Sorry, We Are Not In Right Now

Hi,

Thanks for checking out our blog, we really appreciate it.

However, our blog has moved to http://travel2dot0.wordpress.com/

Sorry that you have to visit another site to find us, but it is worth it...we have all of our 'classic' posts and comments on the new blog, plus a ton of new thoughts and ideas.

Why are we moving? Basically, Blogger failed us and never responded to our emails and requests. A clear example of poor customer service...too bad, we liked Blogger.

Come over and see us on the new blog.

Regards,
Troy and Mo
Showing posts with label Delta. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Delta. Show all posts

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Travel Trends - Deltalina, YouTube, Michigan, Wealthy Consumers


Deltalina - From now on, all Delta flights are smokin'. (Zing!)

That oh so cute line from the Atlanta Journal Constitution is in reference to the increasing publicity that Delta and more specifically, Katherine Lee (
Delta + Angelina (Jolie) = Deltalina...which was thankfully not coined by yours truly) is receiving from the mainstream media and YouTube. Our friends over at Under the Wing premiered the new in-flight video on the blog February 20th via YouTube. The new in-flight video was probably not the most interesting video on paper, but communicating this new video (or any new or 'exclusive' content) to a loyal group of users via a blog is an ideal way to build consumer trust and loyalty (and having Katherine in the video does not hurt). Plus, posting the video on YouTube extends the reach of the spot beyond the blog...7 comments on the Delta blog, 624 on YouTube. Not to mention over 400,000 views and national media coverage.

Which brings us to an interesting point, how does Delta measure all of that coverage?

There are several ways to address that question...number of comments, views, time spent, traditional media coverage, etc. But I would be interested to know if Delta is looking at this viral campaign as a way to sell seats or as another piece in building the new Delta brand.

http://blog.delta.com/

YouTube Launches Insight - Google has introduced a free YouTube tool that will provide those who post clips -- whether they are semiprofessionals or media conglomerates -- with deeper insights into when, where and how often their videos are viewed. Using YouTube Insight, publishers can analyze the viewing patterns of individual videos far more thoroughly than in the past, when only total views and users ratings were available. For example, with the new tool, any content producer who posts videos on YouTube can examine which days of the week or hours of the day traffic spikes; which U.S. states account for the most viewing streams; and how long particular clips remain popular.
http://www.adweek.com/

Michigan Rolls Out New Design - The team up in Michigan has launched a new design for Michigan.org. The new look is clean and uncluttered, plus easy to read. The large image in the background is a nice touch, and one that we have seen in a couple other state-level sites. However, the biggest change is breaking away from the Michigan Economic Development Corp's website. No need to tell travelers about the great tax breaks for opening a diner in Lansing...just get them to the state first.
http://www.michigan.org/

Wealthy Consumers - Some good stats from the Center for Media Research on Wealthy Consumers and social networking sites:

According to The Luxury Institute's latest WealthSurvey, the participation of wealthy online consumers in social networks dramatically increased to 60% in 2008, from 27% in 2007. Participation levels of online wealthy consumers in leading social networks are 16% for MySpace, 13% for LinkedIn, and 11% for Facebook.

A national sample of 805 wealthy American consumers, with an average income of $287K and average net worth of $2.1 million, was surveyed online. According to the report:

- The wealthy average membership in 2.8 social networks, with an average of 110 connections.

- They are intolerant of opt-out techniques, with 65% saying that having their personal data given out without permission would cause them to disconnect; 63% have an interest in "do not track" lists.

http://blogs.mediapost.com/

Friday, December 7, 2007

Travel Trends - Delta, Sweden, Ad Agencies, TripIt



Planeguage from Delta - Delta and Delta.com, who have been rapidly adopting to some of the latest interactive trends since emerging from bankrupcy, (see Delta SiteSeer Challenge, Delta SiteSeer Video and Under the Wing) have just launched a series of short, animated videos titled 'Planeguage.' The videos put a humorous spin on some of the most common challenges/hassles of airline travel. You can view the first video above or, if reading via email/rss, view the video online.

Personally, I think the videos are fantastic, from the intro music to the characters to the stories, and the spots appear to be a great way to create a viral marketing campaign around the new Delta brand. Notice that the videos are already on YouTube, and in the case of the one above, have been viewed 10,000+ times. While the videos themselves are entertaining, it will be interesting to see if consumer response is 'that is creative and fun' or 'so they are telling me they have no room on there planes.' Communicating with consumers online, what a tricky endeavor.
http://blog.delta.com/

Community of Sweden
- Always under the radar, those Swedes have been busy. Visit Sweden has just introduced what it is calling the 'Community of Sweden', the ' the official online community for Sweden,' where visitors can 'share and enjoy photos, travel stories tips and more from friends in Sweden and all over the world.' Think of it as it MySpace for people who love traveling to Sweden. As numerous DMOs begin to experiment in the UGC / Social Networking space, look for more of these communities to begin appearing. Hands down, the best feature of the site is the fantastic flash map / update tool on the homepage. Great execution on the map.
http://communityofsweden.com

Forrester: Web Shops Not Ready to Lead
- During the recent HSMAI Internet Marketing Strategy Conference, which I attended last Monday, one of the topics brought up by the attendees was what the ad agency of the future looks like. The popular answer was that the ad agency of the future has a deeper understanding of the interactive world with a solid background of 'traditional' advertising. While several interactive / online agencies are getting closer to this ideal situation, it would appear...according to this report...that we still have a while to go.
http://www.adweek.com/

TripIt Is In Sync With You - Semantic Web here we come. Travel planning service TripIt...introduced to the blog a few months ago...has launched a new service that will automatically sync your travel plans with your calendar such as Office, iCal, Google, etc. So, no more manually entering your travel dates into the calendar, TripIt does it for you. Just as a refresher, the 'hook' of TripIt is that you can forward your confirmation email to the service, which will automatically create a complete trip itinerary for you. Convenient.
http://www.tripit.com/

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Travel Trends - iloho.com, Delta SiteSeer Challenge, Royal Caribbean


iloho.com - Launched this week, this 'TripAdvisor meets Digg' travel site allows travelers to add user-generated news and reviews, which are then ranked by popularity.
http://www.iloho.com/

Delta SiteSeer Challenge
- Another major airline trying the (semi) user-created video contest (Southwest being the latter). Send in your video on why you should be in the contest, compete against 5 other teams, get video taped enjoying a Delta destination...the public votes for their favorite team, last team standing wins 1 million SkyMiles.
http://www.delta.com/challenge

Royal Caribbean Tried-and-True Travel Tips - A very controlled user-generated content offering from Royal Caribbean. Submit your best tip in response to a monthly question...a simple way to receive positive UGC.
http://www.royalcaribbean.com/

Delta Launches 'SiteSeer' Video Section


Delta Air Lines has launched SiteSeer Travelcast, a series of free, downloadable travel shows that aim to connect with passengers and highlight the travel experience of the airline's employees.

At launch, the travel videos, located at http://www.delta.com/siteseer, featured seven cities, including New York; Seoul, South Korea; and Mumbai, India, as of press time. Delta planned to launch a total of 10 videos. >>Full Story

Thoughts// Similar to some other airlines (Virgin Atlantic), Delta's new 'SiteSeer' Travelcast delivers online destination videos from real Delta employees. The travelcasts, which can be viewed online or downloaded to an iPod, take the user on a short tour of a Delta-serviced city. The videos and content are good quality, but it will be interesting to see if Delta expands this offering with more professional videos or takes the larger step and begins allowing user-generated videos on the site.