Trazzler - From the founders of 71miles and Twitter, comes the 'Where would I rather be right now?' travel site Trazzler. If you have been reading the blog for a while, you know we are big fans of 71miles and twitter, so we were excited about the new site. And like both those sites, Trazzler is quiet in design and focused on its mission. The site takes into account your location and (they say soon) your personality to deliver one travel recommendation at a time (some call it 'One Deal at a Time'). The recommendations are actually written by the human hand, rather than crudely pulled from other sites, and offer a simple description of the travel experience...don't like it, click 'next.' Integration with Kayak provides the booking engine connection for the site.
And from the Trazzler blog, a great description of the site's mission:
Trazzler's mission is to free people from the distractions and cruft of online travel research. Clear your mind and ask yourself, "Where would I rather be right now?" Then flip through trip pages designed to place you emotionally in a moment with great photography and expert travel writing. Discover travel experiences with a more natural, meandering online experience. Add to your wishlist, explore your travel personality, and take a more inspired approach to online travel—Trazzler is about making it fun.
Wonderful. The site is a refreshing re-thinking of the travel planning site model.
http://trazzler.com/
TripKick - TripKick is SeatGuru for hotels. The service allows you to search (at this time within a limited number of cities) for hotel rooms and determine which room has the best view, best bathroom or is the quietest and away from the elevator. Brilliant. For example, check out the page on the W in Seattle, the site lists what rooms are oversized and have great views. Plus, the design of the site is simple, clean and easy to use. Thank you, TripKick.
http://www.tripkick.com/
PlanetEye - More new travel sites. With backing from some large investors, including Microsoft, PlanetEye takes a slightly different angle on the 'clip and save' travel planning site with a focus on mapping (from Microsoft) and images. In addition, the site features several 'local experts' in a variety of locations.
http://www.planeteye.com
Knol - Finally, a quick note about Google's launch of Knol (a unit of knowledge), the search giant's Wikipedia challenger. Knol, in simple terms, is a user-generated content / article site, like Wikipedia. But unlike Wikipedia, Knol will and can contain multiple articles on the same subject. Plus, unless you authorize contribution from other users, no one else can edit your 'knol.' Similar to Squidoo. And what is the travel connection? Think of all the expert 'knol' pages you can create about your destination. A lot of work, sure, but the SEO returns could be worth it. Keep an eye on this site, with Google backing it is sure to grow rapidly.
http://knol.google.com
Showing posts with label Trends. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Trends. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Travel Trends - Trazzler, TripKick, PlanetEye, Knol
Monday, July 21, 2008
How To Protect Your Social Media Footprint
A lot of us in the interactive marketing world are familiar with the term 'cybersquatting,' where an individual or company sits on (or squats on) hundreds of domain names in the hopes that another organization will have no choice but to pay an inflated price for the URL.
This practice reached its peak several years ago, as the original ‘dot com’ bubble was bursting. However, there are still hundreds of thousands of domain names still being held or developed, primarily as link farms, by people and organizations who are still looking for that payday.
See arizona.com as one example. (Not linked on purpose, they are not getting SEO love from us.)
Now, with the undeniable popularity of social websites, such as Facebook and YouTube, many marketers are finding that there ideal social URL or username has been already claimed.
A little background. Most social sites allow users to select a username or nickname for the account. In addition, many of these sites also allow you to create a unique page, channel or profile.
Such as www.youtube.com/arizonatourism
The challenge is that anyone can essentially claim any ‘social URL’ that they want, regardless if they have any connection with Arizona, travel, Nike, Starbucks, your name, my name, etc.
And as more and more marketers launch campaigns with a social site component, many are finding that there brand name is already gone.
Here is what you need to do. Go out and begin registering on these social sites, whether or not you are ready to launch a campaign. Many of them will allow you to set your profile to private, meaning you can simply register your brand-specific ‘social URL’ without having to maintain a social presence. And while that seems so anti-social, at least your social URL will be there when you are ready.
Social Sites (travel and non-travel) You Need To Protect:Social URL / Marketing Tips:
TripAdvisor
http://www.tripadvisor.comMySpace
- Who: The major travel review and social travel site online. Millions of visitors, hundreds of reviews.
- Why: See above, with hundreds of reviews and members, this should be your first step in communicating with the social travel consumer. While there is not a risk of losing an URL such as tripadvisor.com/traveltexas, there could already be a consumer using 'TravelTexas' as there Member Name.
- How: TripAdvisor offers DMOs, hotels and other travel organizations the option to contribute content, with links to your website, for FREE! Insider Pages, GoLists, Videos, Forums and Reviews all offer a chance to spread your message to the TripAdvisor audience.
http://www.myspace.com/- Who: Owned by Fox Interactive, MySpace, along with Facebook, dominate the social networking space.
- Why: Even if you don't have plans to launch a MySpace campaign in the near future, you need to own your MySpace URL. Several major companies have already experienced losing there brand name to regular consumers. For example: http://www.myspace.com/cocacola
- How: Like many social sites, launching a campaign on MySpace is more complex than simply throwing up some product images and brochure copy (see our post Why Facebook Will and Will Not Work For the Travel Industry - Part 1), users expect a connection via MySpace or Facebook and so far, very few 'brands' have been successful using the site. So, until you are ready to take on the work load, just set that MySpace page to private.
http://www.facebook.comYouTube
- Who: Independent, along with MySpace, one of the largest social networking sites.
- Why: See MySpace above.
- How: Again, see above.
http://www.youtube.comThe Rest...Other Sites You Should Consider:
- Who: Owned by Google, YouTube is the largest video sharing site online. Famous for being the source of thousands of viral videos, YouTube is increasingly being used as a marketing platform.
- Why: YouTube allows members to create 'channels' with specific URLs, such as www.youtube.com/ArizonaTourism. Like we have said earlier in the post, even if you are not planning on running your content or videos via YouTube at this time, you should own the URL. Additionally, YouTube has already become the primary location for online video, so if you want your commercials / custom content to be watched online, you will probably have to add it on YouTube.
