long-standing trends driving that. The first has been the reforming of the media landscape over the last 20 years, with dedicated print and broadcast platforms for travel going the way of the dinosaurs as digital has taken over and ad revenues have dried up. Only recently, Reach Plc, owner of all of the Mirror, Express and Star titles, as well as a range of regional newspapers and magazines, put what was already a significantly reduced travel desk at risk of redundancy. The announcement seems symptomatic of a management mindset which has come to regard travel as a luxury subject, inferior to other sections and narratives which can pull in greater numbers - and paying advertisers.
The second cause of traditional travel PR’s gradual obsolescence is its failure to develop tools that can accurately prove its value. In an age where digital marketing is empowered to track the customer journey from first contact to conversion and booking, and can attribute ROI accordingly, presenting a bundle of cuttings with an ‘advertising value equivalency’ of £X is almost comically old school. It's small wonder that CMOs, CFOs and CEOs, and shareholders, who more than ever want to know how their marketing spend is positively moving the dial in their favour - and to have that knowledge at their fingertips - are favouring investment in owned channels which can give them that instant insight.
In 2024, brands that successfully integrate traditional PR skills and areas of expertise - news generation, story telling, reputation management and so on - with the younger, faster and more accountable marketing channels, will be the ones to thrive.
This has been a transitional year for travel in general, and travel marketing in particular. The race to regain market share lost during the pandemic may have heated up, but that hasn’t been reflected in investment. It’s been a year of ‘make do and mend’ for travel marketers, who’ve pulled whatever flashy tactical levers were available to get their house to stand out in a street of sameness. But you can only patch over the cracks for so long before you have to start paying attention to what’s keeping your (brand) house standing.