PR & Marketing Plan for an Online Travel Agency

This is a PR & Marketing Plan I wrote for an online travel agency expanding into a new market in Southeast Asia. The brand's name has been removed and replaced with [Brand], but the rest of the plan is as submitted when I was the brand's Chief Marketing Officer.

Transcript

1. Public Relations. Digital Marketing. Reputation Management.
2. By Tony Ahn A Marketing & PR Plan The Background The company in question is an online travel agency operating in Australia, Singapore and Thailand and expanding into the Philippine market.
3. Index 1. Market Research - 4 2. Profiling Internet Users in the Philippines - 31 3. Personas - 42 4. Mapping the Customer Journey - 53 5. Measurement - 55 6. Brand Audit - 58 7. Strategy Overview - 61 8. Strategy Q1 / Q2 - 67
4. Online Travel Agency Industry Research & Global Trend Analysis 1. Market Research
5. Trends ❖ TREND: Passenger interaction with customer services is both mobile and social. ➢ 89% of airline passengers want mobile flight status updates, but only 65% do via social media. ➢ 70% of airlines and 58% of airports are implementing flight status updates via social media ➢ 91% of airlines believe that mobile apps will become a dominating customer service channel, while only 31% believe that social media will become a dominating customer service channel CONCLUSION: Brand needs to be present both in the mobile and social media spaces, using both channels for customer service.
6. Trends ❖ TREND: The industry is shifting to high quality business intelligence. ➢ 80% of airports/airlines will invest in business intelligence solutions in the next 3 years ➢ 80% of airports are sharing data with airlines, while 53% of airlines are sharing data with airports CONCLUSION: We need to assess what our business intelligence assets and resources are, then make a plan to leverage them to inform our marketing and product/service development.
7. Trends ❖ TREND: Self-service has come of age. ➢ 90% of airlines are now offering mobile check in ➢ 50% of airports/airlines having plans to implement transfer and self-boarding kiosks ➢ 9 out of 10 passengers want flight status info on mobiles, transfer kiosks, and self-boarding kiosks ➢ 40% more people are using mobile boarding today compared to 5 years ago. CONCLUSION: Self-service activities require a number of discrete mobile moments, which we should attempt to own as often as possible. This will require brainstorming which mobile moments we can own, then coming up with a plan to capture them.
8. Trends ❖ TREND: Reach and brand loyalty ➢ 61% of passengers want increased “personalization” before engaging more with mobile commerce. ➢ 89% of airlines sell tickets via mobile apps ➢ 70% of airline executives think mobile apps will be an equally dominant sales channel ➢ Today, 74% of global passengers book through airline websites, 85% locally. CONCLUSION: Brand's mobile app must be something airline passengers find useful (i.e. it solves a problem and/or reduces customer pain points), in order to increase brand awareness & should provide a personalized/customized experience for each user to increase mobile conversions.
9. Challenges to Marketing Effectiveness Market Research
10. 10 Challenges to Marketing Effectiveness
11. 11 Challenges to Marketing Effectiveness ❖70% of consumers receive multiple sales and mobile communications from travel companies each day, with nearly a quarter of that group receiving 6 or more offers daily. ❖55% of consumers said three out of four travel offers they receive are irrelevant to their needs and preferences.
12. SURVEY: “What makes travelers ignore brands?” 12 Challenges to Marketing Effectiveness
13. SURVEY: “What do you do when you receive multiple offers from a company that are irrelevant and don’t meet your needs?” 13 Challenges to Marketing Effectiveness
14. 14 Marketing Effectiveness Conclusions ❖ Email marketing must be personalized, well targeted, and (if possible) tailored to the consumer’s site visit patterns. Visitors searching for specific routes or reading content on particular destinations can be sent emails about those routes and destinations. ❖ Skiddoo needs to invest in ways of providing information to customers when they’re receptive to it (good) or when they need/require it (better). ❖ Price, location, and schedule need to be the first thing a customer sees in order to give us the best chance of winning the click. ❖ Loss leaders that replicate Cebu Pacific’s 1 peso seat sales will draw attention.