- How: Like MySpace, TripAdvisor or any other 'social' site, members and viewers of YouTube are looking for valuable content. You can and should upload your standard commercials, but unless you are Bud Light, don't expect them to be the next viral sensation. Use YouTube to highlight original content, participate in the conversations or to connect with travelers (many of which probably have travel videos of your state).
Flickr
http://www.flickr.com
http://www.twitter.com
Virtual Tourist
http://www.virtualtourist.com/
IgoUgo
http://www.igougo.com/
RealTravel
http://realtravel.com/
Squidoo
http://www.squidoo.com/
- Make sure you set your profile to private if you don't plan on contributing regular content. Do not register for a social site, leave your profile public and neglect to post anything. If you do, watch your social rep decline quickly.
- Try and use the same Member Name, URL, etc for each site. Even thought it is not your site, you still need to present a consistent brand to the end user. For example, whenever possible, we use 'ArizonaTourism.' And while this point is contrary to the one below, because your staff may change over time, it is better to use a consistent 'brand name' for the Member Name and then provide a complete description, including your real name, in the bio or about section.
- Be authentic. Cannot stress that enough.
- Consider using a generic email address such as webmaster@yourstate.com or social@yourstate.com. Rather than trying to hide yourself, this point is designed to make transitions (i.e. new employees) easier.
- Keep track. There are a lot of social sites out there, make sure you keep track of the sites you have joined.
- Contribute value content. Again, unless you are ready to begin contributing to the community which you have joined, simply stay quiet. Wait until you are ready to commit the time and resources to the project and then proceed with your social strategy.
- Be aware of the time required. Any of these social sites will take a significant amount of time to maintain, nurture and grow. You must be prepared to interact with these communities on a daily basis.
- Users will talk to you. Unless your intern is an expert on your organization, you may want to rethink having him or her manage your social marketing just because they are 'young.' Users within the communities you join will want to talk and communicate with you. They will probably yell, praise, question, dismiss and love you. All at the same time.
- Look around. See what other companies and organizations are doing on the social site you want to join. How often are the posting? How are they using the site? What is the response?
Have any additional thoughts on the subject? Did we miss a website for the list? Let us know in the comments section.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Business Traveler Advice From Strangers
Researching a business trip once involved guidebooks and the advice of a handful of friends and co-workers. But if corporate travel companies have their way, executives will soon be consulting new social networking sites and an endless stream of strangers for the secrets of the road.
Word of mouse is the latest trend in online travel planning, and a variety of corporate travel companies are setting up networking sites in hopes of becoming the Facebook of corporate travel. >>Full Story
Thoughts// Ah, social networking for business travelers. An interesting article from the New York Times discusses the beginnings of this 'new' social traveling segment. Naturally, major business travel organizations Expedia and American Express are launching (or announcing) corporate travel networking sites. And Expedia has taken the extra step of creating the nearly impossible to pronounce or understand brand name for there corporate travel arm...Egencia. Oy.
The article also touches upon the OrbitzTLC Traveler Network, which we have discussed on the Travel 2.0 blog, however much of the focus is on creating that business traveler social network.
Of course, how much use a business traveler social network would receive is debatable. Unlike personal travel, I would assume that many business travelers simply depend on a corporate travel department or assistant to book travel, rather than actually doing the research themselves.
Add onto that the already existing social networks, such as Facebook and LinkedIn, do business travelers really need a separate social network? Probably not.
However, the article failed to mention, aside from Orbitz, the numerous niche applications that could prove to be very useful to business travelers. Rather than a complete social network, many of these applications simply provide the business traveler with a useful and needed service. Such as airport updates and parking info from OrbitzTLC.
Sites such as Dopplr, which allows travelers to connect with friends who are traveling to the same destination and TripLife, which encourages travelers to connect with potential business contacts during the downtime that comes with air travel...if you are sitting in LAX for 3 hours, why not find a possible peer to have a business discussion with?Additionally, technology such as Trip Sync allows travel planners to schedule and book via Outlook.
(Author's Note: One of our readers, Paula, has correctly pointed out that Trip Sync went out of business on July 1, a few days before we finished this post.)
So, who is still interested in joining a business traveler social network?
Image from Flickr.com member MK30.
Travel Trends - TripAdvisor, Email, Weekend Sherpa, ChaCha
TripAdvisor - Travel review giant TripAdvisor has acquired another travel website in VirtualTourist. While VirtualTourist has a slightly different audience than TripAdvisor, the basic concept behind both sites is similar. At this point, it appears that TripAdvisor will let VirtualTourist continue on its own path. As we have stated previously on the Travel 2.0 blog, consolidation within this space has only been a matter of when, rather than if. And with so many new, niche online travel sites launching (what seems like) daily, we should continue to see further consolidation for the near future.
http://www.boston.com/
Email - A new survey from Direct Partners shows that email is the most popular form of direct response marketing. E-mail is used primarily by 35 percent of companies compared to 25 percent that use traditional direct mail and 21 percent that use promo packages, statement stuffers or freestanding inserts. Certainly not a surprise, but confirmation that you are receiving more junk mail via your inbox than your mailbox.
http://www.adweek.com/
Weekend Sherpa - Last week, I received a call from Emily at Outside Magazine for a piece about new technology / websites for travel planning. During our call, she brought two new websites to my attention, Weekend Sherpa and ChaCha. Weekend Sherpa takes a simplified look at a travel recommendation website by getting back to basics...the site is simply an email / email sign-up form to receive a weekly email about what to do in Northern California. No more, no less. Simple, easy and straight to the point.
http://www.weekendsherpa.com/
ChaCha - Again, another site that is so simple, but so useful. Send a text to the ChaCha service, receive a text answer. Near a hotel, looking for a specific restaurant or attraction, text and receive the answer. The service is meant for any question, but the applications for travel specific questions and information are very intriguing.
