Archive for the ‘Tips and Trends Series’ Category
Got This Critical Skill?
Posted by Eric Welsh | Filed under Advertising, Social Media, Tips and Trends Series
In a world of user reviews, blogging and posting, word-of-mouth is a powerful form of advertising…if managed effectively. As hospitality marketing specialists, Dana knows how to protect brands and reputations on social media websites and blogs. We also know that how you respond to criticism posted about your destination can be more important to your potential guests than the criticism itself.
Here are a few tips from the Dana team to help you manage your reputation online:
- Monitor posts continuously
- Be proactive
- Respond consistently
- Embrace reviews as critical marketing opportunities
- Contact guests to resolve conflicts
Our Reputation Management Services do all this—and much more. Dana can also:
- Set guest ranking goals and create strategies to achieve them
- Provide concise reporting of all traveler-generated content in a single user-friendly report
- Analyze content to identify opportunities to increase market share, develop innovative package ideas and create media opportunities
Intrigued by the power of travelers’ feedback—and the possibilities it creates for your business? For more about partnering with Dana to manage your reputation, contact jzech@danacommunications.com.
IPad— The new retail experience.
Posted by Eric Welsh | Filed under Advertising, Interactive, Social Media, Technology, Tips and Trends Series, Updates
For all of you denim loving fashionista’s across the web. Gap has really stepped up into the iPad space with an amazing experience in the 1969 Stream app, which was launched earlier in this month. Watch the video below and be sure to turn on the sound! Also, a great article about this revolutionary step in retail can be found on the Adage.com site. It makes us wonder, who will be the first hospitality company to embrace these new app opportunities?
AdAge Digital 2010 | 6 Foundations of Great Digital Creative
Posted by Eric Welsh | Filed under Advertising, Hospitality News, Interactive, Technology, Tips and Trends Series
Spaghetti Sauce and the “Long Tail”
Posted by Eric Welsh | Filed under Advertising, Design, Interactive, Social Media, Technology, Tips and Trends Series
Tipping Point author Malcolm Gladwell gets inside the food industry’s pursuit of the perfect spaghetti sauce –
and makes a larger argument about the nature of choice and happiness.
Keep in mind, this was taped in 2004. That is pre-social networking days. Certainly, prior to Twitter and the community concept. But Malcolm asserts, “By embracing the diversity of human beings, we will find a sure way to true happiness.” Now, we aren’t saying that social media and understanding the long tail marketplace is the key to finding joy or anything like that. However, we do agree that the pursuit happiness and perhaps success is diversity in what you do and whom you do it with.
Is “Luxury” a Dirty Word?
Posted by Michele Clerici | Filed under Advertising, Media, Tips and Trends Series
lux·u·ry (n.)
1. Something inessential but conducive to pleasure and comfort.
2. Something expensive or hard to obtain.
3. Sumptuous living or surroundings.
Consumers’ pennies and purses are kept under tight lock and key these days—which is why, for the moment, the dictionary definition of “luxury” is unlikely to draw a good consumer response and, therefore, has become somewhat of a “dirty word” in marketing hospitality and travel. But what is the true meaning of luxury, and have we begun to redefine its terms?
Lavish vacations at extravagant resorts are not high on the priority list when people are scrimping just to keep a roof over their heads, put food on the table and gas up their vehicles. In a down economy, consumers are in no state of mind to spend frivolously on things that are not essential to their everyday lives. So what does this mean for the luxury hotel and resort industry?
It means taking a look at people’s redefined values and repositioning the concept of luxury itself. It means evolving the way the industry approaches and sells the idea of a luxury experience. No longer is luxury about glamour, glitz and having expensive “stuff”—now it’s about precious time with family, meaningful experiences, authenticity and genuineness. Luxury is less about materialistic, flashy lifestyles and more about personalization—finding what truly matters to the consumer and providing them with that “luxury.”
The hospitality and travel industries can offer this new concept of luxury in a number of ways, and it begins with strategy.
According to the March 15th release of The Wealth Report, “The onslaught of economic recession and the inevitable changes in customer values and behaviors during 2008 and 2009 caused luxury brands to embrace the concept of customer-centric, data-driven marketing. In 2010, marketing and communication budget dollars are being reallocated to more measurable and highly profitable customer-centric initiatives to deliver short and long-term brand growth and profitability…Luxury brands are now looking to understand their customers and adapt their marketing strategies to best serve their interests.”
