travel - IAB UK

Ve r t i c a l S e r i e s
travel
contents
Introduction
to the sector and online advertising 1
Just the ticket
All your useful travel links 3
Wish you were here
The top of the top 10s! 8
Where the land lies
The travel market online 11
Have internet, will travel
Insights into the online consumer 15
Holiday must reads
Diaries of real travel bookings 26
What should travel marketers be
doing online? 28
Which brands are flying high
with their online activity? 46
The reviews are in!
NMA site inspections 56
Do’s and don’ts 58
Introduction
to the sector and online advertising
Nowadays, the information that travellers seek
online goes far beyond a simple A-Z. As millions
of customers flock to the internet - or their mobile
device - to undertake essential research and
make highly specific searches for travel ideas, the
industry just gets bigger and better. Travel online is
booming, not least because of new products and
services offered by marketers and retailers, such as
emagazines and personalised videos that continue to
make the customer experience just that little bit more
convenient and engaging. Indeed, the proliferation
of user-generated content like RSS feeds, discussion
boards and blogs, enable us to delve even deeper
into the holiday experience by sharing information
and creating brand advocates. Why do it yourself
when your happy customer can do it for you via
the word of mouth activity that online facilitates?
By instigating conversations with your audiences
online via a range of communication tools, you can
learn what they like, give them what they want and
establish a relationship that could last forever... after
all, everyone needs a holiday.
1
Introduction
So, changing customer behaviour has meant a change for the travel
industry. Today the reliance on high street travel agencies for booking
simple or even more complex trips no longer exists. Whether at
home or in the office, using the web is often a high-speed, stress-free
experience. And as the medium grows we are able to employ rich
media and video content, provide useful tools and applications and
even carefully target our key audiences, all to drive sales and build a
travel brand, in a highly competitive market.
Think of this handy IAB guide as essential luggage for making the
most of what the medium has to offer. Packed with essential stats,
full to the brim with useful internet marketing tips and case studies,
and with far more than the ‘regulation allowance’ of insights into
consumer behaviour, this is any marketing professional’s holiday
must-read. So sit back, put your reading glasses on, and let us take
you on an enlightening journey through the world of online travel...
2
Just the ticket –
All your useful
travel links
Brand Sites
Lonely Planet
www.lonelyplanet.com
A globally loved brand, with over five million travellers visiting each
month to make use of the abundance of information on destinations
worldwide, hotel/hostel booking, and the Thorn Tree Travel Forum.
noflights.com
www.noflights.com
Provides quality travel products and services that exclude flights. The
website was born out of a passionate commitment to make greener
modes of travel more accessible at a time when flights are accounting
for an ever greater proportion of carbon emissions.
Opodo
www.opodo.co.uk
The first truly Pan-European travel service created to address the real
needs of today’s traveller. Opodo offer access to over 500 airlines,
65,000 hotel properties and more than 7,000 car rental locations
worldwide - as well as travel insurance.
STA Travel
www.statravel.co.uk
Committed to providing low priced travel for students and young
people around the world. The site includes price comparison for
flights, hotels, tours and insurance, along with tips for travelling and
blogs about various locations across the globe.
3
Just the ticket all your useful travel links
Forums
Aardvark Travel
www.aardvarktravel.net
This worldwide travel search engine lists more than 20,000 of the very
best travel websites from around the world. The site also includes a
jam packed forum where discussion is continually created about travel
from all over the world.
BUG (Backpackers’ Ultimate Guide)
www.bug.co.uk
No flash hotels and fancy banquets – just the most comprehensive
information on backpackers’ hostels and living it up without blowing
the budget. BUG has been around since 1997 and was the first
website to offer interactive hostel reviews where travellers can submit
their own reviews of hostels.
FlyerTalk
www.flyertalk.com/forum
FlyerTalk features discussions and chat boards that cover the most
up-to-date traveller information. An interactive community dedicated
to your favourite topic: frequent flyer miles!
Travellers Point
www.travellerspoint.com
Creates an international meeting point for travellers worldwide,
whether they are planning their travels, currently travelling or have
returned from their travels and want to stay in touch with those friends
they met while travelling.
4
Blogs
Alex Bainbridge
www.tourcms.com/blog/alexbainbridge
This is a no nonsense global – but with a UK/European perspective –
blog that reports about travel ecommerce including trading, marketing,
social media, startups and conventional travel companies using the
web to good effect.
I want to go here
www.iwanttogohere.com
All about inspiring you to do something different - encouraging you
to check out a new experience or destination. It’s simple – they post
something new every day, if you like the look of it, send it to a couple
of friends. If not, wait and see what tomorrow brings.
TravelBlog
www.travelblog.org
A unique free online travel diary for travellers across the world. It is
one of the most popular travel related web 2.0 sites on the internet.
TravelBlog.org has over 80,000 members and grows at around 100
new members a day.
Travolution
www.travolution.co.uk
The UK’s leading business magazine, website, blog and events
provider for the online travel market. Covering the traditional travel
market plus the new breed of online players, Travolution provides
essential information and analysis for anyone involved in the online
travel business.
5
I n t e r n e t Ve r t i c a l S e r i e s
Tr a v e l
Just the ticket all your useful travel links
Review and Comparison
Car Rentals www.carrentals.co.uk
The comparison search engine for luxury and budget car hire. They
make searching for car hire convenient and easy. If you need a hire
car for business trips or holiday rentals, one search will compare
prices of up to 50 car hire companies in seconds.
Travelocity www.travelocity.co.uk
A leading provider of consumer direct travel services for the leisure
and business traveller. Travelocity offers pricing information about
airlines, hotels, car rental companies, cruise lines, vacation and lastminute travel packages, and other travel-related services.
TravelDodo www.traveldodo.com
Collects your do’s and don’ts reviews online and shares these with
other interested travellers. By making your own profile you can sort
them out and prioritise accordingly. This way you can create your own
summary of the most important or unimportant features of your travel
destinations.
World
Reviewer www.worldreviewer.com
It’s all about holiday experiences. Taking a completely new look at
how travel is presented online – then start with what you want to do,
rather than where you want to go, with experiences, rather than the
products or services.
6
Social Networking
Addicted to Travel www.addictedtotravel.com
A website providing a service for people with a passion for travel
who explore the most amazing places on planet earth.
Travelistic
www.travelistic.com
A site that lets you explore the world through video. This site hosts
all kinds of travel videos, including user uploads, professional
content, and tourist board videos.
TravelMole
www.travelmole.com
The most highly acclaimed and largest global online community
for the travel and tourism industry with over 450,000 registered
subscribers.
WAYN (Where Are You Now)
www.wayn.com
Allows you to find and meet people from anywhere in the world, see
where your friends are, meet up with new people abroad and read
through travel information guides and reviews.
Wikitravel
www.wikitravel.org
A project to create a free, complete, up-to-date, and reliable
worldwide travel guide. So far there are 19,610 destination guides
and other articles written and edited by Wikitravellers from around
the globe.
7
I n t e r n e t Ve r t i c a l S e r i e s
Tr a v e l
Wish you were here The top of the tops tens!