https://www.chacha.com/
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Even More, More FREE Ways To Track Online Buzz
Back by even more popular demand, even more, more FREE ways to track your online buzz. If you missed any of the previous posts, you can find them here:
- Even More FREE Ways to Track Online Buzz
- Easy and FREE Ways to Track Your Online Presence...Plus, See What California is Up To
- More FREE Ways to Track Your Web Presence
- Quick Case Study: Google Trends
Blogpulse:
Blogpulse from Nielsen BuzzMetrics is one of my new favorite tools. The highlight of the tool set is the Blogpulse search itself, which allows you to measure keyword usage in consumer-generated media (or CGM for you cool kids). So, we could look at some keywords for the 4th of July holiday...such as 'Fireworks', 'Hot Dogs' and for contrast, 'Christmas.'
Ah, it looks like Fireworks wins, by a pretty big margin. I wonder what 'fireworks injuries' looks like.http://www.blogpulse.com/trend
Co.mments.com:
co.mments.com allows you to monitor comments (obviously) and replies to specific blog posts. So, for example, if a blogger posted a negative comment about your state, hotel or restaurant, you could simply copy and paste the post URL into the field and follow the comments via RSS or email. The service becomes especially useful if you are tracking several posts from multiple sites. Now if they could only find the negative comments for you.
http://co.mments.com/
BoardTracker.com:
Finally, boardtracker.com provides a quick search of message boards from hundreds of sites. While the data returned by boardtracker.com is not as segmented as I would like, the service will give you an idea of the conversations being discussed about your destination. I probably would not use the service to find and respond to consumers (too many threads!), but it can be a valuable service to stay in front of negative or positive PR situations. Oh, and my other minus on boardtracker.com is they categorize travel under 'Sports and Recreation.' But, still worth a look.
http://www.boardtracker.com/
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Travel Trends - Disney, Writing Travelers, TripWolf
Disney Goes 3D - Ever since Google purchased SketchUp, bloggers have speculated on what combinations were possible...the most often quoted was a Google version of Second Life. Disney has taken advantage of this technology and created the entire Walt Disney World Resort complex in an extensive 3D layer in Google Earth. How extensive you wonder? ...included significant amounts of real-world objects such as a monorail, picnic tables, benches, streetlights, signs, and trees. LOTS of trees. As in thousands of them!... Yeah, extensive. The 3D layer is simply amazing, I can only speculate how many hundreds hours this took.
Of course, someone out there is thinking, 'well, with in the park in 3D, would this reduce attendance?' You laugh, but I have heard those questions asked. The obvious answer would be no. I will (safely) assume this new feature will only further encourage travel to Disney World, give consumers a better idea of what is available at each park, greatly assist travel agents and generate a ton of press.
Would this apply to your community and CVB? Possibly, there are some communities who are actively adding there city to Google Earth, such as Westport, Ireland. And Google is encouraging participation via the Cities in 3D Program. However, most of these 3D buildings are created by 3D building enthusiasts (3D nerds). So, find so local computer science majors at your local college / high school, send them the 'How To Video' and get your city on the map. If it is not already there.
http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/
WritingTravellers - More wiki, social, online-to-print guides. Are you seeing a trend here? WritingTravellers takes the co-authored travel guide beyond the wiki (or website) such as WikiTravel.org and allows visitors to print a copy of the travel guide book they helped create. Perfect for those people who think they could do it better. The site is still in beta and has limited content at this point, however it is another important example and project that begins to layout the future of the travel guide.
http://www.writingtravellers.com/
TripWolf - Speaking of social travel, TripWolf, which we posted about a few days ago (Random Thoughts: Travel 2.0 and TripWolf), has launched into public beta...meaning you can go explore the site. In addition, the team at TripWolf announced that MairDumont, probably most well known on this side of the Atlantic for the Marco Polo travel guide series, is backing the effort by 'taken the unprecedented step of putting all of its high-quality content - covering more than 200,000 destinations and points of interest - online for free.' So, let's read that again, a major travel guide publishing house is planning on putting all of it's content onto a social travel site and allowing consumers to access it for free. I knew it, there is a trend here!
http://www.tripwolf.com/
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Travel Trends: Google AdPlanner & Quantcast
Google AdPlanner - In another sign that Google is going to just take over every fathomable task in my life, the giant recently unveiled a new ad-planning tool for agencies and marketers. AdPlanner, is designed to help agencies identify sites where their target audience might be active. While it uses audience measurement data (from Nielsen), AdPlanner also combines it with search engine data and information from third parties, to determine with more precision what sites attract a certain demographic audience. Via a simple interface, buyers can enter basic demographic target information and potential sites to buy into Ad Planner, and then can quickly generate a potential media plan. The product also calculates the plan’s total estimated reach.
http://www.nytimes.com/
Quantcast - Those of you reading this blog know how obsessed Troy and I are about measurement and analytics and inconsistency that's rampant between what the various measurement tools out there. Qantcast recently announced a plan to hopefully "reconcile the difference" between what publishers say their traffic is (using Google Analytics, Omniture etc.) versus what Nielsen and ComScore report out (using online panels). The new mechanism will offer "people-based traffic counts" for sites registered with Quantcast, basically a "a hybrid of panel-based data and cookie-based measurement", using a formula to account for the inconsistencies from cookies.
http://adage.com/digital/
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Is Google Making Us Stupid?