15. Mobile Marketing Market Research
16. SOURCE: GOOGLE 16 Mobile Marketing in 2016
18. 18 Mobile Marketing in 2016 Mobile Moments: The dozens of times a day that people pick up their phones to look up information, research a product, or find a local address. “The advertising game is no longer about reach and frequency,” said Lisa Gevelber, a Google vice president for marketing, who pioneered the mobile moments concept. “Now more than ever, intent is more important than identity and demographics, and immediacy is more important than brand loyalty.” –New York Times, Jan 18, 2016
19. 19 Types of Mobile Moments
20. 20 ❖ The brand's lack of brand awareness among Filipino consumers will not be a major obstacle if we can get in front of them with the best prices when (immediacy) they want (intent) to travel. However, we should of course strive to be the top-of-mind platform of choice for booking flights. ❖ Brand must find ways to own mobile moments relevant to travel, through both traditional and mobile marketing. ❖ Price, location, and schedule need to be the first thing a customer sees in order to give us the best chance of winning the click. ❖ Content marketing is a good strategy to both provide useful information and to help us SEO optimize for specific keywords/phrases. Articles should be geared to the fact that someone on a mobile phone is doing travel research. ❖ A mobile app is also a winning strategy provided it solves a problem and/or reduces pain points, but that app has to do more than just sell airline tickets. Mobile Marketing Conclusions
21. Philippines Travel Research Market Research
22. 2015 Top Routes Searched 1. MNL – SIN 2. MNL – HKG 3. MNL – CEB 4. MNL – BKK 5. MNL – PPS 6. MNL – MPH 7. MNL – KLO 8. MNL – NRT 9. MNL – DVO 10. MNL – LAX Booked 1. MNL – MPH 2. MNL – PPS 3. MNL – CEB 4. MNL – KLO 5. CEB – MNL 6. MNL – DVO 7. MNL – ILO 8. MNL – TAG 9. DVO – MNL 10. PPS – MNL
23. TOP 6 CARRIERS 1. PAL (50%) 2. Cebu Pacific (30%) 3. AirAsia Zest (13%) 4. Cathay Pacific 5. Jetstar Airways 6. Eva Air 23 Top Destinations & Carriers
24. Popular PH Travel Websites Top Travel Blogs ❖ http://ourawesomeplanet.com ❖ http://iAmAileen.com ❖ http://www.eazytraveler.net/ ❖ http://www.beyondcebu.com/ ❖ http://twomonkeystravelgroup.com/ ❖ http://blog.hannah.ph/ ❖ http://www.thepinaysolobackpacker.com/ ❖ http://www.solitarywanderer.com/ ❖ http://outoftownblog.com/ ❖ http://www.thepoortraveler.net/ ❖ http://www.pinoyadventurista.com/ ❖ http://www.lakwatsero.com/ Top Travel Related Sites 1. Metrodeal (#26 most visited site in PH) 2. Cebu Pacific (#31) 3. TripAdvisor (#59) 4. Air Asia (#92) 5. PAL (#93) 6. Ensogo (#150) 7. When In Manila (#158) 8. Spot.ph (#178) 9. Airbnb (#195) 10. Foursquare (#423)
25. 25 Recommendations ❖ Articles written by the top bloggers, about the top carriers, going to the top destinations will be attention- getting and good for SEO. ❖ A regular, long term blogger campaign will be an inexpensive way to stay present in the public consciousness and provide consumers multi- channel marketing touches. ❖ Using these routes for our contests and promotions will also make the contests and promotions more desirable. ❖ Getting into the top travel-related sites will also be good for SEO and provide another marketing touch.
26. Competition Research Market Research
27. 27 Who are we really competing against? Anyone who sells airline tickets that could have been purchased from us. ❖Our brand's only known local competitor is Tripmoba: a PH-owned Online Travel Agency ❖We also compete against the large international OTAs, which comprise a much larger share of the market. ❖The largest share is occupied by airlines’ direct sales via their websites.
28. 28 Tripmoba ❖ Full service OTA, offering flights, hotel, and packages. ❖ Owned by Transnational Diversified Group, which also owns: ➢ American Express Transnational (IATA travel agency – caters to business) ➢ Universal Holidays (IATA travel agency – caters to leisure) ➢ Gate Sales Agency for Asiana Airlines and All Nippon Airways (ANA) ➢ As well as holdings in other industries: ➢ TOTAL LOGISTICS (International Shipping, Transportation, Warehousing, Vehicle Logistics, Customs Brokerage, 3rd and 4th Party Logistics, Airport Support & Aviation Services) ➢ TOTAL SHIP MANAGEMENT (Crew Management, Seafarer Training, Maritime Education, Tanker Operations, Medical Services and Financial Services) ➢ INFORMATION & COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY SERVICES (Contact Centers, Business Process Outsourcing Services, Software Development and E-Business Solutions) ➢ OTHERS (Securities Trading, Real Estate Development, Renewable Energy, and other supplemental businesses.)