“This all means that luxury brands are looking to gain a complete understanding of their customers across all sales channels. This includes key insights on customer profiles and purchase behaviors by channel, value and loyalty, seasonality, gender, product affinities, and cross-sell/up-sell links. With customer data in hand, they are able to implement differentiated communication treatments to identified customer segments, personalize the customer experience and increase revenue.”
Hope is not lost for luxury brands even at the hands of a recession, so long as they remain dedicated to understanding and catering to their audience at all times. For more information on how to position and sell your luxury experience in today’s economy, contact jzech@danacommunications.com.
Magazines Come Alive
Posted by Charisse Gallagher | Filed under Advertising, Hospitality News, Interactive, Media, Technology, Tips and Trends Series, Travel
I recently sat down with a relaxing cup of hot tea and opened up the March 2010 issue of Condé Nast Traveler. I was a few pages in when my eyes stumbled across a 2-D barcode. Hmm. Then I read this intriguing line: “Our March issue comes alive on your smartphone.”
Ok—hold the phone (no pun intended)—I just had to know what this was all about!
I grabbed my iPhone and within a few minutes, I had downloaded Microsoft’s Tag Reader app and was on my way to a scanning frenzy! I aimed the little cross-hair target at the barcode in the magazine. As I got close enough, it recognized the code and instantly whisked me away to a landing page with expanded information from the magazine issue, no actual photo required. There I discovered a behind-the-scenes look at the cover shoot, plus multiple videos, a guide of things to do in Shanghai & Hong Kong and much more.
I then began a treasure hunt throughout the entire issue, finding and scanning all of these little barcodes to see where they might take me. I enjoyed watching the video of the gorgeous red Bottega Veneta dress on as it flowed down the runway—something you can’t really get from a still photograph. I also liked how some of the tags acted as instant links. No more writing down that URL to look up later—just scan and go!
I love this new mix of mediums working together and can only imagine where this type of technological thinking will take us in the future. Perhaps we will be able to see a destination photo we like in a magazine, scan it and instantly book a trip. Who knows—the possibilities are endless!
Out of the Bunker and into the Black
Posted by Bethany Diddle | Filed under Advertising, Dana News, Golf, Hospitality News, Interactive, Tips and Trends Series, Travel
Dana recently attended the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, Florida. The Orange County Convention Center was all a buzz with vendors, pros, golfers and media—what a great event! We had the chance to talk to industry insiders and were impressed by their upbeat outlook for 2010. Of real interest to our team was a study released by PGA Magazine, which showed the impact of PGA Professionals on travel decisions…
About 70% of PGA Professionals travel with groups annually. Almost half take three or more trips per year, and their groups average about nine golfers playing about three rounds of golf when they travel together. 75% of these trips are booked more than two months in advance, which is welcome revenue in this era of short-lead bookings.
We were intrigued by the amount of influence PGA Pros have on determining where their groups travel. 86% of golf professionals either select the specific golf destination or narrow the choices to a few on which the group can decide—and more than 70% make all of the travel arrangements. What’s more, the vast majority is asked at least once a week for recommendations on places to stay and play golf.
We’ve all seen the number of golf resorts in the U.S. grow in the past decade, creating a very competitive marketplace. Meanwhile, the number of golfers remains flat, and bookings for corporate group outings have sharply declined. Reaching the 28,000 PGA Professionals who are key influencers on travel is a smart play.
Dana Communications has partnered with Hunter PR to analyze this study’s findings and show how to leverage the influence of PGA Professionals. To see more on these results and learn about getting out of the bunker and into the black, visit www.danacommunications.com/bunker2black.
Battle of the Big Three
Posted by Lynn Kaniper | Filed under Advertising, Design, Interactive, Media, Tips and Trends Series
Which of these three mediums is the best strategy in today’s marketing world: traditional media, digital media or social media?
If your answer is any single one of these choices, you’ve definitely missed the mark—because a strong and successful marketing strategy must integrate all three.