For me, as for others, the Net is becoming a universal medium, the conduit for most of the information that flows through my eyes and ears and into my mind. The advantages of having immediate access to such an incredibly rich store of information are many, and they’ve been widely described and duly applauded. “The perfect recall of silicon memory,” Wired’s Clive Thompson has written, “can be an enormous boon to thinking.” But that boon comes at a price. As the media theorist Marshall McLuhan pointed out in the 1960s, media are not just passive channels of information. They supply the stuff of thought, but they also shape the process of thought. And what the Net seems to be doing is chipping away my capacity for concentration and contemplation. My mind now expects to take in information the way the Net distributes it: in a swiftly moving stream of particles. Once I was a scuba diver in the sea of words. Now I zip along the surface like a guy on a Jet Ski. >>Full Story
Thoughts// This profound piece on how search—and more specifically Google—has transformed our daily lives, can be summed up in this vivid quote: Once I was a scuba diver in the sea of words. Now I zip along the surface like a guy on a Jet Ski.
The author examines how our mind is increasingly dependent on Google and how this addiction is effecting our brains and inhibiting cognition. Besides transforming how we read, technology is deeply embedded in our daily lives—it's our map, clock, printing press, calculator and radio and TV—and is forcing other media to conform to its norms. Consider:
Television programs add text crawls and pop-up ads
Magazines and newspapers shorten their articles, introduce capsule summaries, and crowd their pages with easy-to-browse info-snippets
Newspapers devote devote pages of space for shorter article abstracts
While I am not sure I entirely agree with the premise of this article, this is nevertheless a very interesting read on how technology will continue to impact and revolutionize the consumption of media for years to come.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Travel Trends - Staycations!, Soundwalk
Why go to Florida? Buy a TV instead! - Everyone in the travel industry is currently cringing at the word 'staycation'...blame it on the media, I suppose...now industries outside of travel are jumping on the staycation bandwagon. Check out this recent email I personally received from Circuit City:
Subject Line: city life: Great staycations + an exclusive Wii Fit tell-all
And a shot of the email:
And, for your reading enjoyment, the entire article...A great escape is closer than you think.
Come on Circuit City, don't make the travel industry come down to your store and start roughing up the teenage employees. Drop the staycation line before someone hears you.
http://www.circuitcity.com/
Soundwalk - I remember seeing the library of Soundwalk audio tours at Barnes & Noble a while ago, but completely forgot about the product until Techcrunch featured the company again because of their new Louis Vuitton Soundwalk of China series. Soundwalk is 'a cinematic experience, a way to explore and understand a new culture and others' with a 'mix of fitting music, sound effects, interviews, and sound clips'. To say this is a simple podcast would be an injustice. Soundwalk is an impression collection of phenomenal narrators...my favorite is the Original Jazzy Jay on the Bronx Hip-Hip Walk...music, lyrical storytelling and soundeffects that are so perfect, you could just as easily enjoy the walks from home, rather than the corner of 46th St. and Broadway. Now, the Louis Vuitton series talks the Soundwalk to a whole new level, with a very rich (no pun intended) website experience featuring the luxury that is LV. Check out both the sites and delete those old podcasts of Paris you have sitting in iTunes.
http://www.soundwalk.com/
Friday, June 13, 2008
Travel Trends - Couch Surfing, Niche Newspapers, Media Spend, FedEx, Mobile Internet
Couch Surfing - The end of hotels as we know them? Probably not, but still interesting. If you are looking for a free place to stay on your next vacation and do not suffer from any sleeping disorders like sleep walking, couchsurfing.com can find you a couch to crash on. Oh, that's right, you are staying on someone else's couch. CouchSurfing is a worldwide network for making connections between travelers and the local communities they visit. So far, there are 586,956 available couches who have hosted 474,622 'successful' surfing experiences. A brilliant concept (love the way one surfer put it: a global community based on trust, honesty, reciprocity, generosity, optimism and a sharing of all the good things in life) and from the sound of it, you will actually meet some interesting (and not scary!) people. Unfortunately, Oprah's couch is not on the list...I checked.
http://www.couchsurfing.com/
(Just in case you need more, here is the video of Tom Cruise going crazy on Oprah...love that guy.)
Niche Newspapers - For everyone out there who is advertising on a major papers website, a report by The Media Audit and reported by the Center for Media Research shows that some 'alternative' newspapers have an expanding reach:
Alternative newspaper websites with the highest market penetration include:Interesting stuff.
• Madison Wisconsin's Isthmus (13.5%)
• The Austin Chronicle (11.4%)
• Charleston, Carolina's Charleston City Paper (10.3%)
• The New Haven Advocate (10%)
• The Memphis Flyer (9.5%)
• Minneapolis City Pages (9.2%)
• Madison, Wisconsin's The Onion (8.9%)
• New Orleans' Gambit Newsweekly (8.8%)
• Syracuse New Times (8.3%)
• Washington D.C.'s The Onion (8.2%)
http://www.themediaaudit.com/
More Stats - Some more online advertising numbers from the Center for Media Research.
According to a proprietary study by The Media Trust Company, American Express had the largest share-of-voice among travel advertisers (online) as consumers searched on where to vacation, hot travel deals and travel advice preceding Memorial Day, the official start of summer.
- CarRental.com was the leading advertiser with a 45.57% share-of-voice among car rental companies
- Best Western earned 25.22% share-of-voice among hotel advertisers
- United Airlines was the top airline advertiser with a 42.27% share-of-voice
- American Express accounted for 46.53% of all credit card advertisements
FedEx Launches Facebook's Package - Well, after all those posts on what not to do on Facebook, MySpace or any other social network, here is an example of a successful 'viral' campaign. Released less than two weeks ago, the "Launch a Package" application lets users send virtual goods to friends, from little digital trinkets to photos and links. The items arrive in a FedEx box that the recipient opens to reveal the gifts inside. It has 258,000 total installations and more than 15,000 active users. Not bad considering you could have just emailed those photos. For FedEx, this is a good fit, people are sending stuff to each via Facebook why not wrap a big FedEx logo around it? Feel like launching your own package? Check out launchapackage.com.
http://www.mediaweek.com/
Consumers Not So Mobile - A quick and short article from MediaWeek talks about a survey from AKQA and dotMobi that '44 percent of users report having had a bad experience in their initial use of the mobile Web. Slow connection speeds, poor site display and cost are the top three reasons respondents cited for being dissatisfied with current mobile Web services.' And 'Three-quarters of respondents said they were most interested in using mobile Internet access to pull up maps.' Once mobile internet providers can offer location-based ads on a regular and consistent basis, then advertisers can begin delivering relevant messages to the consumer who is using that map. I can see it now...Ad text: 'Looking for a visitor's information center? It's right behind you!' Helpful and scary at the same time.
http://www.mediaweek.com/
Monday, June 9, 2008
Top 5: Our Favorite Posts
Since the Travel 2.0 blog just celebrated our one year anniversary, we figured a quick look back...for all you new readers...at some of our favorite posts, thoughts and stories was in order.