29. ❖ Launched Oct. 2013 ❖ Similarweb Stats: ➢ Average of 15k visits per month ➢ Average visit duration 6:25 ➢ Bounce Rate 44% 29 Tripmoba Stats
30. 30 Tripmoba Marketing Analysis ❖ They spent heavily on public relations, holding a launch party attended by local celebrities, and generating press in the major broadsheets and online. ❖ As the first OTA in the Philippines, their PR efforts have made them top of mind with a small number of customers, as evidenced by a significant portion of their traffic coming from either a brand name search or a direct URL entry. ❖ Half their traffic comes from referrers. They are doing almost no Search Engine Marketing. ❖ They are employing a content marketing strategy that is poorly SEO optimized and appears to be failing.
31. Filipino Internet Use 2. Profiling Internet Users in the Philippines
32. This demographic/psychographic information will inform our content and other marketing strategies. 32
36. RESPONDENTS: 41,000 Filipinos in PH DATE OF SURVEY: Q3 and Q4 2015 Age 16-24 Audience % Age 25-34 Audience % Age 35-44 Audience % Age 45-54 Audience % Age 55-64 Audience % Used a social networking service (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, IG) 84.4 87.1 89.9 92.4 90.8 Chatted to someone via an instant messenger or live chat tool 68.1 71.2 72.3 67.9 62.5 Used a micro-blogging service 65.6 47.1 42.2 26.7 28.5 Played an online game 60 54.1 52.6 45.3 35.4 Watched a full-length film which you have streamed or downloaded 56.5 56.9 54.3 53.8 33.3 Listened to music on a music-streaming service (e.g. Spotify, Deezer) 54 48 40.9 39.9 28.4 Uploaded photos online 51.8 58.9 56.8 52.7 40.4 Checked the weather online 49.2 53.3 53.7 54.7 62.5 Used a question and answer service (i.e. Yahoo Answers or Quora) 48.8 45.9 58.3 40.6 45.8 Reviewed a product or brand online 48.1 52.5 50.9 46.2 37.5 Used a webmail service 47.7 56.9 54.9 47.2 50 Watched television shows on demand (not live) via a catch-up or streaming service 46.2 45.9 38.9 39.6 29.2 Watched a video clip 44.7 42.9 41.5 37.2 28 Posted a comment on a forum / message board 44.2 49.8 45.7 36.8 43.7 Made a phone call (VOIP) online / (e.g. Skype, WhatsApp, Viber etc) 43.5 52.5 55.4 57.5 54.2 Purchased a product online 40.8 44.7 44 43.4 35.4 Watched a vlog (a video of a blogger talking about something) 38.5 29.4 33.7 23.6 16.7 Streamed live television 37.3 34.5 31.4 25.5 31.2 Commented on a story 35.4 37.6 33.7 27.4 31.2 Searched for product or service to buy 35.3 42.2 45.8 38.7 28.8 Watched sports coverage 33.5 36.5 33.1 34 27.1 Sold a product online 30 30.6 30.9 22.6 14.6 Bought a product or service thru a group-buying site (e.g. Groupon) 30 29.4 29.7 24.5 22.9 Edited/managed own website 29.2 25.1 22.9 19.8 16.7 Uploaded a video online 28.3 32.1 30 24.8 19.4 Listened to / watched a podcast 27.3 25.9 27.4 16 12.5 Written your own blog 25.4 21.6 18.9 15.1 4.2 Used internet banking 19.9 24.9 26.4 22.4 18.4 Which of the following have you done online on your PC/laptop, mobile or tablet in the past month? SOURCE: GLOBAL WEB INDEX 36
37. During theonlinepurchasejourney, itis theavailability offree delivery whichis most likely to increase someone’s chances of completing a transaction, with a 9-point lead over the next most popular drive r. Itresonates especially strongly with women, those in the older age groups and thosein the top incom e quartile. Consumer reviews are also well-received by customers. Women areahead of menin this casebut weseeconsistency acrossagegroups anda slight peakamong thehigher income groups. Significantly, financial rewards areof mostinterest to thetop incomegroup; clearly, thechanceto save money has broad appeal and is not linked exclusively to financial circum stances. Currently,socialcommerceremainsa rathernicheproposition; just 1 8 %in thePhilippines say that a “buy” button would m ake them morelikely to purchase, putting it at thevery bottom of the list. However, this is the place where consumers in the Philippines over-index the most strongly compared to the globalaverage. ONLINE PURCHASEDRIVERS % who say the following things make them morelikely to purchase a product online Question: Which of the following online activities from a brand are most likely to positively influence your consideration to purchase? • Source: GlobalWebIndexQ2-Q3 2015 • Base: Internet Users aged 16-64 37 Online Purchase Motivators
