Travel Trends: The Sand Printer, Conversationalists

Advertising and exercising in one.

Sand-Printer like a giant die cutter – For today’s edition of Travel Trends, let’s look at an invention that is certainly not hi-tech.  Enter the Sand Printer.  Or, the Beach Hamster (copyright pending).  A giant wheel with lettering on the outside of the rim.  As the rider, or victim, rolls down the beach, a nicely typed message appears in the sand behind them.

From the creators, Zana Design of Spain (sorry, no direct link…a flash site):

The user enters the wheel and with the balance of his weight the wheel will begin turning in the sand at the same time displaying the message.  This is personalized prior to departing, since the letters must be attached to the outside panels of the structure in a workshop.  The message can be a phrase with large letters or a paragraph with small letters.

Sure, it’s cool, but how could I use it?

First, every beach destination in the country should be calling Spain to custom order one of these toys.  Not to mention beach-front hotels, major restaurants, etc, etc.  Honestly, I don’t think we could find a better example of guerrilla advertising combined with such an attention grabbing visual. Reminds us of the brilliant chalkbot from Nike.

Competitive messages for your destination on some other CVB’s beach, URL promotion, coupons, ‘follow me to restaurant X’…endless ideas for messages in the sand.

But why stop there, I know a few winter destinations that could roll out a product like this (pun intended!).  ‘Apres Ski Tonight at Bar X’ would nice is some freshly groomed powder just off of the Crescent Quad lift in Park City.  Okay, people skiing around this wheel might be a bit dangerous, but the effect would still be unique.  (Warning, do not aim Sand Printer down a snowy hill.)

And to top it all off, unlike other guerrilla techniques, this one is eco-friendly, washes or melts away and is not an annoying distraction to your potential audience.

Points to the first DMO to ship one over.

http://blog.makezine.com/

Social Technographics: Conversationalists get onto the ladder – Status updates on Twitter and Facebook now have a home on the social media ladder.  Today, Forrester Research, via the Groundswell blog, added a ‘Conversationalists’ rung to the Social Technographics chart or, simply, the ladder.  Conversationalists are defined as people who update a social network status at least once a week.  Anything less is deemed to be not very conversational.

Additionally, the post included some interesting facts from the full report:

They’re 56% female, more than any other group in the ladder. While they’re among the youngest of the groups, 70% are still 30 and up.

And more detail from the MediaPost report:

Conversationalists are younger than the average adult consumer — 56% female, with household incomes slightly above average and more likely than other social classifications to hold a college degree.

And they’re not just young people. Seventy percent are ages 30 or older. In fact, 36% are 18 to 29; 37% are 30 to 43; 14% are 44 to 53; 9% are 54 to 64; and 4% are 65 and older.

Along with some tips for using this data:

1. Convince your boss this stuff is for real, and that if you haven’t jumped on it, you’re late.
2. Profile your customer base, and see what they’re ready for, before planning a project to reach out to them. (After all, People is the first step in the POST process.)
3. Segment your audience; build different strategies for different segments. (Social is so prevalent now that a single approach for your company is probably too broad.)

http://blogs.forrester.com/groundswell/

Step 1: Research

We have to get this blog up to 88mph!

Earlier this month, I was asked to present on the subject of social media marketing to our members at VISIT DENVER.  As usual, it was a great group and a very good conversation on how to start or continue a social media marketing campaign.  Where should I start?  What should I talk about?  What about Facebook? And so on.

While we talk frequently about the execution of a social campaign and the sites involved…Twitter, Facebook, TripAdvisor…it is also important to remember the benefits and necessity of research.  Not only in social media, but also interactive marketing and traditional marketing in general.

Research can provide answers to our most pressing of questions.  Is my site effective, are visitors happy with the content or are people finding value in my tweets?  We all have theories, thoughts and personal opinions on what works best, but those ideas may not be shared by our customers.  The way to find out, ask your consumers.  Or, research.

And beyond on-site research, we also need answers to macro industry questions.  What are the industry trends, what site features are travelers looking for or how are consumers booking travel?

For today let’s talk about the social and interactive side and how research can not only be effective, but easy to implement.

I know, I said easy.  And really, it can be.

Industry Syndicated Research
Or, the reports you pay for.  Expert opinions, in-depth research, thousands of data points and some very thorough results.  Realistically, you probably will not purchase every report from these organizations, however you should take advantage of the free resources that these groups offer:  email subscriptions, blogs and free research summaries.

PhoCusWright
The travel industry experts.  Take advantage of the ‘Free Download’ section as well as the newly launched PhoCusWright Connect section…you can call it a blog.  A lot of great information circulates through the Connect section, and aside from Travel 2.0, you really should be reading the Connect blog.

Full disclosure, we are syndicated on the Connect blog.  I know, we are everywhere!

Pew Internet
Travel 2.0 vets already have Pew Internet in their Delicious profile.  If you don’t, add it now.  Although we noted above that these industry-wide services typically require a subscription or fee per report, Pew does not.  While the site is not as industry focused as PhoCusWright (few are), Pew Internet does provide a broad base of research relating to the interactive space.  Plus, email and RSS subscriptions are available, so sign up now.