So, in no particular order, here are 5 posts that you should read.
...and for those of you who skipped out early that one Friday like 7 months ago, you should read these too.
Top 5:
- Word of the Week - The Long Tail
- When Fewer Clicks Are A Good Thing
- Travel Trends - .travel, JetBlue, Privacy
- Bloggers? We Don't Need No Stinkin' Bloggers!
- Who's Been Clicking On My Banner?
Enjoy!
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Travel Trends - Panoramio, Priceline.com, Offbeat Guides, Tripology, Google TV Ads
Google Introduces 'Look Around' with Panoramio - Last week Google, via it's recently acquired subsidiarity Panoramio, introduced a new 'Look Around' feature, which allows the visitor to click through images, view different angles and essentially take a virtual tour of the area. If this sounds familiar, it should...Microsoft has been showing off Photosynth for a year now...unlike Photosynth, it appears that Panoramio and Google have actually launched the product for public use. The technology behind the 'Look Around' feature, and Photosynth, is quite impressive and with so many images available via Flickr or Photobucket, the possibilities to combine hundreds of thousands of photos into one tour...of a specific area...could prove to be a powerful tool to further encourage travel.
http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/
Priceline's Sunshine Guarantee - As part of its summer promo Priceline.com...and Mr. Shatner...has launched a Sunshine Guarantee for your vacation. Book via priceline to 100+ destinations and if it rains (more than .5 of an inch) you get your money back. An interesting promo...that I am sure if valid in Arizona!
http://www.priceline.com/
Off Beat Guides Launches - TechCrunch has a great review of the newly launched beta of offbeatguides.com. Started by Technorati founder Dave Sifry...TechCrunch also has a video interview with Dave...Off Beat Guides combines online content, maps, weather, current events etc, etc all specific to your travel dates into a printable .pdf guide or as an actual paper guide (complete with your name on the cover). However, unlike competitor Nile Guide, Off Beat Guides charges $10 for the .pdf and $25 for the printed copy...which brings up a concern (as mentioned by TechCrunch readers) of selling Creative Commons and public domain content for a profit. Something doesn't add up there. Overall, an intriguing product and another example of print on demand technology becoming more and more prevalent.
http://www.offbeatguides.com/beta
Tripology - Launched a few months ago, Tripology, like Off Beat Guides, spins the online travel planning market back around. Instead of planning your trip online and breaking free from the dictatorship of the travel agent, Tripology allows a user to enter a travel destination and finds a travel agent to plan your trip for you. LendingTree for travel, I suppose.
http://www.tripology.com/
Google Begins Tracking TV Ads Via Google Analytics - Yes, more Google...but, they just keeping doing the right things to make our lives easier. Another post from TechCrunch summarizes how Google has begun using it's Analytics program to not only track you online stats and campaigns, but also TV ads purchased via Google TV Ads. As the review notes, there is not a direct correlation between online visitation and the TV ads, but if your goal is to drive traffic to a website, you can at least view the spikes and dips in website traffic after the TV ad has run. Add that to the fact that Google is now selling ads online, TV (with satellite provider Dish Network), in newspapers and on radio and you can begin to see how Google Analytics (and Google) will and could quickly become the centralized location to track all of your advertising.
http://www.techcrunch.com/
Monday, June 2, 2008
Travel Trends - Upload Your Photos Here!!, Adobe, Weekend Web
Upload Your Photos HERE!! - An amusing post from the daily (ad) biz makes note of a recent Heineken campaign, to....wait for it....upload your favorite photos of the product! I don't know about you, but several people touching a Heineken bottle spells brand loyalty for me. Anyway, the team over at the daily (ad) biz reiterates what we have said a couple of times on the Travel 2.0 blog, which is that consumers (beer or travel) will not just show up at your website to upload anything! The old, 'if you build it they will come' theory does not work online. Flickr, Facebook and Photobucket (and a few others) are the only photo-sharing websites (or websites where photos are shared in the case of Facebook) that matter. Embrace these sites, run your campaign with them...instead of against them...and stop trying to move mountains.
http://dailybiz.wordpress.com/
Adobe Goes Further Online - For all of you techs and (even) non-techs out there, take note that Adobe just launched it's next round of webtop (runs online, not on your desktop) software acrobat.com and Acrobat 9. If you use or interact with Acrobat (.pdfs) on a daily basis, I would recommend you catch up on the news via the post at TechCrunch. The programs offered via acrobat.com are very useful and the integration of Flash into Acrobat 9 means that you will now start seeing video (YouTube) embedded into .pdf documents.
http://www.techcrunch.com/
The Weekend Web - Shocker, users surf different websites at work during the week versus the weekend! While this article is not exactly a revelation, it does include some interesting insight into consumer behaviors on the mobile web and weekday vs. weekend. For example: 'During weekends, we fire up our smartphones for fun. The fastest-growing mobile-Web categories relate to weather, entertainment, games, and music, according to comScore.' I know I am in that group...weather and movies are all I check on the weekends...plus this blog, of course.
http://www.businessweek.com/
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Travel Trends - Paperless Boarding, Bankrupt Design, Bloggers
Paperless Boarding - It's about time! Last month the TSA and Continental Airlines announced they would continue rolling out the Paperless Boarding Pass pilot program (it started last December) to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Newark (N.J.) International Airport and Logan International Airport in Boston during the month of May. Finally, we can stop carrying around those super-secure boarding passes...not to mention save a fee more trees.