Top 10 beaches in Europe
Top 10 beginners’ ski resorts
1. Cala d’en Serra, Ibiza
2. The Curonian Spit, Lithuania
3. Caños de Meca, Spain
4. Barleycove, County Cork, Ireland
5. Cap Ferret, France
6. Scopello, Sicily
7. Three Cliffs Bay, Gower, Wales
8. Sopot, Poland
9. Egremni, Lefkada, Greece
10. Warnemünde, Germany
1. Les Arcs, France
2. Bansko, Bulgaria
3. Cortina, Italy
4. Killington, USA
5. Lech, Austria
6. Poiana Brasov, Romania
7. Soldeu, Andorra
8. Tignes, France
9. Wengen, Switzerland
10. Ski, UK
Top 10 hostels
Top 10 dive sites of the world
1. Flamingo, Krakow
2. Oops!, Paris
3. One Florence Close, Singapore
4. Czech Inn, Prague
5. Youthpalace, Davos
6. Ostinatto, Buenos Aires
7. Base Backpackers, Australasia
8. Hilux, Valencia
9. Hotel QT, New York
10. Ashlee House, London
1. Rocktail Bay, Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa
2. Rangiroa, Polynesia
3. Sulawesi, Indonesia
4. The Maldives
5. Little Cayman, British West Indies
6. Cocos and Malpelo, Eastern Pacific
7. The Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea
8. Sipadan Island, Malaysian Borneo
9. Surin and Similan Islands, Thailand
10. Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands
www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2008
8
The world’s 10 sexiest hotel rooms
1. Playhouse room, Soho House, New York
2. Banda 5, Beho Beho, Tanzania
3. Double Murano, Murano, Paris
4. The Guardroom, The Witchery, Edinburgh
5. Macka Tree, The Caves, Negril
6. Room 19, Riad el Fenn, Marrakesh
7. Villa 205, Maia, Seychelles
8. Room 20, Coeur des Alpes
9. Seigneurs D’albon, Château de Bagnols
10. The Boudoir, Escape, Llandudno
www.timesonline.co.uk
Top 10 public transport systems
1. Tokyo Metropolitan,Tokyo, Japan
2. The Moscow Metro, Moscow, Russia
3. Taipei MRT, Taipei, Taiwan
4. The Tube, London, England
5. Seoul Metropolitan Subway, Seoul, Korea
6. Paris Metropolitan, Paris, France
7. New York Subway System, New York, America
8. Hong Kong MTR, Hong Kong, China
9. U-Bahn, Berlin, Germany
10. Copenhagen Metro, Copenhagen, Denmark
www.Askmen.com
9
I n t e r n e t Ve r t i c a l S e r i e s
Tr a v e l
Wish you were here –
The top of the tops tens!
10 useful websites that should be bookmarked
1.
Metro http://nanika.net/Metro
Metro is your free guide on PDA (Palm, PocketPC, Smartphone...) to public
transport systems in 400 cities worldwide.
2. Tripit www.tripit.com
Tripit is a personal travel assistant that automatically organises all your
travel plans.
3. VISA ATM locator http://visa.via.infonow.net/locator/global
Find your closest cash machine in 170 countries worldwide.
4. Flight Stats www.flightstats.com
Check flight arrivals and departure times. This site contains sponsored links.
5.
Sleeping in airports http://sleepinginairports.com
The best and worst airports around the world and how to get to sleep in
one. This site contains sponsored links.
6. Seat Guru www.seatguru.com
Ever wondered why someone’s seat looked bigger? Find the definitive
places to sit on any airplane. This site contains display ads and an affiliate
marketing programme.
7. The Bathroom Diaries www.thebathroomdiaries.com
Discover the best places to sit on the throne! This site has an affiliate
marketing programme and contains sponsored links.
8.
One Bag www.onebag.com
This site offers you the art and science of travelling light. This site contains
sponsored links.
9.
Travel Turtle www.travelturtle.co.uk
This site provides you with a wealth of information on travel health. This site
contains display ads and a regularly updated travel health news feed.
10.
Seat 61 www.seat61.com
The man in Seat 61 will tell you how to travel overland comfortably and
affordably where you might think that air was now the only option. Also
allows you to search for cheap train tickets and contains sponsored links.
10
Where the land lies –
The travel market online
• In H1 2008, all online advertising was worth £1682.5m
• Display was worth £333m
• Classified was worth £361.6m
• Travel accounted for 4.22% down 1.78% in H1 2007
• Travel marketers marginally use display and classifieds over search
• In H2 2004 travel was the 3rd highest spender. However, this market
looks to have levelled whilst newer categories are now spending
within the medium affecting the % share.
The chart below shows how much online ad spend in total has grown,
its spend is now settling and therefore its share is decreasing.
12%
£1,80
£1,60
10%
£1,40
£1,20
8%
£1,00
6%
£800
£600
4%
£400
2%
£200
£0
0%
H1 2004 H2 2004 H1 2005 H2 2005 H1 2006 H2 2006 H1 2007 H2 2007 H1 2008
Display total
All online total
11
Travel & Tourism share
I n t e r n e t Ve r t i c a l S e r i e s
Tr a v e l
Where the land lies –
The travel market online
Is travel maturing?
H2 2004
Finance
24.0
Recruitment
21.6
11.2
Travel & Transport
Automotive
10.5
Technology
9.3
Entertainment & Media
6.2
Consumer Goods
5.7
4.2
Business & Industrial
Retail
Property
3.5
1.4
Consumer to consumer classifieds
0.9
Goverment & other organisations
0.7
Leisure
Gardening & Agriculture
0.5
0.2
H2 2007
Recruitment
25.7
Automotive
11.9
Technology
10.4
10.0
Finance
Property
7.9
Telecoms
6.0
Entertainment & Media
5.6
5.3
Consumer Goods
Travel & Transport
5.2
5.0
Retail
Business & Industrial
Consumer-to-comsumer Classifieds
Government & other organisations
Leisure
Gardening & Agriculture
2.7
2.3
1.5
0.5
0.1
IAB/PwC online adspend study, 2007
12
Insights, Facts and Opportunities from the travel online
frontline, by Jon Armitage, Senior Industry Analyst, Google
Insight
Facts
Opportunities & Actions
Competitors are
becoming increasingly
sophisticated and
targeted in online
investment.
• 20% CPC inflation.
• Competitor investment
in site performance
and conversion
improvements.
• Focus on margin mix.
• Shift in focus to late
January by smaller
players.
• Focus bidding on
high traffic periods for
greatest efficiency.
• Target high margin
products for most
aggressive bidding.
• Invest in site experience
to improve conversion
metrics.
• Vary timing and
progression of budgets
by product type.
Travel subsectors are
growing at different
rates.
• Highest YoY growth in
bus and rail (+31%) and
car rental (+20%).
• CPC inflation greatest
in cruise (+25%), hotels
(+23%) and packages
+21%).
• Reallocate budgets to
high growth and high
margin sectors.
Activity differs across
the week.
• Traffic peak on Monday,
yet CPC peak on
Saturday.
• Generics used most
heavily at weekends.
• Ensure brand bidding
“always on” during
Monday peak.
• Manage brand /
generics split across
the week.
• Consider different ad
text for different days of
the week.
Consumers are
increasingly engaging
longer and more
specific searches.
• 3 to 5 worded queries
growing twice as fast as
shorter terms.
• “Tail” category now
growing fastest.
The journey to
purchase is long and
complex.
• Brand query growth
of 19%, destination
growth of 15%.
• CPC inflation highest
in destination terms
(+19%).
• Build coverage on
longer, niche keywords.
• Create specific ad
texts tailored to niche
searches.
• Manage generics to be
present throughout the
purchase process.
• Integrate paid and
natural search to
maximise crossbenefits.
13
I n t e r n e t Ve r t i c a l S e r i e s
Tr a v e l
Where the land lies –
The travel market online
Travel subsectors are growing at different rates
Website usability and online booking functionality is now driving growth
in the smaller segments that were, in many instances, slower to shift
online, relative to the largest product categories.
• Bus and rail operator sites grew the fastest YoY at 31% followed by
car rental at 20%, vs. the larger product areas of packages (+10%), air
travel (+11%), hotels and accommodation (+12%)
Query volume
+10%
+12%
+11%
2007
+16%
Cruises &
Charters
+20%
Car Rental &
Taxi Services
Bus & Rail
Air Travel
Packages
Hotels &
Accomodation
+31%
2008
UK travel daily query volume by sector, January 2008 - 16th February 2008
+18%
+23%
2007
+21%
2008
Monthly UK travel CPC change January 2007 vs. January 2008
Google, 2008
14
+7%
Bus & Rail
Air Travel
Hotels &
Accomodation
Cruises &
Charters
Car Rental &
Taxi Services
+9%
Packages
CPC
+25%
Have internet, will travel…
...insights into the online consumer
“The travel industry provides a wonderful reminder, if
anyone still needed one, of how integral the internet
has become in the life of today’s consumer. The
internet is now officially a mainstream form of media
and companies who still believe it can only form a
‘niche’ part of any consumer-focused strategy will
soon find themselves marginalised as the 21st century
progresses.”
- Alex Burmaster, European Internet Analyst at Nielsen//NetRatings.
Are we nearly there yet? - Travel habits of online consumers
Harvest Digital conducted research into the travel habits of online
consumers in conjunction with Nielsen//NetRatings and Adviva.
Findings include:
• 55% of internet users book holidays online – only 7% book on the
high street.
• Two thirds of internet users take two or more holidays a year.