Forrester
Providing copious reports on a variety of subjects, Forrester is arguably the largest of the industry research firms discussed here.  An advantage that provides for a great depth of content, but relatively few travel or tourism specific reports.  With that said, Forrester does offer free reports as well as the invaluable and highly respected Groundswell blog, created from the equally popular book / report of the same name.

Survey / Research Tools
The tools and sites to help you get research done.  Some are free, some are a subscription service, but for anyone interested in learning about the thoughts and actions of your consumers, these services are invaluable.

Tourvey
A service that we use at VISIT DENVER, Tourvey is a basic survey that provides CVBs and DMOs a baseline report on website visitation and experience.  While the benefit of a common survey allows for benchmarking against other destinations, the same structure does not allow for changes in the survey.  Some of the questions are valuable, others are just wasteful.  With that said, overall a valuable research tool.

4Q / iPerceptions
4Q, like Tourvey, is an on-site survey tool, however, unlike Tourvey, 4Q asks 4 simple questions, no more, no less.  As with so many things, 4Q is brilliant due to its simplicity.  Implement and find out the answers to the questions:

– What are my visitors at my website to do?
– Are they completing what they set out to do?
– If not, why not?
– How satisfied are my visitors?

Oh and did we mention it is free.

ClickTale
Ah, break out the tin foil hats because big brother is watching.  ClickTale is basically a snippet of code, not unlike Google Analytics, that does more than just record keystrokes.  It actually records and produces a video file that shows exactly where a visitor clicked, moved to and moused over.  Forget asking visitors where they went, with ClickTale you have the video proof.

Wondering why a certain form is not converting?  Start the tape, watch what your visitors are doing and then correct the problem.  Research without having to ask a single question.

Tin foil optional.

Social Research
Often underutilized or unrealized, the power of social media / networking not only connects friends and former classmates, but provides us with a powerful look into the opinions, trends and patterns of travelers.  Social media is not a one-way conversation, but rather provides the ideal vehicle for gaining knowledge on your demographic.

Twitter
We had to talk about it, so let’s just do it.  Twitter is everywhere (like us!).  And regardless of your like or dislike for this miracle of the Web 2.0 age, you cannot deny the value of information that is spawned by the random thoughts of the masses.  As I mentioned in my presentation to our members, why not use Twitter as a source of free research?

Let’s say you are a hotel, who is redesigning rooms, and you have 3 different artist renditions.  Sure, you can convene a focus group, but why use 12 people who only showed up at the session due to the promise of free donuts, when you have hundreds…perhaps thousands…of followers on Twitter who are brand loyal?  The people who will actually stay in those new rooms!  At the minimum, ask both groups.

Mmmm…donuts.

TripAdvisor
If you are a hotel, tourist restaurant or attraction, I hope you are already on and monitoring TripAdvisor.  As a hotel or resort property, what better source than TripAdvisor, the Elvis of travel user-generated content, to discover, learn and research what your consumers think of your property.

Several comments about unclean towels?  Time to check with the head housekeeper.  Complaints about the view, smell, colors of the rooms? Perhaps a room remodel should be in your 24-month strategy.  And hey, why not ask your Twitter followers about the new chairs?

Like Twitter, TripAdvisor is an often overlooked source of consumer opinion.  Ask yourself this…do you pay more attention to the 1 or 2 guest survey cards you get each week that only you and your staff will see or to the 1 or 2 reviews on TripAdvisor that thousands of your guests will see?

Yelp / Urbanspoon
The young foodie sisters of TripAdvisor, Yelp and Urbanspoon focus on the dining scene, but provide the same opportunities as larger travel review site.  Again, if you are a restaurant or, in the case of Yelp, possibly an attraction, you should be monitoring these sites to determine the trends of your consumers and visitors.  After all, it is free.

Research, step 1 in your marketing…social, interactive or otherwise…campaign.

Travel Trends – .youarecrazy, Social Media Survey, Consumers Don’t Trust Blogs*

.youarecrazy – Finally, a few more rational individuals, and in this case organizations, have begun to question ICANN’s absurd recommendation of additional top level domains.  Domains such as .delta, .motel or the ever-popular, .courtyardbymarriott.

The Association of National Advertisers is sounding a big warning about a proposal to open up top level internet domain names from the current ones like .com, .net and .org to a wide assortment of character strings.

…the switch would create an expensive nightmare for marketers, raising cyber-squatting and copyright issues that could cost marketers considerable money to fight.

Hopefully comments and concerns such as this one will cause ICANN to reconsider the current domain extension plan.
http://adage.com/digital/

Social Media Usage in the Travel Industry – Our counterparts at GoSeeTell are currently surveying members and peers within the travel industry on their current usage, strategy and thoughts on social media and social media marketing.

Numerous studies claim that social media sites like the ones mentioned above have a huge impact on buying behaviors, especially for travel products.  How are destination marketing organizations (DMOs) reacting? What are best practices? Is this a fad or is social media here to stay? To find out answers we have put together this survey. It is being sent to over 100 DMOs all over the United States.  The purpose of this research is to determine the current use of social media in the US tourism industry.