And, see that little square bar code on that gentleman's phone? That would be your standard 2-D Barcode...get ready for your phone to take over simplify your life.
http://www.tsa.gov/
Bankrupt Design - Personally, I always find it fascinating how defunct companies 'soften' their websites to explain why they left you stranded in Chicago.
http://www.maxjet.com/
http://www.ata.com/
http://www.eosairlines.com/
http://skybus.com/
What (or who) is a blogger? - Interesting stats from the Center for Media Research. Beyond simply promoting ourselves, you should know that these are the people who are increasingly holding high influence over your consumers. (here's a secret, most of your consumers trust bloggers more than you!)
http://blogs.mediapost.com/According to the BIGresearch Simultaneous Media Survey, 26% of all adults say they regularly or occasionally blog. Of those:
- 53.7% are male
- 44.7% are married
- 28.4% hold a professional or managerial position
- 10.4% are students.
Bloggers tend to be younger, averaging 37.6 years old, compared to 44.8 for adults 18+ (the "general population"). Ethnically:
- 69.7% of Bloggers are White/Caucasian (vs. 76.1%)
- 12.2% are African American/Black (vs. 11.4%)
- 3.7% are Asian (vs. 2.0%)
- 20% of Bloggers are Hispanic, compared to 14.8% of adults 18+
In addition, Bloggers report a lower income ($55,819 vs. $56,811) and are better educated (14.3 years of education vs. 14.2).
Although Bloggers are more likely to use new media, the analysis finds that more conventional forms of media trigger their Internet searches. Magazines, at 51.6%, rank highest, followed by:
- 48.8% reading an article
- 46.1% broadcast TV
- 44.5% cable TV
- 42.5% face-to-face communication
- 39.7% newspaper
Gary Drenik, President of BIGresearch, concludes "Bloggers are a diverse group and not who you would expect..."
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Your Lowdown on the Smackdown
As we reported here last week, an elite group of marketers from around the country surreptitiously assembled in Portland last week for a no-holds-bared, two-day "smackdown" at the Heathman Hotel. Unlike your typical smash-mouth wrestlemania event, this gathering represented a collaborative and congenial discussion on "best practices" for destination marketing.
Representing the collective wisdom of about 25 states, the conversations covered every conceivable topic destination marketers face on a daily basis: how to bring non-traditional partners into co-op programs, marketing tactics that worked (or didn't), quirky PR techniques, analytics and digital marketing—and of course the requisite debauchery and fun that invariably happens when marketing folks congregate!
Thoughts// I've been to many marketing conferences and workshops but nothing comes remotely close to the education, inspiration and genuine camaraderie I experienced at "smackdown". United by common challenges and the reassurance of unassuming peers, the two day event is an honest forum for sharing best practices and breeding new ideas. The following are my opinions on some highlights (in no particular order) from "smackdown":
Most Interesting Contest /Partnership Idea: Montana's Cast & Camp "glamping" (think glamor + camping) giveaway partnership with Orvis (the giveaway is worth $17,000 and yes, you can still enter to win!)
Cool Use of Guerilla Tactics: South Dakota's "Street Team" for a promotion inviting Minnesotans to visit the state (six Cowboy re-enactors were brought in to ride the trains and roam the streets of the Twin Cities for a week)
Most Fun Viral Idea: My Favorite Minnesota campaign; the campaign has been up for a while and basically is a user & agency generated video collection of local favorites such as - "Best Places to Eat a Burger" and "Favorite Shopping Spots"
Most Ambitious Infrastructure Project: Wyoming Tourism leading all state agencies in building a comprehensive GIS map of the state's infrastructure (visitor and also transportation)
Best Brand Story: Mississippi's embrace of the idea that the state is the "Birthplace of America's Music"; this idea is manifested and embraced across all mediums...including a 24/7 live streaming Mississippi radio station
On the digital front, Troy and I led a conversation on the need for a common "engagement matrix" for the states to gauge the effectiveness of both their web presence and also online campaigns. After a brief discussion, the group agreed on the need for such a matrix to reinforce the directional "click thru" and "unique visitor" numbers and suggested that the following essential "engagement points":
Bounce rate
Time on site
- Orders of travel guides
Downloads of travel guides (or other defined items)
Feed subscription
Forwards/Sharing
Trip planning activity
Ratings/reviews
Videos watched
Site Search
Other engagements as defined by individual sites (e.g. taking the "Passionality Test" at Virginia.org)
Our next step now is to take this feedback, assign "weights" to each engagement point and then present a draft "formula" at ESTO in August.
Finally, I'd be remiss not to mention the most thought provoking presentation of the conference by Ian Yolles, founding member of Nau, a Portland based sustainable clothing manufacturer. Nau's embarked on an ambitious goal to "show the world that business can be a force for positive social and environmental change....and creating a sustainable future for humans and the planet." Ian's moving story on the founding principles of Nau and how they went about provoking "change" in the world was not only insightful but also deeply inspirational and moving to anyone looking to defy conventional wisdom.
For more on Nau and their unconventional charge into the retail world, please read "Nau: ahead of its time?"
~ Happy Monday...umm Tuesday! (Sorry too much partying in honor of our birthday!)
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Even More FREE Ways to Track Online Buzz
Back by popular demand, more (free!) ways to track your web presence and buzz online. Many of your recall our previous posts on the topic...Easy and FREE Ways to Track Your Online Presence...Plus, See What California is Up To, More FREE Ways to Track Your Web Presence and Quick Case Study: Google Trends...and we wanted to highlight two ways to track the ever mysterious 'social networking buzz.'