38. ONLINE PURCHASING & RESEARCH BY CATEGORY - % who have recently bought orresearched the following items online ONLINE BUYING AND REVIEWING % who have bought orreviewed a product online in the last month 48% of internet users in the Philippines are buying products via the internet each month; while this is below the global average, it still confirm s online commerce’s position as a m ainstreamand ingrained activity. Currently, PCs and laptops remain integral to this process; almost everyonewho is purchasing online is m aking at least some of their transactions on thesedevices. However, mobilesareused by 23 %to buy online. Tablets remain more niche; 1 5 % are using them for this purpose. Research, Purchase & Online Reviews 38
39. Within the GlobalWebIndex survey, digital consumers are asked if they have recently talked or posted an opinion online about 30 different subjects and product categories. If we rank these in the Philippines, it is online services, mobile phones and fast food which make up the top 3 positions. Across the board, consumers in the Philippines tend to be more vocal than their counterparts in many other countries. In fact, 3 in 4 say they have recently shared an online opinion about at least one of the categories in question, giving further evidencefor the important roleof the internet in term s of brandadvocacy. TOP20TOPICS OF ONLINE CONVERSATION % who saythey talked about the following subjects online during the past month Question: Which of the following products, services or topics have you posted opinions about online in the past month? • Source: GlobalWebIndex Q1-Q3 2015 • Base: Internet Users aged 16-64 Topics of Online Conversation & Sources of Brand Discovery TOP15 SOURCES OF BRAND/PRODUCT DISCOVERY % who say they discover products via the following sources At the very start of the purchase journey, it is ads seen on TV and online which make the biggest impact,with search engines following behindin thirdplace.Thereisanage-basedtrendfor ads seen on TV or online; both types of ads score higher figures among older groups than among 16-24s, which departsfromtheglobalpicturewhereyounger groupspost higher figures for onlineads. Theimpact ofad- blockers or ad-skippingtechniques is apparenthere. 39
40. RESPONDENTS: 41,000 Filipinos in PH DATE OF SURVEY: Q3 and Q4 2015 Age 16 to 24 Audience % Age 25 to 34 Audience % Age 35 to 44 Audience % Age 45 to 54 Audience % Age 55 to 64 Audience % Social networks 52.9 63.4 65.7 62.8 52.2 Search engines 47.4 52.2 52 60.9 59.3 Consumer reviews 39.8 42.6 41.1 39.9 40.9 Product/brand sites 33.6 40.1 45.7 47.1 51.9 Mobile apps 31.4 31.8 21.6 19 12.4 Blogs on products/brands 30.5 26.5 26.1 26.7 15.7 Price comparison websites 29.2 30.6 35 32.3 32.2 Question & Answer sites 28.7 29.8 30.1 23.4 27.9 Video sites 27.7 23.7 20.9 21.4 17.1 Forums / message boards 22.9 27 24.5 20.6 16.4 Micro-blogs (e.g. Twitter) 20 14.4 16.9 11.7 8.4 Discount voucher / coupon sites 18.8 23.2 19.7 16.2 8.8 Online pinboards (e.g. Pinterest) 17.6 18.3 17.2 12.4 9.3 Vlogs (blogs recorded in video form) 17.3 12.1 8.5 9.9 4.6 Messaging / live chat services 14.5 14.4 16.9 10.8 10.8 QUESTION: Which of the following online sources do you mainly use when you are actively looking for more information about brands, products, or services? 40 Consumer Research Behavior