So, if you are a CVB or DMO within the US, please consider taking the survey.  Data and reports such as this one will benefit the entire industry as we develop new marketing channels.

People Don’t Trust Company Blogs – Crap.  Really?  Only 16% of you trust our company blog? By this point, most of you have seen the report from Forrester that consumers don’t trust company blogs.  Thankfully, Forrester went on to explain that stance:

Make no mistake. This is not a plea to give up on blogging.

It is a plea to be thoughtful in how and why you blog.

…This means that if you blog, your goal should be to create a blog about which people say “I like that – I don’t think of it as a company blog…

Perfect.  Honestly, who wants to read a blog that does nothing but praise the Duracell battery company (for example) and how innovative it is?  No one.  Consumers want some kind of value in return for their time spent reading the blog.  Quality content.

If you have hordes of fans, blog for them. For the other 99% of brands it doesn’t apply.

The same idea of passion that we have talked about in relation to SMS marketing and Facebook also applies here.  Hordes of fans = passionate.  Or, they will read a blog about your product.  Case in point, the Coca-Cola Conversations blog.  A blog dedicated to Coke history and memorabilia.

Blogging is still an excellent medium to connect, market and converse about your product, but only becomes truly beneficial with quality content and conversation from a consumer point of view.

As for the *, while the statistic of 16% is a headline maker, it does not tell the whole story.  So, don’t plan on breaking out that little chestnut of knowledge at your next board meeting…unless you have time for the rest of the story.
http://blogs.forrester.com/groundswell/

Travel Trends – Blog Now!, Social is Mainstream, Internet Users

Just a screen capture, nothing happens if you click me...

Let’s hear it for the blog – A great clip from the recent Open Forum series, brought to you by American Express, Tom Peters and Seth Godin discuss, or more accurately, celebrate the blog.  Anyone who is or is thinking about blogging needs to watch the clip:

http://www.openforum.com/marketing/video_hearitfortheblog.html

Another note, this is a good example of creating valuable, relevant content that drives consumers back to your site.  As you will see by the Open Forum site, the goal here is to get small business owners to view the content, which is surrounded by the AMEX brand and then sign up for the Open card.  Notice, we could not embed the video on our site, usually a death-sentence for a viral video, but in this case the content is so good we are linking to it anyway.

Something to think about prior to your next video / commercial shoot.  How do we not only create a commercial for TV, but how can we pull out additional, valuable (!) content for online?

And, thanks to the Happy Hotelier and Michael Chaffin for spotting the video.
http://www.openforum.com/

Social is the Mainstream – From the depths of the research file comes this little quote that you are now free to throw out wildly at company meetings…social websites are now mainstream!

A consumer poll done in the second quarter found that 75 percent of Internet users participate in some form of social media, up from 56 percent in 2007.

Adoption rates vary by the type of activity. For example, Forrester found large growth in participation among those reading blogs and writing product reviews. “Spectator” rates jumped from 48 percent to 69 percent. Likewise, those identifying themselves as “critics” increased from 25 percent to 37 percent.

Yet other areas saw more modest increases. Maintaining RSS feeds and tagging Internet content remain far from the norm. Just 19 percent fell into that “collector” category, up from 12 percent a year ago.

Rates of content creation have slowed considerably. Those publishing a blog or personal Web page saw incremental growth: 21 percent versus 18 percent. In fact, blogging grew just 10 percent, well behind the 39 percent growth in starting a social network profile. Still, blogs remain a highly popular form of social media: 48 percent of respondents said they have read one, a nearly 50 percent increase from 2007.

In another sign that social media has gone mainstream, Forrester found the participation gap narrowing among age groups, though younger demographics still rate higher. Forrester found 35-44-year-olds increasingly entered the ranks of critics, joiners and spectators.

Some great stats in there.  Keep these top of mind: 75% of internet users are now participating in some form of social media.  The next time a co-worker says ‘who does this?’ you can reply, 75% of us ‘do this.’

The collector category is always an interesting one for me.  I think RSS can be more widely adopted, but the current way RSS is presented to the consumer is confusing.  RSS, feeds, readers…it all sounds like work.  However, utilizing RSS technology and presenting it in an understandable package (i.e., Google Alerts) will result in much greater adoption.  Tagging is just a few more years away…for tagging to really experience growth, consumers have to be educated on the technology primarily from large providers such as Microsoft.  Once you can save your Word files by tags, instead of the folder system, the adoption rate will increase.

Finally, let’s touch on blogs.  Since we confessed our undying love for blogs in the first trend, it seems a bit odd to tout a report that shows only modest growth.  However, understand the commitment required with a blog vs. a social network profile.  Again, bloggers have to be dedicated, working daily to update, refine and cultivate their blog.  While updating a social networking profile is a one-time set-up, with the occasional update.

Bloggers are educated, passionate individuals with the social power and desire to influence, speak to and engage with others.

I could not have said it better myself.  Oh, wait, I did.
http://www.adweek.com/

US Internet User Update – A quick graph from eMarketer on US Internet adoption:

http://www.emarketer.com/