Inspired Creativity
My job as an agency executive is to inspire destination marketers by helping them take the bold steps needed to keep them at the forefront of online tourism marketing.
We inspire and teach our clients how to take ownership of creating original content for their websites, and how that content drives visits from the search engines.
We show them how to integrate social media, interactive database tools, content management, and online advertising into their interactive marketing.
And we inspire destinations by keeping them up to date on innovative technologies that will keep them at the forefront of interactive marketing such as mobile web technologies and quick response codes.
But at the end of the day what really matters is if you have been able to inspire your online visitors to engage with you and ultimately take action and visit your destination. The next generation of travelers coming of age has a very different set of expectations from your current and past customers. Those differences will require a dramatic shift in how you inspire them to visit your destination.
Your Next Generation of Visitors
Your Next Generation of Visitors
In looking forward into your future, you need to inspire not only your current customer base, but you need to also inspire your next generation of visitors to your destination and they will be very different from your current demographic in some key aspects.
A typical visitor now is most likely a golfer, 40+ year’s of age, in a professional position at work, owns a home, and although they have most likely embraced technology, they remember the world before the web and cell phones.
Looking out 5 years into the future your next generation of visitors is currently in their 30’s, and looking 10 years out they are in their 20’s. They have not known the world without the Internet and smart phones and now iPad’s.
For them mobile technologies and seamless integration of web content into their life won’t be a convenience, it will be an expectation.
Regardless of whether it is sustainable in the long run, they have grown up in an age where most online content is free.
Web 1.0 was a read-only, controlled, packaged, scripted presentation of website home pages. Web 2.0 ushered in the concept of a 2 way conversation within web sites, of sharing content and online communities. We are now at the edge of Web 3.0, a time in which the focus will shift again this time to mobility, personalization, and focus on the individual.
Consumers are looking for real, relevant, authentic content as evidenced by the demand on social sites like Youtube and Facebook.
Part of your “content” now is being created by your visitors and working in this landscape requires more transparency, keeping up with multiple vehicles for your content, and embracing user generated content as part of your web presence.
An Innovative Example
Get Lost in Loudoun! Website
An innovative destination marketing campaign that embraces this approach to reaching a younger demographic is the “Get Lost in Loudoun” campaign. It is aimed at getting a younger demographic to ditch their technology and the daily grind for a weekend trip to the countryside.
The idea was simple enough; film the adventures of a group of ordinary people seeking to break out of their routines as they immerse themselves in the local experience of Loudoun VA and deliver it online. The execution, however, was a bit more complex and involved the integration of reality based video, a website, social media, e-mail marketing, internet advertising, and a promotional contest.
The centerpiece of the campaign is an online video series shot in a reality television style consisting of 9 episodes of the cast doing things like white water rafting, making wine, making pottery, and experiencing life on a farm. By releasing an episode a week it will extend the duration of the campaign and also provide a reason for their audience to return, increasing their exposure to the brand.
The campaign is relying heavily on social media to reach the target audience and the format of the reality TV style video series was chosen to inspire the younger demographic.
A more detailed description can be viewed here: Get Lost in Loudoun
Conclusion
In order to be prepared you need to take bold steps now to embrace a more mobile web platform and web presence to keep you in line with their expectations.
There will be a learning curve but waiting to dive into mobile marketing will only make it more difficult to catch up.
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