41. RESPONDENTS: 41,000 Filipinos in PH DATE OF SURVEY: Q3 and Q4 2015 Age 16 to 24 Audience % Age 25 to 34 Audience % Age 35 to 44 Audience % Age 45 to 54 Audience % Age 55 to 64 Audience % I use a private browsing window (e.g. FireFoxPrivate Browsing, Internet Explorer InPrivate Browsing, Google Incognito) 61.2 54 49.6 47.7 43.4 I delete cookies so that websites will not remember me 42.6 42.3 39.4 29.9 25.7 I use ad-blocking tools to stop websites from displaying advertisements when I visit them (popular examples include Adblock, Adblock Plus and Adguard) 38.3 31.5 23.8 15.6 13.6 I use anti-tracking tools to stop companies from monitoring my internet activities (popular examples include Blur by Abine, Ghostery and Disconnect.me) 26.1 20.7 18.4 10.2 9.3 QUESTION: Which of the following things apply to you when you access the Internet from your main computer? 41 TREND: Ad Blocking on the Rise
42. Filipino Traveler Psychographics 3. Personas
43. To leave behind the stress of daily life and unwind. Doing things together regardless of the destination A feeling of achievement and status that travel to my desired destinations brings. Rewarding myself Letting go and being wild SOURCE: PH Dept. of Tourism 43 The Filipino Leisure Traveler’s Top 5 Travel Needs:
44. Visit friends and relatives Fits the budget There was a travel promotion Safe and secure Value for money 44 The Filipino Leisure Traveler’s Top 5 Travel Considerations: SOURCE: PH Dept. of Tourism
45. SOURCE: SINGAPORE TOURISM BOARD 45 Trigger for Action: Value Seeking ❖ Pursuit of excellent value for the amount paid is a strongly Filipino behavior, because getting a “great deal” is prioritized high among Filipino values. As a result, many Filipinos are triggered to travel by seat sale promotions from airlines. ❖ Value seeking is so strong in Filipinos it can even alter choice of destination. As one FGD respondent said “We really wanted Hong Kong for Disneyland. But Singapore offered a sale first so we went there in the meantime.” RECOMMENDATION: Display great deals on routes that may be of interest to individual visitors (based on geolocation), above the fold. This is more relevant than a hero image and may trigger an impulse buy.
46. SOURCE: SINGAPORE TOURISM BOARD 46 Order of Operations Filipino travelers tend to plan their trips in a manner unique to the Philippine market: 1. Discovery of a route of interest with an excellent value fare 2. Confirmation of availability of travel companions (if any) 3. Travel budget planning with travel companions (airfare and accommodation) 4. Upon consensus, online purchase of airline tickets 5. Accommodation search and reservation 6. Itinerary plan (optional) RECOMMENDATION: Add site functionality that allows me to share a deal I’ve discovered with my travel buddies or other family members, so they can confirm if it fits their schedule. Even better if they can “green light” it automatically,
47. SOURCE: SINGAPORE TOURISM BOARD 47 Preference for online booking ❖Filipinos preferred to book online as bookings were immediate and required no waiting time. ❖Filipinos turn to travel agents when travelling during peak season or when travelli ng in a large group, for which bookings might be difficult; or for travel to destinations with visa requirements or unfamiliar destinations. ❖Filipinos with a trusted travel agent will compare against prices online.
48. SOURCE: SINGAPORE TOURISM BOARD 48 Information Sources Before & During Travel ❖ Before the trip, Filipinos relied on word-of-mouth from trusted sources, like friends and relatives who had either been to (47%) or are living in (45%) the destination. ❖ They also turned to travel agents (45%) who they considered as domain experts when travelling in a big group or when visas were required. ❖ Online sources (37%) were also popular as it was fast and easy to make comparisons. ❖ Although they did not follow specific blogs, celebrities who shared their travel experiences could create awareness and intrigue toward places mentioned and provid e options for activities in a destination. During their trip, Filipinos depended on friends and relatives living in the destination for information and recommendations. Many of them also turned to online sources (29%) and guidebooks (47%) for information.