• Almost half of internet users book holidays based on recommendations
from friends and families while a third of people read the travel articles
in magazines and newspapers, 15% use Teletext and one in five
respondents watch holiday programmes on TV.
• “Silver surfers” enjoy more regular holidays and late bookings online.
15
Have internet, will travel….insights
into the online consumer
Commenting on the research, Mike Teasdale Planning Director at
Harvest Digital explains, ‘as the first truly global medium, the internet
has always had a special affinity with the travel industry. Obviously
offline media still has a vital role to play in the marketing mix, but once
an online consumer is interested in a specific destination or holiday,
they use the internet to research and buy.’
He adds, ‘Consumers are telling us that word of mouth is very
important in terms of choosing a potential holiday. In the past,
that would have been a casual chat over a pint: now it seems that
the online equivalent is sites like TripAdvisor.com where an entire
community is posting tips and recommendations about good places
to go.’
Talkin’ ‘bout my generation - Interaction with travel
on the web for different age groups.
AGE 16-24
1. 1
6-24s are less than half as likely as the average surfer to search
for travel online, according to Target Group Index 2007 figures.
2. T
hey are also much less likely than the average web user to buy a
travel product online. Specifically, according to TGI 2007, they are
61% less likely than average to purchase flights or a holiday.
3. W
hen questioned on online travel agents, 16-24s were 29% more
likely than the average internet user to have booked their last
holiday with Lastminute.com, followed in order of relative likelihood
by Travelocity, Expedia, Holiday Hypermarket, Ebookers and
Opodo. (TGI, 2007)
4. S
ome 39% of 16-24 year-olds say the advertising on a website has
helped them to make better purchasing decisions and 40% say
ads on websites have helped them to find the products or services
they were searching for. (IAB, 2007)
16
5. Younger adults are less likely than the national average to plan their
travel in advance. Some 25% of people aged under 24 booked
their holiday a month or less before departure, compared to 18% of
internet users overall. (Nielsen//NetRatings/Adviva/Harvest Digital, 2007)
6. 16-24s are the only adult group in which many people believe they
make or influence holiday decisions without actually paying for the
holiday themselves. (Nielsen//NetRatings/Adviva/Harvest Digital, 2007)
AGE 25-34s
1. Online travel booking and research are particularly common among
25-34 year-olds, of whom 68% say they would book directly on the
internet (Nielsen//NetRatings/Adviva/Harvest Digital). This age group
also shows the greatest dependency on e-mail. (Nasstar, 2007)
2. Two-thirds of online shoppers usually take two or more holidays of
one week or more a year, and a quarter take three or more. (Nielsen//
NetRatings/Adviva/Harvest Digital, 2008)
3. This age group is the most likely of all adult groups to book a flight
directly with an airline, rating as 16% more likely than the average
internet user to do so. (TGI, 2007) They are also 14% more likely than
average to have booked their last holiday online. (TGI, 2007)
4. When questioned on online travel agents, 25-34s were 73% more
likely than the average internet user to have booked their last holiday
with Opodo, followed in order of relative likelihood by Lastminute.com,
Holiday Hypermarket, Opodo, Expedia and ebookers. (TGI, 2007)
5. Some 20% of British internet-using over-25s spend three or more
hours online each day; 19% are online for two to three hours a day;
30% access for one to two hours, and the remaining 31% are online
for less than an hour each day. (IAB, 2007)
6. Around 27% of consumers aged 25-34 would be willing to respond
to a mobile ad in exchange for free content, though the vast
proportion have never done so to date. This was compared to 40%
of 16-24 year-olds who said they would be persuaded to engage
with mobile advertising in return for content. (eMarketer, 2007)
17
I n t e r n e t Ve r t i c a l S e r i e s
Tr a v e l
Have internet, will travel….insights
into the online consumer
AGE 35-54s
1. According to Lastminute.com research, the average online travel
consumer is now to be found squarely in the middle of the adult age
group. Aged a few months short of 40, this consumer’s average
salary is £39,348, of which £2,390 goes on travel each year. Also,
according to Lastminute.com, 62% of all British online travel
consumers are ABC1s and 89% have broadband access.
2. Some 26% say they have booked travel as the result of a
promotional e-mail, 41% subscribe to an online newsletter offering
travel promotions and 24% are members of a loyalty programme.
(EyeforTravel, 2007)
3. 35-54s are 7% more likely than the average internet user to have
booked their last holiday online. (TGI, 2007)
4. For long-haul destinations, Google is more popular among this age
group, taking 68% of initial search volumes, compared to 15% for
OTAs, 11% for supplier websites. Just 4.5% of people walk into a
high-street travel agent to start their search and only 1% pick up the
phone. (EyeforTravel, 2007)
5. Some 12% went direct to the websites of airlines, hotels and other
suppliers to research any given trip, suggesting that brand-building
efforts online have borne fruit. OTAs, meanwhile took 14% of initial
search volumes and traditional high-street travel agents only 2%.
(EyeforTravel, 2007)
6. Of the UK’s top five travel sites in July 2007, Expedia was the
most-visited among 35-54s, with 3,070,000 unique visitors in
total. TUI Group came second with 2,517,000 visitors, followed by
Lastminute (2,388,000), British Airways (1,824,000) and First Choice
(1,770,000). (comScore, 2007)
18
OVER-55s
1. Across all categories, British over-60s spend £205 billion a year,
accounting for 40% of all spending power. (The Millennium Group,
2007)
2. Over-55s are also the internet’s key growth group, increasing their
use of the web by 40% in the year to May 2007, while proven
heavy surfers such as 35-55 year-olds remained static in their
usage. (Hitwise, 2007)
3. Among older generations, the web audience remains resolutely
male-dominated. Among over-65s, 79% of internet use is
accounted for by men, while among 50-64s, that figure is 59%.
Overall, 55% of internet use is attributable to men. (Nielsen//
NetRatings, 2007)
4. In common with under-24s, over-55s are fond of booking holidays
at the last minute. 28% of them booked to go away a month before
departure or later. (Nielsen//NetRatings/Adviva/Harvest Digital, 2007)
5. Over-55s are 19% more likely than the average internet user to
search for travel online, making them the age group most inclined
to do so. (TGI, 2007)
6. Travel and holidays are the number one online purchase for wired
over-55s in Europe, with 47% of them having bought tickets to
travel and 32% having splashed out on a holiday via the web.
(EIAA, 2007)
19
I n t e r n e t Ve r t i c a l S e r i e s
Tr a v e l
Have internet, will travel….insights
into the online consumer
Visual examples of eye tracking behaviour
Foviance asked 51 people to search for a product on a search
engine/meta-search engine/online travel operator/agency, airline
and hotel site. The images below detail the eye tracking behaviour
of four different age groups when browsing the web and interacting
with travel brands.
16 – 24
Sites visited in order of popularity:
Google, Yahoo!, Ask, EasyJet,
Ryanair, Lastminute.com, STA
Travel, Thomas Cook, Cheapflights,
Travelsupermarket, Expedia and
Travelocity.
25 – 34
Sites visited in order of popularity:
Google, Ask, EasyJet, BA.com,
FlyBMI, Travelocity, Lastminute.com
and various package sites.
20
35 – 54
Sites visited in order of
popularity: Google, EasyJet,
BAA, Ryanair, family holiday
sites, sports holiday sites,
Holiday Inn and Marriott.
55 +
Sites visited in order of popularity:
Google, Opodo, Flight Centre,
Virgin Holidays, EasyJet, Ryanair,
Travelsupermarket, FlyMonach,
Travelbag and Kelkoo Travel.
21
I n t e r n e t Ve r t i c a l S e r i e s
Tr a v e l
Have internet, will travel….insights
into the online consumer
The following charts from Travolution explore the different
online behaviour of different age groups:
Who or what do you normally consult before making a booking?
60
18-24
50
25-34
40
35-54
30
55+
20
10
s
et
ex
t
Ot
he
r
Te
l
es
Pr
es
s
ok
ar
ch
en
gi
n
sit
e
bo
rd
e
oa
id
tb
Se
gu
On
lin
ris
To
u
w
sp
Ne
e
s
w
eb
er
ap
cia
so
e
On
sit
e
k
og
w
or
et
ln
Bl
s
sit
e
nd
w
Fr
ie
lin
Us
e
rr
ev
ie
nt
Fa
m
Ag
e
ily
0
Which of80the following have you done since you’ve returned from holiday?
