Make it Personal - - eMail Marketers planning to adopt more techniques, including advanced segmentation (42%), personalization (37%) and behavioral targeting (34%).

http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1007573

eMail Marketers, surveyed in a recent article by eMarketer, reported that they are going to start to use more advanced segmentation, personalization and behavioral targeting in 2010. 37% plan to add social sharing of their email content.

Why aren’t they doing this already? We have used these tactics for years and the cost is minimal and the rewards are fantastic. What was really eye opening in this report was that less than half of the marketers surveyed used re-marketing as a tactic.

It’s really all about making it personal. If you engage a consumer through these tactics you have done so because you connected on a personal interest. Engagement is nothing more than connection, and eMail is one of the best touch points for engagement. We use a combination of eMail, Social, Search and Media to engage. Any one of those touch points makes it personal if you are segmenting correctly and sending the right message at the right time.

We are hearing a great deal about the decline of email marketing at conferences and summits, but in reality it is a hard working tool that always brings great results for our clients when used in an overarching strategy and not a stand alone medium.

Let me know what you think,

Leah

New study by Forrester Research shows that 46% of travelers are allowing their budgets to dictate vacation destination, and 49% of travelers say that they will accept a certain amount of inconvenience in order to save money.

Southwest Airlines taps into traveler sentiment about airline bag charges by launching seven new ads this week that feature cost savings and employees having fun!  Ads run online and offline. In this era of airlines starting to charge for every amenity, including bags and maybe even seat preference, Southwest is holding true to it’s values by offering customers the same great service without bag fees. Clearly they have been successful since they have gained market share by forgoing these additional charges.

As travel marketers we have to remember that the economic climate is still uncertain. We can count on the fact that travelers are looking for deals and ways to save.

Till next time.

Leah

So the blog stayed up way too long, but I did get many responses from DMOs and hotels letting me know that they indeed were revolutionary in their online approaches. The most interesting comments I received were from DMOs and hotels who believe that they are revolutionary by converting their total advertising and marketing budgets to Interactive, then portioning off some of that budget for offline tactics. I admit that this is a change agent that is not often discussed.

When an organization follows the research and data it is an important step in breaking old rules. We know that since 911 marketing and advertising plans have been changed forever… it taught us to operate with a marketing strategy and 90 day plans, plans based on research and data. We had to move quickly to lay the path for successful returns and we learned to stay nimble. Now the consumer in an uncertain mindset about spending it is even more important that we all remember to stay nimble and follow the research.

Kudos to those of you who are brave enough to lead with interactive and let the consumer behavior guide your strategy.

Till next time,

Leah

As I am speaking to Tourism organizations yesterday and today in Florida I am talking about budget allocation and where the Interactive budgets are allocated. Take a look at these predictions by Forrester Research:

• Interactive marketing spending in the US expected to triple over the next 5 years, reaching $61 billion by 2012
• Search marketing will triple in 5 years, reaching $25 billion by 2012
• online video ads will increase by 72% to reach $7.1 billion by 2012
• Spending on social media will grow to $6.9 billion

(Forrester Research, US Interactive Marketing Forecast 2007 to 2012)

With this kind of spend and the fact that there are only so many proven ways to really get ROI on the spend, it becomes critical that any organization really fine tune and continually test their online strategy and tactics for return on investment. I always have said, "you can't manage what you don't measure".

Till next time....

Leah Woolford CEO, USDM.net

What new opportunities with 2008 hold for Internet marketers? My predictions are as follows:

1. Web 2.0 users will push back as advertisers try to turn their personal and social commentary into bait to lure online buyers. If your organization is keen on making the most of social networking and community you MUST obey the rules or risk getting called out and vilified online.

2. Subscriptions will replace display advertising in some sites… Subscriptions could take the place of advertising where users are charged a periodic -- daily, monthly or annual -- fee to subscribe to a service. Sites might combine free content with "premium" (i.e., subscriber- or member-only) content. Content is still king.

3. Collaboration is cutting edge… Companies are developing online products “on the fly”. Dell’s Brainstorm http://www.ideastorm.com/  is a very creative way to let consumers develop your next product line for you. Way to go, Michael. Imagine how cool it would be to have consumers help you brainstorm about new ideas for a great winter festival in your destination, or a great new reason to visit!

4. Life Imitates Art… www.secondlife.com, www.vmtv.com and more… if you think this is not a place to explore branding, just talk to some of the highly educated professionals that hang out in these sites. Besides the virtual worlds for entertainment there are other companies developing 3D meeting rooms where avatars take the place of the humans to interact in business or training.

5. Finally Internet TV… way back in the day (1990s) when I consulted with some of the largest Telecoms in the country we all talked about the “set top box”… the way that Internet and TV would finally become one. Back then it was a dream of convergence but in 2008 I predict it will finally be a reality. We all used to say that someday people won’t even have to know how to use a computer to get online : )

I would love to hear your comments …

See ya next time…

Leah

lwoolford@usdm.net

www.usdm.net

Is your 2006 Strategic Marketing Plan Based on the Latest Research Findings?

The online travel industry is changing so much and at such a rapid pace that it is hard for the average DMO, hotel or other travel organization to keep up with it all. In fact it is impossible to keep up with it ALL. I have found that even when I pare down my reading to the most essential topics, I still take home reading me every night.

So how DO you stay abreast of the best and latest research?

Here are two great resources.

1. Purchase the definitive new online travel research report: Travelers Use of the Internet that USDM.net just co-published with the Travel Industry Association of America (TIA). This is a very useful foundational document for basing your 2006 plan on solid research. If you read no other research report, you must read this one. It's one of the best.

2. Click to our newly updated web site at www.usdm.net, where we share some other important research data that you need to keep your eye on for 2006.

You will find helpful articles specifically for DMOs (destination marketing organizations), Hotels and for the general Travel Industry.

Topics include:
- Top 10 Travel Trends for 2006
- Planning Your Online Budget
- Organic Search - - the Online Annuity
- Click Fraud and Managing the Rising Cost of Search Marketing
- Direct Booking and Managing Online Distribution
- Conversion Content Mapping™

Strong growth and significant changes in the online travel marketplace continue to affect how you and your travel partners do business online. You need to develop mechanisms in your 2006 strategic plan for managing these changes. These two resources can help.

I hope you find this information useful, and would like to hear your comments on the topics.

Leah

Posted at 01:34 PM