Before we dig into the options, it should be said that both of these solutions simply provide a rough idea of buzz related to each site...in this case, Facebook and Twitter. Personally, I would not necessarily include these numbers in my annual report, but they will give you a look into what is being discussed on these undeniably popular websites.
However, if you are one of those organizations who are purposely running a 'Gen-X' Facebook campaign to generate buzz, then I would be looking at these charts every hour...in between games of solitaire, of course.
Facebook Lexicon:
Facebook's new Lexicon feature (Facebook login required) allows you to view words and phrases that have been written or left on a user's wall...think of it as viewing all of the comments friends have left on your profile page. While certainly not scientific, the data does give you a good idea of what people on Facebook are talking, thinking, doing. For example, look at the chart below comparing recent movies Indiana Jones, Iron Man and Speed Racer.
Notice the huge spike in 'words' for Iron Man around April 30th (premiered May 2nd) and then the fairly large drop-off. You can also see that buzz for Indiana Jones is building, however mentions of Speed Racer barely registered on the graph.
http://www.facebook.com/lexicon
Twist:
Developed by Flaptor, Twist is another buzz monitoring application, this time for Twitter. If you are not familiar with Twitter, it is basically a running list of what you are doing at the time, limited to 140 characters (be concise!).
Twitter is quickly becoming a near instant source of information when news breaks...beyond just simple messages of going to the grocery store...so, monitoring Twitter can be a key way to stay ahead of any bad press or negative reviews.
Again, like Lexicon, simply type in two or more words to compare results. Let's try the same sample set:
(Can't see the graph? View it on the Travel 2.0 blog.)
Well, if I am working on the Indiana Jones promo campaign I can enjoy a long weekend. If I was working on the Speed Racer campaign, I have probably been enjoying long weekends for awhile.
In addition to this data, Twist also allows you to see what context these keywords have been used. Click on the 'see what people are saying about indiana jones' link and follow the conversation.
For example:
ivyaurora: We saw the new Indiana Jones movie today right after coming out of the field.
Lirianna: Just got to the theater to see Indiana Jones... hope it's worth it. I want real food! : (
SinnedSoul: Just got back from Indiana Jones...not bad, not bad at all. If you're a fan of the others you'll like this one. The theme is silly though.
instapundit: : KYLE SMITH DOESN'T LIKE the new Indiana Jones movie, calling it "the worst Steven Spielberg popcorn..
rossdavis: @explodey friendly monkeys from Indiana Jones
What do you know, regular people are just like you and I!
http://twist.flaptor.com
Full credit to TechCrunch, who featured a post about this topic a few weeks ago.
Travel Trends - Luggage, UGC, Twitter, More JetBlue, Bad Photoshop
Checking 2 bags? That will be $40, thanks! - Wow. American Airlines will start charging $15 for the first checked bag, cut domestic flights and lay off workers as it grapples with record-high fuel prices. That's right, $15 for the first bag. So, if you are a family of 4 flying from Chicago to Phoenix for a week vacation, each carrying 2 bags each, that means you will have to pay $160 just to get your bags to Sky Harbor. Now, I am the first to admit I do not know the intricate economic factors that affect the airline industry, but rather than charging for the first bag, just lie to us. Stick that $15 in another fee...environmental conservation fee, new tire fee, landing taxes, whatever...but telling us (and yes, this is completely opposite all of the transparency we push on the blog) it is for the first bag feels like a slap in the face.
My two 'trends' from this announcement...(1) carry-on bags will get even bigger and will hurt even more when they hit you in the head...(2) companies such as baggagequest.com and luggageconcierge.com will become much more popular.
http://news.yahoo.com/
Big Media Is Dead...Again...Really - Interesting stats from eMarketer on the attitudes of our fellow marketing professionals. Bye-bye TV!
http://www.emarketer.com/
JetBlue 'Following' Consumer Trends Via Twitter - A very interesting post from Joel at the socialized blog. Basically jetBlue was or is following conversations on Twitter (confused about Twitter, here is the explanation) to improve customer service, look for trends, etc, etc. Twitter is a great way to communicate quickly with your friends and peers, so if you are stuck at JFK because the ground crew is late and decide to rant about it via Twitter, (in theory) the JetBlue communications team will have a head start on resolving the issue. A fascinating read and an interesting us of new technology by a large company. Now, how do you feel about JetBlue 'following' your conversations?
http://www.socializedpr.com/
More JetBlue - JetBlue has recently launched a new 'Happy Jetting' campaign, complete with a new Happy Jetting website. The site 'aims to bring back humanity to flying' not to mention push the companies new Green initiative (who doesn't have one?), show off some of the new creative, allow users to play games and generally feel warm and fussy about flying JetBlue. Which, I will admit, TV in-seat is nice! If nothing else check out the 'almost totally real pilot name' generator, an old trick that interactive folks love to add to sites like these, but still fun.
This is your captain, Troy 'Romance' Thompson, speaking, enjoy your flight.
http://www.happyjetting.com/
My New Favorite Blog - Photoshop is a dangerous program in the wrong hands. Having been a photoshop 'guru' in a previous life (sorry, the new versions confuse me), I love the Photoshop Disasters blog. It just goes to show that we all make mistakes (some larger than others) and that not everyone should be using Photoshop!
http://photoshopdisasters.blogspot.com/
Monday, May 19, 2008
Travel Trends: Have Friends, Will Travel
MySpace “Data Availability” - Sick of updating your profile on multiple social networks? Perhaps not for long. MySpace recently announced a "data sharing" partnership with a Yahoo, Ebay, Twitter and their own Photobucket subsidiary. The project called MySpace “Data Availability” will allow users to house their information in one place have it available in other sites. For example, your MySpace default photo, interests and favorite music might be displayed on your Yahoo Instant Messenger or your Ebay account.
www.TechCrunch.com
Facebook Connect - Of course not to be outdone, Facebook shortly thereafter announced "Facebook Connect", an application that allows users to "connect their Facebook identity, friends and privacy to any site." The implications of this applications (that's still in development) could have a profound impact on brands looking to build and leverage community within their digital experiences. A practical example could be that I use my Facebook account now to access GoSeeOregon in order to rate places and write reviews; my friends in turn would be able to access my reviews directly from Facebook making the experience more relevant and meaningful.
www.TechCrunch.com
Google Friend Connect - Google's version of data portability puts two spins on this concept. First, its program is designed to allow very small Web sites to add some social networking features without sophisticated programming. All they have to do is copy a little code onto their Web pages. Second, Google lets site owners link to a range of other sites, including, for various functions, AOL, Yahoo and Facebook.