70
60
16-24
50
25-34
40
35-54
30
55+
20
10
eo
Vi
d
22
ne
No
et
on
ne
Re
ts
co
i
te
m
m
en
d
F2
F
cia
ln
et
cia
ln
pi
cs
on
so
sit
e
so
on
ew
Re
vi
Pi
cs
on
op
sit
e
in
d
ew
on
op
on
vi
Re
in
on
ew
Re
vi
Pi
cs
d
sit
e
0
How many websites do you check to feel confident enough to
finally book a holiday?
40
35
30
16-24
25
25-34
20
35-54
15
55+
10
5
le
ne
No
ur
sib
/fo
As
m
an
ya
sp
os
tw
o
st
Th
re
e
ea
At
l
e
sit
e
e
on
am
Al
w
ay
ss
e
tim
ha
ve
On
ly
On
e
if
fo
r
ha
pp
y
0
From the search results that you browse, are they mainly in the....?
35
30
16-24
25
25-34
20
35-54
15
55+
10
5
0
Top three
Top five
Top 10
Travolution and Foviance, 2008
23
Top 10 plus
next page
Don’t know
I n t e r n e t Ve r t i c a l S e r i e s
Tr a v e l
Have internet, will travel….insights
into the online consumer
The Travel Buying cycle
from Lewis Lenssen, Managing Director, Netizen Digital
“The travel buying cycle is different from other PPC
products. The travel buying cycle demonstrates
principles which are fundamental to successful travel
PPC. In my opinion this is in fact the most important
issue and solving it is the key to success. Searchers
use more than point of entry; SEO/PPC/banners/email.”
Hitwise UK Top 20 searches for overseas destinations,
week ending 17 March 2007
1. Disneyland Paris
2. Cheap flights to Tenerife
3. Flights to Tenerife
4. Flights to Cyprus
5. Cheap flights to Malaga
6. Amsterdam
7. Ferries to France
8. New York hotels
9. Car hire Cyprus
10. Cheap flights to Lanzarote
11. Cheap flights to New York
12. Madeira
13. Flights to Australia
14. Ferries to Ireland
15. Cheap flights to Cyprus
16. Flights to Canada
17. Edinburgh
18. Disneyland
19. Cyprus holidays
20. Flights to New York
24
Hitwise UK Top 20 searches for British destinations,
week ending 17 March 2007
11. Blackpool
12. London
13. Lake District
14. Centreparcs
15. York Hotels
16. Isle of Wight
17. Warwick Castle
18. Legoland Windsor
19. Cadbury World
20. Jersey
1. Alton Towers
2. Butlins
3. Thorpe Park
4. Centre Parcs
5. Legoland
6. Centre Parks
7. Center Parcs
8. Longleat
9. Centerparcs
10. Blackpool Pleasure Beach
Rank Search Term Volume
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Easyjet Ryanair AA route planner Thomas cook Multimap First choice Train times Google maps Google earth Trip advisor 0.81%
0.79%
0.64%
0.54%
0.52%
0.47%
0.46%
0.42%
0.39%
0.37%
Hitwise, 2008
25
I n t e r n e t Ve r t i c a l S e r i e s
Tr a v e l
Holiday must reads
– diaries of real travel bookings
Jessica, 26
When booking our trip to St Ives we wanted it to be a bit more than just
the standard B&B so we went on to a search engine and searched for
‘luxury B&Bs’ in St Ives. More than expected came up on the results
page. We then had to sieve through the search results. We knew
exactly what type of accommodation we wanted, it was just finding it in
the right location and price range that was the hardest part.
Once we had chosen the perfect B&B online we did the actual booking
part over the phone. Typing ‘things to do in St Ives’ into the search
engine brought up a few options for local activities, www.stives-cornwall.
co.uk contained several categories from accommodation, restaurants, to
things to do and local transport.
Finally we wanted to plan our route there so we typed ‘map to St Ives’
into a search engine and used the first link in the search listings which
was ‘Google Maps’. From there we were able to specify our destination
and print off directions.
Mike, 55
A lot of my family live up north in Leeds so I am often travelling up there
to visit them. I often visit the same few websites before booking and I
always book online. I am an account member on most of the leading
train booking sites such as thetrainline.com and virgintrains.co.uk, so
I often receive e-flyers promoting particular discounts or live travel info
that helps me when deciding when to go and how to plan my route.
These often influence when I travel. I also often use nationalrail.co.uk
because it informs you about any service disruptions to my journey.
26
Emma, 18
After much thought I decided I wanted to go travelling around the
world, leaving a month after initially making the decision. Being on
a budget and short of time I found researching online to be the
most efficient way to do this. After searching for a few travel agents
I decided to go with STA who I had heard of through an email they
sent to my hotmail account. Having booked the actual ticket in store,
the rest I had to do online. That included hostels, insurance and
internal flights. I did this by typing the ‘destination’ and ‘hostel’ into
a search engine. Organising the trip online was very straightforward
and convenient considering the time difference, cost of calling the
chosen destination and variety of information available instantly at my
fingertips.
Dan, 44
We fly to Japan to visit family about once a year. We usually book
through the same travel agency as they specialise in flights to Japan
and nearly always have the cheapest fares.
This year we’ve booked to fly out in October. Firstly we checked the
general price of flights through a few of the bigger flight comparison
sites Cheapflights.co.uk, Opodo.co.uk etc. Having had a look at these
we decided that October was the cheapest time to fly and made a
note of the prices quoted. We then called the specialist agency who
have just set up their new ecommerce site and said that if we booked
through their website they could offer a further discount. Checking
the same flights through their website, the price was considerably
cheaper for a direct flight so we booked there and then.
27
I n t e r n e t Ve r t i c a l S e r i e s
Tr a v e l
What should travel marketers
be doing online?
With the consistent rise in the popularity of social
networking sites – not just among the younger
generations – travel agents and brochures are no
longer the sole source of information and influence for
today’s traveller. Advertisers are jumping on tools that
were not intended to be commercial, as a quick look
at sites like YouTube and Bebo will illustrate. It is no
wonder sites such as Facebook have over 100 travelrelated applications on its site. The popularity of social
networking sites is also apparent in people’s activities
once home from their holidays; reviews are written on
sites such as TripAdvisor and Expedia and holidays
snaps are uploaded daily.
Social networking sites can offer credibility concerning
user generated content and transform a brand. Bearing
in mind future consumers and profits, the industry
experts on the next page believe that online travel service
providers should consider how the next generation are
likely to interact with their brand and essentially what
social networking means for marketers.
28
• Dr Frank Shaw of the Centre for Future Studies notes that, “in a
decade’s time those Digital Natives, who today devote most of
their online time to social networking sites like Facebook, will have
a disposable income of their own to spend on purchases such as
holidays. Established internet companies will need to respond
to this generation, but they can’t just change their strategy. This
will require an entirely new portfolio of brands. For the time being the
majority of online wealth will continue to be controlled by the Baby
Boomer generation who, due to retirement, have a great deal of
disposable income.”
• John Delaney, Principal Analyst at internet research firm Ovum, says
“one only needs to look at where young people are spending the
majority of their time online today to capture a glimpse of how this
generation will want to interact with online service providers in the
future. The new battleground for online customers will be fought
in the social networking realm. Web 2.0 social models are about
communicating and interacting with others in an open environment,
often on a collaborative basis and on a scale not seen before.”
Future trends of social networks and user-generated content
for travel
Ovumn predications
Ovum predicts user-generated content and social networking will
mutate. Some of the future trends will include:
• Enhanced user-generated content services that draw more on
mapping and location, plus developments around what users can do
with photos and how they share them.
• More ‘Second Life’-type social networks will appear.
• More selective, invitation-only specialist sites will develop alongside the
horizontal giants.
• The addition of mobile features to social networks.
• A shift towards revenue sharing. Talented amateurs in particular
will increasingly expect to be paid for what they create, which will
introduce new business dynamics and revenue models for usergenerated content.
29
I n t e r n e t Ve r t i c a l S e r i e s
Tr a v e l
What should travel marketers
be doing online?
Top 10 ‘must do’s’ for a great travel website by Catriona
Campbell and Catherine Fox, Foviance – experts in usability.