Since the rise of the digital and social networking age, there has been much discussion about which type of agency can ascertain the most effective results for clients. Digital agencies might argue that traditional agencies are outdated and unable to adapt to today’s market. Traditional agencies might argue that digital agencies aren’t focused enough on the solid creative imagery and messaging that grab people’s attention. And social media agencies may dismiss both by asserting that neither quite understands the power of word-of-mouth.
But ultimately, integration is the key to survival in the marketing world. Let’s face it, marketing mediums are ever changing, and so are your individual needs. Good strategy means staying in the know and up to date on every channel of marketing, so you can apply a multi-faceted plan to each campaign. That is why working with one shop–one that is capable of utilizing all the available channels of communication–is more apt to carry out your vision in the long run than dispersing your jobs piecemeal to agencies that focus on one specialty alone.
Dana has always believed in integration, which is why our team comprises a plethora of talented professionals in multiple areas of marketing expertise. Often, various mediums can overlap one another and work in tandem to form a consistent, solid campaign that reaches the target audience with the largest number of impressions in many different forms. Our animated model of marketing capabilities shows how all the strategic avenues (traditional, digital and social) work together to cultivate a strong brand. Click here to see for yourself.
Think of your marketing strategy in terms of a jigsaw puzzle. You need all the pieces to fit together so your consumers can see the full picture of your brand. If you separate the pieces for different groups to assemble individually, they may be able to fit their own together, but they’ll still be disconnected from the rest. Your brand image will lack cohesiveness and your consumers may mistake the pieces for the whole.
Don’t limit your marketing reach by relying on disconnected pieces of the puzzle. Learn more about integrating your marketing strategy to garner the best results; contact jzech@danacommunications.com.
Pink Socks & Pocket Protectors
Posted by Bob Prewitt | Filed under Advertising, Dana News, Design, Interactive, Media, Technology, Tips and Trends Series
Marketing in the Age of the World Wide Web
Marketing has always been a combination of art and science. There have always been creative types and account types. Just watch Mad Men.
But today, with the explosive growth of interactive marketing (the Web), there is a huge distinction between creative brand development behavior (Pink Socks) and web engineering behavior (Pocket Protectors).
Both behavioral types are necessary to the development and execution of a successful marketing operation. But you need to pay special attention to managing the interaction between the two because, often, they don’t relate well to one another.
Dana participated in a speaking engagement at this year’s PCMA Annual Meeting, and we addressed this very topic. The presentation defined the marketing process that must be employed in the current age—one in which marketing is dominated by the World Wide Web. We identified situations in which you should be utilizing Pink Socks, as well as those in which Pocket Protectors are needed.
Our attendees came away from this event with a basic understanding of the marketing vehicles available through the web (PPC, rich media, optimization, behavioral tracking, etc.). They gained an understanding of the conflict that can exist when Pink Socks and Pocket Protectors are brought together to create marketing communications.
Your marketing efforts don’t have to be obsolete or out-of-touch just because marketing thinking has changed so quickly. But you do need to have a basic understanding of the radically changed and still-changing marketing scene.
To learn more about making Pink Socks and Pocket Protectors work for you in today’s interactive age, contact bprewitt@danacommunications.com.
Get Personal with Your Customers!
Posted by Jared Zech | Filed under Advertising, Media, Tips and Trends Series
Is your data being used to its fullest capacity?
If you don’t know who your best customers are, where they come from, their average spend and during which season they travel, then you are not using your data effectively.
Many hotels and resorts simply take the information in their PMS and dump it into some simple reporting spreadsheets. However, there is much more that can and should be done.
The first step is to take the data and clean it. Remove bad addresses—both email and direct mail. Run a National Change of Address (NCOA) search on it to be sure you have your customers’ most current mailing addresses. Remove duplicate addresses and consolidate guest information into one household. Add variables and append the data to fill in as many of those variables as possible, including first-time stay flags, repeat-guest flags, length of stay, lead time, recency and frequency codes.
Psychographic analysis can then be used on the data to classify the best guests and find more potential customers just like them.
The goal is not to just send out offers, but also to send very specific offers to the right people at the right time. Doing so will improve conversion rates and minimize waste. In addition, it allows you to target your prospecting because you’ll know which kinds of customers respond to which kinds of offers.
So, are you spraying and praying? Or are you really targeting your customers? Let Dana help you pinpoint success. Contact jzech@danacommunications.com.