NewYorkTimes.com
Thursday, May 8, 2008
The Open Rate Must Die
The email open rate is simply a tired, inaccurate and irrelevant metric that no longer measures what it was originally intended to. As a result, it gives you the wrong picture of your subscribers’ interest in and involvement with your mailings. (”Engagement,” if you want to use the buzzword). >>Full Story
Thoughts// Frequent readers of this blog are all too familiar with our opinions on the collective reliance of the "click rate" as a measure of success in online campaigns. This thought provoking blog by MediaPost's Email Insider extends this argument to e-mail. The author makes the valid point that using the default "read rate" as calculated by your e-mail platform is a flawed metric, akin to the music industry "measuring sales based on the number of CDs sold."
In most e-mail clients, the read rate is based on the display of a tracking image on each e-mail displayed. The author lays out the following scenarios of why there are inherent flaws with this method of tracking.
The e-mail is “opened” (launched), but images are blocked: not counted as an open.
The e-mail is not opened (launched), but images are enabled and is read in the preview pane: counted as an open
The text version of a message is read on a BlackBerry. The HTML version (with images blocked) is later opened in Gmail (or other email service/client). The email has been opened and read twice — but zero opens are recorded.
A text version is opened and read but not clicked: not counted as an open
A text version is opened and read, but the user clicks a link: not counted as an open with some email software. Others assign an open because the email was clicked on, which assumes an open.
To the author's point, consumers engagement with your e-mail could be tracked by measuring clicks on actionable calls to action...but as illustrated by the examples above, you don't necessarily have to click to be involved.
As an example, the image above is a rendering of my May Colorado e-newsletter. While I didn't enable images or click on any links, I did get the message that "May is archaeology month in Colorado" and that there is "no better place to celebrate than Mesa Verde Country."
Engaged? Yes! Tracked? No! My privacy intact? Most definitely! :)
We're curious... how are you measuring the effectiveness of your e-mail newsletters?
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Happy Earth Day!
Happy Earth Day! From booking "car free" vacations to carbon offsetting and staying at eco-friendly accommodations to only eating local foods and imbibing organic beer and wine, travelers are increasingly taking their green lifestyle on vacation. Sustainability and environmental stewardship are core values of both the Arizona and Oregon tourism offices and we're both working on a number of stewardship programs—geo-tourism, voluntourism, carbon calculators, electronic downloads—to preserve the unique sense of place of our respective states.
In honor of Earth Day, we want to showcase just a few ways how the travel industry is helping consumers grapple with the issue of climate change and sustainable living.
Just Go Travel Guides - Guidebooks are a staple of well heeled travelers. But do you really have to buy an entire guide book just to browse a few pages? Enter Just Go Travel Guides! Just Go Guides are personal, customizable guides put together by a team of international writers, editors, and travelers. The guides are available in PDF format, and are downloadable to your iPod or mobile device for free.
The best part of this is the interactivity and personalization. Consumers can enter the date of their visit and then pick relevant information (lodging, events, restaurant etc) via their website. Once the site confirms you’re a real person (via text message), the guide is produced and then sent to you. Extending the experience is the fact that once you’re on your way, you can use the interactive guide to rate the places on your guide, contributing to the “collective intelligence” of the guides. http://intelligenttravel.typepad.com/it/2008/03/sustainable-tra.html
Eco-Travel Planners - Both New Zealand and Minnesota have undertaken an interesting approach to highlight places of cultural and natural heritage.
New Zealand’s Organic Explorer, offers up eco-friendly accommodations, restaurants, and excursions throughout New Zealand. In addition, the site also features local markets and orchards where you pick up fresh local produce.
Minnesota’s Green Routes, a private/public partnership site, helps consumers “discover places to eat where the food is not only fresh from a family farm, but where you might bump into the farmers who grew it…and places to have fun while helping to ensure that our natural and cultural resources will be around for many generations to come.”
The easy to use Google Map driven site interface allows consumers to actually plot their route through the state and find out a list of things to do along that route. For example, if you’re heading from Brainerd to Fargo, sip fair trade coffee at Village Emporium and be sure to shop at the Lakes Area Farmer’s Market.
Kudos also goes in this category to Dave Neudeck and his team at Virginia who featured eco-friendly events, “no car” getaways and outdoor getaways in their “green” May e-newsletter.
Of course any article on sustainable travel would not be complete without mentioning Kimpton Hotel's inspirational EarthCare program. Troy and I had the honor of watching Steve Pinetti's presentation at the recent Oregon Governor's conference and we were absolutely astounded by the depth to which sustainability has been incorporated into all of the properties....all the way from in-room recycling and organic foods to earth friendly cleaning products and the interior decoration (see a full list here).
As marketers, and more importantly as inhabitants of this planet, it's our responsibility to take a leadership role in ensuring that travel and tourism does not come at the expense of the planet. To that end, sustainability and stewardship should not be addressed as a "trend" or a "niche product" but a core value that's ingrained into every fabric of your organization.
To that end, we're curious...how are you (personally or as an organization) embracing this into your lives?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