1. Researching and booking travel online has never been more
popular, recent figures suggest that up to 55% of internet users in
the UK book their holidays online. However there is still room for
improvement when considering the overall customer experience.
2. Get the beginning of the search process right. Most well
known travel websites score well for the first step of the booking
process, featuring a prominent search engine on the homepage.
However, many search engines still can’t respond intelligently
when users misspell city or airport names. Ensure that reasonable
alternatives are offered. Although we concede it might be
unreasonable for search engines to correctly spell names such as
Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu (a
town in New Zealand!).
3. Customers can now book a holiday at very short notice and
even on a whim. Search engines should facilitate both the long-term
planner and the ‘whim’ customer; for example, incorporate searches
for weekends or long weekends and offer choices either side of their
selected date.
4. Travel websites should allow customers to sort search results by
a range of categories such as price and star ratings. Poorly presented
results pages can be a nightmare for customers to negotiate – too
much choice is often no choice at all!
5. Customers will soon migrate to another travel website if they are
confronted by a convoluted and painful booking process! In addition,
few travel websites offer the facility to save searches from individual
sessions - such features will encourage repeat visits.
6. Traditional online channels such as ‘word of mouth’ have an
online equivalent in the form of user and peer reviews. It is becoming
more common for customers to post pictures, videos and write ups
of their travel experiences on travel websites where such facilities are
available. These reviews can be important influencers for potential
customers.
30
7. A recent Forrester report found that online customers
favoured special offers/coupons and customer ratings/reviews at
the top of their list of expected content on travel websites.
8. Foviance research has also shown that online customers no
longer want a ‘flat’ online experience when using travel websites.
They want to be engaged in the process of looking for their
holiday and a variety of multi media resources.
9. For example videos (website based and user generated),
localised interactive maps (such as Google mash ups), travel
widgets (to add to MySpace, Facebook, personal web pages
and blogs), and apps (to do lists, planners etc) are important new
trends featured on progressive travel websites. One travel website
provider is going that one step further and experimenting with
creating a virtual travel community within Second Life to promote
its brand and to target the student traveller market!
10. Finally, remember that an accessible website is also a usable
one! Many travel websites still fail to meet basic accessibility
standards. Common accessibility issues found on travel websites
include: images without alt text, the reliance on JavaScript for
navigation, the use of inappropriate colour palettes offering poor
contrasts and confusing navigation.
From the search results that you browse, are they mainly in the....?
Special offers/coupons
46%
User ratings/reviews
45%
42%
Product or price comparison tools
34%
Customer testimonials
20%
Product videos
Ability to subscribe to email
alerts or ASS alerts
20%
Discussion boards/forums
19%
Ability to personalize the site
or create a personal profile
18%
Quizzes or questionnaires
12%
Ability to upload or view
your own content
Entertaining games
9%
6%
31
I n t e r n e t Ve r t i c a l S e r i e s
Tr a v e l
What should travel marketers
be doing online?
Better Together – The value of combining search and display
in a travel campaign by Nick Drew, EMEA Search Research
Manager, Microsoft Advertising.
“We know consumers don’t restrict themselves to one medium when
thinking about making a purchase, but use different media to make a
decision. So the ideal campaign shouldn’t be restricted to one medium
or channel, but should mirror that consumer journey, presenting the
consumer with a relevant message at each stage of the process.
Working with comScore and a major travel campaign, we were able to
show that an online travel campaign that uses both search and display
is more effective than one that
makes
use of only one of these formats.”
The
Research
start term
The research
13.5
11.9
5FTU
$POUSPM
Exposed to campaign
Not exposed to campaign
14.1
%JTQMBZ
POMZ
$POUSPM
4FBSDI
POMZ
$POUSPM
4FBSDI"/%
EJTQMBZ
$POUSPM
• Consumers selected from comScore’s online panel
• Control samples carefully matched to test groups
t$POTVNFSTTFMFDUFEGSPNDPN4DPSFTPOMJOFQBOFM
• Behaviour of the groups during and after the campaign compared
t$POUSPMTBNQMFTDBSFGVMMZNBUDIFEUPUFTUHSPVQT
t#FIBWJPVSPGUIFHSPVQTEVSJOHBOEBGUFSUIFDBNQBJHODPNQBSFE
Display and search: driving response
The chart shows the increase in site traffic
stemming from the different elements of
the advertising.
32
The chart on the previous page shows the increase in traffic to
the advertiser website generated by the different elements of the
campaign; the combination of search and display was much more
effective than either the search or the display elements on their own.
Display and search: driving engagement
The increase in page impressions generated by each element of the
advertising campaign was tracked.
Display and search: driving purchases?
ComScore’s tracking recorded consumers as far as making a
purchase on the advertiser’s site. Again, the combination of the
search and display elements of the campaign was much more
effective in increasing sales than either element on its own.
33
I n t e r n e t Ve r t i c a l S e r i e s
Tr a v e l
What should travel marketers
be doing online?
• Across measures of response, engagement and (most importantly!)
sales, the combined search and display advertising was much more
effective than either search or display in isolation.
• While the concept of integrating these elements in an online schedule
isn’t new, this research reinforces the importance and value of
combining search and display formats in an online travel campaign.
Microsoft Advertising, 2008
Yahoo! agree that integrating search and display ads
significantly increase engagement and purchases:
• Online is the starting point of the consumer journey; as such, online
advertising is highly influential at every stage of the process
• Display stimulates awareness and places your brand top-of-mind
• Search is used throughout:
•
•
t the early/mid stages to gather information
A
At the end stage to assist in the final purchase decision
• While individual exposure to search or display advertising is effective
in driving lifts in visitation, engagement and purchasing – the
advertising is most effective when a user is exposed to both forms:
•
•
tilise display’s strength in reach
U
Combined with search’s strength in sales lift
Search & Display > Filling complimentary roles
Search & Display Audience
Combining both leads
to a greater sales
uplift and a wider
audience reach
mass reach =
greater sales
volume
34
highly
targeted =
greater sales
se decision based on start term
13.5
1
Search & Display > Better push down the funnel
Search & Display > Better push down the funnel
2
11.9
14.1
c 33 m 100 y 0 k 8
Key Stages of the Customer Purchase Funnel
c 0 m 3 y 100 k 30
0 m 98.82 y 12.55 k 0
c 0 m 0 y 0 k 61
c 0 m 35 y 85 k 0
c 0 m 61 y 97 k 0
c 60 m 47 y 0 k 30
Online Display Advertising:
Helps create brand short-list for
in-market shoppers
Initial Awareness:
‘First Learn’
Information Gathering:
‘Further Learn’
Purchase Decision:
‘Most Influenced’
Search Engine Marketing:
Allows shoppers to obtain more
information on short-listed brands
Search Engine Marketing & Websites:
Aids in final comparison by routing to blogs,
consumer reviews and corporate risks
oated
Yahoo!, 2008
Affiliate marketing and the travel industry – The perfect
travelling companion? From Platform-A’s buy.at
“Affiliate marketing is particularly effective for the travel
sector because of the diversity of publishers, ranging
from those who create targeted and relevant content
for a campaign, integrating sophisticated tools such
as ‘travel wizards’, to those that harvest the long tail
through niche sites and blogs. Successful aggregators
such as Expedia and Lastminute have made excellent
use of this channel.”
- Michael Steckler, MD, Platform-A.
35
I n t e r n e t Ve r t i c a l S e r i e s
Tr a v e l
What should travel marketers
be doing online?
Travel marketers spend an average of 16% of their online
budget in the channel to drive 18% of their online sales and revealed the following facts:
• 18% of online travel sales are driven through affiliate marketing.
• Affiliate marketing delivers good volume for 84% of travel brands.
• 56% of travel marketers find affiliate marketing ‘very cost effective’.
84% of marketers in the travel sector say that affiliate
marketing drives a high or medium volume and 56% report it
is very cost effective for customer acquisition.
• 71% of travel companies have increased their spend on affiliate
marketing over the past two years and around a quarter of travel
firms, have at least doubled their investment in the channel.
• Barriers to further growth in this sector include restricted budgets
which are considered a ‘major’ or ‘minor’ barrier by more than half
the sample.
• 68% also see ‘lack of internal resource’ as a barrier compared with
61% of respondents who work in financial services.
