Fifth Generation Travel Marketing

Some very interesting information from the Travel Industry Association on the next generation of travel marketing. 

Tech-Savvy Travelers Assume Unprecedented Control
Online travel buyers are increasingly in control of what they want to see and where and when they want to see it via their iPods, BlackBerries and other electronic devices. Some travelers -- mostly young and tech-savvy -- are insulating themselves from advertising and marketing pitches, making them very difficult for travel companies to reach. Instead, these consumers are receiving messages from like-minded friends and people they meet online, whom they often rely on for help in purchasing travel and other products. Jupiter Research Senior Analyst Gary Stein cautions that 8 out of 10 potential customers will go to sources outside their control, such as blogs and online reviews, and smart marketers need to make sure they know what is being said about their travel offerings. (Source: www.jupiterresearch.com)

Forrester Vice President Henry Harteveldt calls this the "fifth generation of travel distribution" in which meta-search engines, blogs, social networking and a new means of distributing online content, called Really Simple Syndication (RSS), predominate. With the iPod's ability to download audio and video programs and with Tivo-style services, both of which allow users to zap through TV commercials, the "building of consumer cocoons" is spreading, according to Harteveldt. (Source: www.forrester.com)

Harteveldt recommends that travel companies create more engaging Web content, including adding Podcasts (audio downloads) and videos, as well as work with travel agents building similar visual content and adding tools that improve their ability to sell their services. He expects that online agencies, with their "resources and brains", will shift their focus from transactions to information and planning, using all those components of the fifth generation of travel distribution to draw even the most cocooned consumers.

Comments

[Gary Bourgeault]

Excellent post. I think all of us marketers need to continually realize and be reminded that there can no longer be one medium that will reach even one group of people.

Across all industries this is becoming a greater challenge daily.

But rich media is one of those great growth areas I believe this year is going to really take off and make a difference for those who use it properly