• More than half the travel marketers surveyed also see difficulty in
attracting affiliates as a barrier and a third consider problems with
tracking as a barrier.
“85% of people have been on both domestic trips
and abroad in the past 12 months. That leaves just
under 15% who have booked a holiday in the UK or
abroad but not yet travelled, dispelling myths that
people are staying home because of fears over the
credit crunch.”
- Linda Fox, Travolution
36
Observations and trends in travel by Five by Five Digital
Taking the whole family
• Multi-generational holidays are becoming the norm requiring
operators to accommodate the needs of children, parents and
grandparents in one hit. This is happening because of the aging
profile of our nation and more wealthy grandparents taking a more
active role in family lives.
Eco-friendly
• Altruism and eco-friendly holidays will also become increasingly
important, especially with the trend to explore new, unseen lands.
The holiday must be both sustainable and awe-inspiring. A difficult
balance but one that can deliver both stand-out and ability to charge
a premium for the operator.
Mass premiumisation re-defines luxury
• The luxury bar is being raised as the mass market has been able to
afford ever more exotic holidays funded either on credit and home
equity.
• To counter this, inconspicuous consumption has replaced
ostentation and garishness in search of unique and authentic
experiences, setting true luxury holidays apart. This seeking of new
experiences is also re-defining that luxury doesn’t always equate to
highly expensive; exclusivity, lesser-travelled paths and differentiated
places to capture the imagination and provide social currency as the
new commodities.
• This is re-enforced by up and coming destinations in China, India,
Africa, the Middle East and Southern America competing with the
traditional mainstay long-haul destinations. Train travel is discovering
it’s own romantic renaissance with Eurostar renewing the interest in
France. Traditional luxury cruising is also making a return with two in
five luxury holidays.
eMarketer, Brand Republic, Luxury Institute, MinTel
37
I n t e r n e t Ve r t i c a l S e r i e s
Tr a v e l
What should travel marketers
be doing online?
The credit crunch impact
• The luxury sector is fairly robust when it comes to the predicted
credit crunch because of the wealth of the consumers in the sector.
Reductions in city bonuses may have moderate repercussions.
The mainstream will no longer be able to afford to trade up so the
budget break will return en masse.
Catch late bookers – search strategy tips from Google:
The highest query volume exists across the travel sector from June
through to August to drive customers to your site:
1. Ensure budgets are in place for peak annual traffic.
2. Ensure bidding is most aggressive at the start of the period.
3. Allocate budget for late summer booking opportunity when
efficiency is greater.
4. Assign budget for late August bank holiday weekend.
4 key areas of opportunity for 2009:
Queries are growing aligned with holiday periods; post- Easter surge
in searches coincided with school holidays, peaking in the 7 days up
to 12th April in 2008 at 39% y-o-y growth.
1. Anticipate query growth of over 30% over the summer when
setting budgets.
2. C
laim excess search inventory arising from industry capacity
reductions.
3. O
ptimise positioning by varying CPCs in cost-effective shoulder
periods.
4. A
nticipate aggressive CPC bidding at peak times with less industry
capacity and consequently higher late prices.
Google, ‘Searching for the Sun’, 2008
38
“Most travel companies don’t think about customer
relationships; they make the booking, and don’t take
it any further….if someone has come to you, you
should be building a relationship with them so they
come back. The travel industry is slow to realise the
potential of each customer; it’s good at bringing in
sales, but not good at going after repeat business.
It is much cheaper to hold on to existing customers
than it is to bring in new ones.”
- Phyllis Nsiah, Marketing Manager, KnowledgeWire Systems
Channel convergence and customer engagement from
Russell Gould, Director of Ecommerce, Thomas Cook.
Thomas Cook retains their customer base and builds upon their
brand through channel convergence and customer engagement:
Customer Contact
• By using a defined 4 point strategic plan Thomas Cook are able to
retain old and acquire new customers.
• Maintaining customer contact through email marketing – from ‘your
holiday countdown starts here’ to the post holiday review.
• Customer review pages and a ranking facility, putting the customer
forward as a ‘brand advocate’.
• Building a customer to customer relationship regarding the brand.
39
I n t e r n e t Ve r t i c a l S e r i e s
Tr a v e l
What should travel marketers
be doing online?
Thomas Cook
Engage
• Successful customer engagement produces the right results so they
keep coming back.
• Understanding how the modern consumer thinks and behaves and
therefore what they expect from their travel retailer.
Social Media
• Allowing the customer to create a shortlist and send it to their
travelling companions makes it easier and more specific and
convenient for the customer, creating a ‘simplified journey around
the site’.
E-magazine
• Merging traditional email communication with video to produce an
interactive and engaging e-magazine/flyer. Thomas Cook had a
very positive response, 40% clicked through to the website via the
e-magazine.
40
It’s all about the customer
• Make holiday search easier by remembering key factors about your
customer - make them feel valued.
• It’s a crowded market so avoid the temptation of a ‘hard sell’
approach with customers.
• Reach out to them discretely and sensibly so not to alienate.
“Email should never be seen as a standalone
medium, but should be one of a number of integrated
communication channels used throughout the
contact lifecycle. With a lot of competition in the
travel sector from both established intermediaries
and social media sites, travel companies must focus
on improving the relationship with their users by
providing relevant, engaging content that will keep
the user coming back regularly and delivering this
content across whatever channel the user prefers –
at the time the user requests it, and in the format the
user asks for”.
- Stuart Aplin, Account Director, Steak
Travolution’s 22 travel must have touch points
Pre Booking
1. S
earching for inspiration
Websites with unique, quirky or interesting content can be optimised
for natural search allowing sites to reach users before they have
formed their travel plans. Sites can appear against search terms that
would be viable in paid search but allow user engagement at a very
early stage of the travel planning process.
41
I n t e r n e t Ve r t i c a l S e r i e s
Tr a v e l
What should travel marketers
be doing online?
2. C
losing the loop through search
ICM research suggests that 47% of users watch TV with a laptop
connected to the internet at the same time. Tying in offline activity with
paid search campaigns maximises the effectiveness of both channels
as users go online to find more information.
3. O
nline PR
Well-managed online PR will have a positive effect on natural search
rankings through appearing on sites such as Google news, gaining
inbound links and creating extra content to publish on your website.
Search engines love sites that regularly publish new, unique content.
4. C
ontextual Advertising
As well as paying for ‘adwords’ in search results, which promote
‘sponsored links’, travel firms can sponsor them for AdSense, and
advertise on websites with content that is contextually linked to their
travel or holiday services.
5. E
mail Marketing
When designed and targeted well, email messages can drive huge
numbers to a website or particular promotion – even if the recipient
was not looking for a product. Travelzoo, provider of the weekly Top
20 newsletter, pioneered the concept of pushing lists of late deals
or distressed stock to consumers. It has since attracted 12 million
subscribers in 14 countries.
On Holiday
6. S
MS alerts
Mobile will undoubtedly be the next big thing, but for the time being
– when up against the influence of other media channels and touch
points – it remains arguably at its most relevant in-resort.
42
Purchase
7. A
ffiliate networks
Affiliate marketing allows travel firms to invite third-party websites to
host links, usually in the form of banner ads, buttons or text ads, and
these affiliates are paid according to a cost-per-action model when
a click results in a sale. Advertising should be tailored to appropriate
partner sites.
8. P
rice-comparison site
Price comparison is easier on the internet than feature comparisons.
Websites such as Cheapflights are able to automate price
comparisons from a variety of advertisers.
9. M
eta-search engines
Travel meta-search is similar to price comparison but with one crucial
difference: it doesn’t rely on the source of a product to freely hand over
the cost and availability. Allowing sites to grab content throws open
the floodgates for consumers to view products on sites the source
may never have come across.
10. N
avigational Search (brand)
According to Hitwise, 88% of searches in the UK are for brand names.
A clear and effective strategy for both paid and natural search is vital
for every travel website.
11. S
earching for the best options
Typical searches for ‘flight + destination’ or ‘ hotel + destination’ give
travel websites the opportunity to market to consumers who have
framed the purchase decision but not decided where they want to
purchase their travel. Deep-linking to relevant content is the key to
providing a great user experience.
12. S
earching for the best price
As opposed to the classic sales funnel, the online pipeline often opens
back up again as users search for the best deal. Showing accurate
prices in the copy is a great way to drive users to your site – beware
though – you must deliver on these prices!
43
I n t e r n e t Ve r t i c a l S e r i e s
Tr a v e l
What should travel marketers
be doing online?
On your way
13. T
ext services
More travel firms are using SMS or text messages to stay in touch
with their customers as they get away. EasyJet and Opodo have
launched a SMS service enabling customers to receive a text
containing flight details. It is designed to nurture loyalty with the
brand.
Research
14. E
-brochures
As well as being cheaper to distribute, electronic brochures are
also greener. Ian Champness, founding director of online affiliate
marketing firm Travel – where, says e-brochures also offer better
conversion rates and return on investment. As for the consumer
there’s instant choice and convenience.
15. S
ocial networks
Social networking is a good way for travel brands to get consumers.
For example, Facebook has a group titled “CUBA – for those who
love to travel to CUBA!!” which has 200 members. Other specialist
social networking sites include WAYN.com. Key marketing on this
media is not to ‘spam’ members, but to interact, offering valuable
information and services.
16. U
ser-Review website
Brand exposure is guaranteed on the plethora of user review sites
currently streaming into every corner of the online travel experience
– but the message is not always positive. The pioneer and current
market leader TripAdvisor, brings in around 30 million globally and
attracts advertising from hotels, tour operators, online travel agencies
and airlines.
17. D
estination information search
Well-optimised sites with unique content such as city guides, or
better still, ideas for activities have a strong likelihood of appearing in
the natural search results.
44
18. B
rand comparison research
The internet makes comparison between brands easy. Just key
‘Thistle’ and ‘Raddison’ into TripAdvisor.com to understand how
consumers can find out what people really think about brands. In
January Hayes and Jarvis said it experienced an increase in bookings
online simply after adding TripAdvisor reviews to its website.
19. R
SS Feeds
Internet–savvy consumers can set up RSS feeds to their email
account or personalised webpage.
When they return
20. R
eview Sites and User Generated Content
Travellers who’ve used review sites to help pick their holiday
providers may want to feed back information on to the same site.
Likewise, holiday makers often like to give their opinion about a
package holiday to the operator or agent they brought from. Making
feedback forums easy to find and use can reinforce a positive brand
impression. UGC can have significant natural search benefits for
your website.
21. P
hotosharing websites
Standalone image hosting sites such as Flickr (from Yahoo!) and
Picaso (Google), alongside the photo capabilities of social networks,
offer enormous opportunities to get back in front of customers at the
moment when they are at their most ‘soft’ – in other words when the
memorable moments of a holiday fuel ideas of taking another trip.
22. P
ost Trip Survey
The business benefit of producing a ‘Welcome Home’ email
is arguably one of the most difficult touch points to pull off. If
implemented well the message will go along way in helping firms
understand how to retain the customer.
45
I n t e r n e t Ve r t i c a l S e r i e s
Tr a v e l
Which brands are flying high
with their online activity?
“The internet has helped create the ‘empowered’
consumer – travel companies need to be able to offer
more than just the best price – a scenario that could
see the balance of power shift yet again.”
- Martin Cowen, Travolution
Targeting the youth of today from STA:
• STA Travel uses a mixture of online and traditional media to reach its
target student audience.
• Marketing Director Celia Pronto says the starting point is to identify
what they are consuming, the sites where they are spending time and
what they are doing while they are there.
• “This audience moves
and changes so rapidly
and it’s vital to understand
their behaviour, identify
what strategy would
work in those areas and
how the STA brand fits
into them, then make the
commercials work.”
46
• Pronto says search remains a staple marketing ingredient but she
detects a notable shift in the development and adoption of new
technologies, such as social media.
• “We have some annual campaigns that are key for us from a
strategic and return-on-investment point of view: a big round-theworld campaign at the start of the year, a gap year campaign for
the A-level results season and a big Australia campaign towards the
back end of the year. There’s a constant level of experimentation
around new campaigns. We build our budgets sensibly, based on all
channels including new technology.”
Silver Surfers come of age on the internet with Warner Breaks:
• Warner Breaks’ integrated online marketing strategy reflects the
increasing confidence of the over-50s market in terms of internet use.
• Warner’s strategy combines search (paid and natural), banner
advertising, affiliate networks paid on a commission basis, and
e-mail marketing.
• “You can’t sponsor on wildly different search terms. We have to find
terms that will appeal to the 50+ market. And our methods tend
to be less intrusive, not loud, shouty or gimmicky. But the returns
on banner advertising are getting much stronger and the wider
opportunities – Teletext, Ancestry sites, Friends Reunited – generate
large volumes of reach.” Matthew Finch, Online Sales and Marketing
Manager, Warner Breaks.
• Finch says this is an increasingly important part of the strategy but
the rise of email marketing has been the most significant feature of
the past year.
• “Our database has trebled in the past 12 months, and we’re now
able to segment it into different groups and tailor our messages for
each group.”
47
I n t e r n e t Ve r t i c a l S e r i e s
Tr a v e l
Which brands are flying high with
their online activity?
Optimising the National Express checkout process for better
returns from Maxymiser:
• National Express had identified an opportunity to lower the abandon
rate from the third page of the checkout process for their coach booking
website. This blockage resulted in visitors who had already indicated
some intent to buy leaving the site.
• Maxymiser’s team executed a number of subtle alterations to content
and calls to action on the page with the aim of stimulating visitor
engagement and driving a higher percentage of visitors through to
successful conversion.
• It was decided that a
multivariate test would be
the most effective approach
to determine the best
performing combination of
content. The variants jointly
developed by Maxymiser
and the client were tested
with all live site visitors and
the conversion rate of each
combination monitored.
• Hundreds of possible page combinations were tried, during the live
test the underperforming combinations were taken out to maximise
conversion rates at every stage. At the end of the testing period, after
reaching statistical validity, Maxymiser provided National Express with
conclusive results showing a push of 14.11% more visitors through to
the 4th and final step in the registration process, immediately hitting
bottom line revenue for National Express.
• “Maxymiser’s technology has allowed us to gain valuable insight into the
effect that copy has on visitors during a buying process. The 14% uplift
we have gained through this initial engagement has lowered our cost per
acquisition and allows us to be more competitive in our traffic acquisition
efforts.” Kevin Milnes, Head of E-commerce at National Express.
48
Using viral to engage and build a potential customer database
for Cosmos Lapland Christmas Holidays by Cowan Group:
• Cowan Group produced a viral game, ‘The Snowbell Prize’, as it was
a fun and interactive way to raise awareness of Cosmos Lapland
Christmas Holidays. The tone of voice needed to be just right so that
it would single out families and bring children into the decision making
process.
• Participants could only enter the prize draw if the viral email was
forwarded on to a friend; this meant a database of names and qualified
email addresses was achieved easily.
• The viral game received 23,000 plays during a 2-week period on the
run up to Christmas and achieved over 2,000 additional opted-in email
addresses and comfortably exceeded the number of bookings target.
• The game was ‘sticky’ enough to generate interest and competitive
enough to encourage the player to pass the game onto others. With
email sign-up, the game also helped to build a large database of
names and contact details.
Combining SEO, PPC and social media to boost awareness of
Enjoy England from Steak:
• Enjoy England’s mission is to grow the value of tourism throughout
England all year round so they got in touch with Steak to build brand
awareness online using an integrated campaign of paid search (PPC),
search engine optimisation (SEO) and display advertising to target both
UK residents and international visitors.
• A social search project was also implemented to enable Enjoy England
to interact with its UK target. Steak tested the client’s presence
on Yahoo! Answers by answering the public’s questions regarding
destinations and accommodation in England. The answers and site
links posted by Steak received a number of “best answer” awards from
Yahoo! users. This substantive use of Web 2.0 websites has allowed
Enjoy England to operate as a virtual tourist information centre.
49
I n t e r n e t Ve r t i c a l S e r i e s
Tr a v e l
Which brands are flying high with
their online activity?
• The Enjoy England website has witnessed a 1928% increase in visitor
traffic from PPC since the campaign was taken over. This translates
to an increased awareness of the brand as per the objectives, as well
as greater enjoyment by native and non native visitors alike.
Using communication, transparency and innovation to
increase your affiliate programme from Disneyland Resort
Paris and Tradedoubler:
• Affiliate workshops and exclusive cinema screenings were held
for top affiliates and prospective affiliates to build relations and
encourage engagement with the programme. Securing key
promotional slots including featured placements on the TradeDoubler
interface and sponsorship of a bi-weekly affiliate newsletter to convey
the benefits of the Disneyland Resort Paris programme.
• Gave affiliates access to ‘magikit’ (http://magikit.co.uk/register.
asp), an extra resource site for partners to download creative, logos,
approved copy and additional Disney content. This made it even
easier and more attractive for affiliates to promote the Disneyland
Resort Paris brand.
• When comparing the first quarters of 2007 and 2008, Disneyland
Resort Paris increased sales through their affiliate programme
by 82%. Online sales in FY07 represented 45% of Disneyland’s
consumer direct business and internet sales have grown +80% in
FY06 and +23% in FY07.
• Disneyland Resort Paris has gone further than any of their closest
rivals in building affiliate relationships and investing in the success of
their programme. They introduced new incentives and commission
levels, as well as access to Magikit, which was traditionally only
available to offline partners, and this has demonstrated great results
to date.
50
Conquering the skies through online display for BA’s Club
World by Agency.com:
• Agency.com identified the 2.6million regular business fliers,
1.6million of which have not flown with BA in the previous 12
months as key targets to reach from the campaign.
• ‘The Grade’ part of Times Online hosted many different forms of
display presenting the new Club World service. MPU’s, banners,
rectangles and square in-page units. Please see image below for
interaction rates.
• 0.3% of users seeing the MPU ad played with one of the features,
suggesting that within a contextually relevant page such as The
Grade, users are much more inclined to interact.
• During September 2007 to February 2008 the drive to page activity
delivered 35k+ users to the Club World site, from the Grade section,
with on average each user viewing the page for 2 minutes and 4
seconds.
51
I n t e r n e t Ve r t i c a l S e r i e s
Tr a v e l
Which brands are flying high with
their online activity?
Improving Virgin Holidays direct sales through website
improvements from Underwire:
• Specialist digital eCRM agency, Underwired, has been producing
Virgin Holidays’ eCRM programme and tactical email marketing
campaigns for the past five years, with impressive results, including:
£3 million of direct sales from the first email; average click-through
rate of 48%; and an increase in average spend per customer by 6%.
• Underwired strategic planner Ellie Beasley says: “Virgin Holidays had
tried online advertising, it had a reasonable website, and there was
the occasional email newsletter. The team knew that more could
be archived, but needed some help to bring it all together under
a unified digital strategy based around customer acquisition and
retention.”
• Underwired redesigned the website to make it easier to use, and to
bring bookings to the homepage. It then produced fast-turnaround
online campaigns, which were tracked. This culminated in the worlds
largest travel industry eCRM programme. Last year five million emails
were sent across 40 industry segments.
• As well as generating £3 million in direct sales from the first email
alone, the Underwired initiative helped move 6% of sales from agents
to direct channels, with a direct impact on the bottom line. Some
22% of all holiday bookings are now made online, and the eCRM
programmes core campaign generates around £1 for every £26
spent.
52
5 social network applications
1. ’Geckogo!’ on Bebo
4. ‘Cities I’ve Visited’
by Trip Advisor
on Facebook
2. ‘TravBuddy’ by TravBuddy
on Facebook
3. ‘Trip Countdown’ by
STA Travel on Myspace
5. ‘Travel Brain’ by users
of Facebook
53
I n t e r n e t Ve r t i c a l S e r i e s
Tr a v e l
Which brands are flying high with
their online activity?
3 IAB / Microsoft Advertising Creative Showcase Award winning
campaigns
British Airways
Attractive Prices
by Agency.com
- June 2007 runner up
http://portfolio.london.
agency.com/clients/ba/
attractive%5Fprices%5Fcs/
Graham Fink, MC Saatchi
“Great user interaction”
Virgin Trains
Nature Speaks
by Glue London
- October 2007 winner
http://www.gluelondon.
com/showcase/2007/
creativeshowcaseoctober.html
Giles Montgomery, Creative
Director Grand Union:
“Yes, these are TV spots disguised
as banners. But they’re miles more
fun and engaging than most of the
interactive nonsense out there.”
54
Emirates
Non Stop Fernando
by Lean Mean Fighting Machine
- November 2007 winner
http://www.leanmeanfighting
machine.co.uk/awards/emirates/
nonstopfernando/
Matt Powell, UK Creative Director
Profero:
“I predict this campaign to go on to
win gold at Cannes. It answers the
brief, communicates the message,
but has a bit of lunacy about it. I love
it, especially the ad where you can
enter any timecode.”
55
I n t e r n e t Ve r t i c a l S e r i e s
Tr a v e l
The reviews are in!
NMA site inspections
Openskies
www.flyopenskies.com
Nic Howell - 05.05.08
The website is clear and clutter free. The look and feel of the website
is effective but the branding is consistently pretentious throughout
with quotes such as, ‘every seat exceptional’.
Scores:
Content
Usability
Branding
Monetisation
Total
14/25
17/25
20/25
20/25
71/100
National Express East Coast
www.nationalexpresseastcoast.com
Suzanne Bearne - 10.01.08
An excellent initiative for frequent travellers who want to grab cheap
tickets is the advanced ticket alert. Overall it’s a clear fresh looking
site.
56
Scores:
Content
Usability
Branding
Monetisation
Total
19/25
19/25
14/25
21/25
73/100
Tropical Sky
www.tropicalsky.co.uk
Greg Brooks - 23.02.06
Other sites will have a more comprehensive range of destinations and
hotels, but there are some competitively priced deals on offer here. The
site keeps you wanting more, however online booking isn’t available
you have to phone.
Scores:
Content
Usability
Branding
Monetisation
Total
57
15/25
21/25
18/25
5/25
59/100
I n t e r n e t Ve r t i c a l S e r i e s
Tr a v e l
Dos & Don’ts
Dos:
Do - expand keyword lists for local attractions and most
popular destinations.
Do - develop ad creatives and search campaigns tailored to
the highest growth destinations.
Do - ensure separate budget for peak holiday query periods
(June – August) and allocate budget for august bank holiday
and late summer bookings.
Do - remember customers judge on experience and they can
share these with the world via social networking sites.
Do - implement technology correctly – carry out ruthless
testing to ensure inefficient implementation does not create a
bad user experience.
58
Don’t:
Don’t - advertise prices in copy which are not actually
available.
Don’t - always generalise; tailor you message to your
audience but don’t alienate other demographics.
Don’t - focus on one discipline, there are a variety of tools
out there and research shows using different disciplines such
as search and display are more effective together.
Don’t - use the same approach for all mediums i.e. TV,
print and online. What works on one might not work on the
other. Tailor your message, focusing on the strengths of each
specific meduim.
Don’t - generalise eflyers and newsletters, target them
properly so as not to alienate customers.
59
I n t e r n e t Ve r t i c a l S e r i e s
Tr a v e l
Acknowledgements
Contributors
Chloe Chadwick
Marketing Executive, IAB
Harriet Clarke
Team Assistant, IAB
Adam Oldfield
Web Assistant, IAB
Amy Kean
Senior PR and Marketing Manager, IAB
Sorcha Proctor
Research Manager, IAB
With thanks to…
Travolution, Guardian, Askmen, Times Online, Travel Supermarket,
Hitwise, Google, Nielsen//NetRatings, Harvest Digital, comScore,
Foviance, Crescent Communications, Netizen Digital, Ovumn,
Microsoft Advertising, Yahoo!, Platform A, Buy.at, Five by Five
Digital, Thomas Cook, Steak, STA, Virgin Holidays, Warner Breaks,
Maxymiser, Cowan Group, Disney, Tradedoubler, Agency.com,
Underwire, NMA.
60
Drawings by
Amelie Matthews (Aged 6)
travel
Travel online is booming, not least because of
new products and services offered by marketers
and retailers, such as emagazines and personalised
videos that continue to make the customer experience
just that little bit more convenient, and engaging.
Take a trip through the third instalment of the
IAB Vertical Series, Travel and explore the latest trends
in consumer behaviour, case studies, recent statistics
and venture of the beaten track with useful links, tips
and other travel essentials.
14 Macklin Street, London WC2B 5NF
tel: +44 (0)20 7050 6969 • fax: +44 (0)20 7242 9928 • email: info@iabuk.net