49. Key Personas Personas
50. 50 Persona: Solo Traveler ❖Ricky Cruz ❖23 years old ❖Property Consultant for Megaworld ❖Lives in Manila ❖Single ❖ Motivations ➢ Travels by air twice a year, by bus once a quarter ➢ Always looking for great beaches ➢ Wants to do more international travel but can’t afford it ❖ Goals ➢ To see and understand the world more ➢ For his friends to see he’s “takes the road less traveled” ❖ Behaviors ➢ Posts a lot of “wish you were here” type photos to social media when traveling ➢ Seeks out new and unusual experiences ➢ Likes to be a purveyor of knowledge, knowing the best restaurant in a destination town, or a secret beach unknown to most tourists
51. 51 Persona: Couple Traveler ❖Sharon Hilario ❖32 years old ❖Operations Manager at Golden Arches Corp. ❖Lives in Manila ❖In a long-term relationship ❖ Motivations ➢ Sharon wants to build happy memories with her boyfriend ➢ She enjoys having new experiences with him as she believes these shared experiences are the glue that hold the relationship together and keep it exciting ➢ She travels by air three times a year, with her boyfriend ➢ Goals ➢ To continue to explore the world with him ➢ To have new shared experiences that continue to bring them closer ➢ Behaviors ➢ Sharon likes to post pics of her and her boyfriend to social media ➢ She makes sure he takes care of the travel logistics, besides packing. He deals with the front desk at the hotel and ticketing at the airport, since its mostly his money funding the trip. ➢ She is web savvy however and does a lot of the trip research, suggesting to him places she’d like them to go.
52. 52 Persona: Group Traveler ❖Towie Moncayo ❖25 years old ❖Senior Web Developer for Blue Dot IT ❖Lives in Cebu ❖Single ❖ Motivations ➢ Towie likes to party with his bros ➢ He really loves having a barkada that likes to travel ➢ His group does 2 to 4 trips per year, two or more via air travel. ➢ Goals ➢ To not be left out; Towie is always in when there’s a trip planned. ➢ To enjoy his life and spend his money on experiencesthat align with his YOLO attitude ➢ Behaviors ➢ Towie’s group has a couple traditions: they always go to Malasimbo every year. They usually do one trip to his buddy’s parents vacation home in Cebu as well. Then there is always a new location they choose together, usually in another APAC country. ➢ Towie’s group is big on exploring the “singles scene” in foreigncountries ➢ WhenTowie finds a good deal online, he tells his friends about it right away
53. 4. Mapping the Customer Journey
54. LIFECYCLE STAGE Discovery / Dreaming Shopping Purchase Post Purchase Support CUSTOMER TOUCHPOINTS • Campaigns • Social media of those they follow • EDM • Print & Broadcast media • Online media (bloggers) • Display ads • Travel sites/Review sites • Partner offer • Affiliate website • Our website • Partner offer • Affiliate website • Our website • None CUSTOMER FRUSTRATIONS • Tedium of checking multiple sites for the best fare • Want to go somewhere new but at the same time afraid it won’t be a good experience • Lack of available information about some destinations • Conflicting reports about other locations (good reviews vs. bad ones) • Customer has not heard of us before/is not familiar with us, so must take a risk by purchasing • Customer may not like the website UX • Bookers get frustrated when their flight is changed or cancelled • Sometimes find it difficult to get help • Bookers may blame problems with the flight on the brand 54 Mapping the Customer Journey
55. 5. Measurement
56. Objective INCREASE BRAND AWARENESS INCREASE BRAND LOYALTY INCREASE SALES Goal Increase new site visits Increase returning site visits Improve website conversions KPI New visitors Returning visitors Conversion Rate Segments Referring channel Landing pages Referring channel Landing pages On-site Search vs. Off-siteSearch Targets TBD TBD TBD CRITICAL METRIC: Cost per Acquisition (CPA) 56 Marketing Measurement Model
57. ACQUISITION KPIs BEHAVIORAL KPIs OUTCOME-BASED KPIs Cost per acquisition (CPA) Bounce Rate Macro-Conversion Rate Clickthrough Rate (CTR) CheckoutAbandonment Rate Micro-Conversion Rate Page Depth AssistedConversions Loyalty (VisitCount) 57 Marketing Key Performance Indicators
58. 6. Brand Audit
59. 59 ❖ Recommend dropping “and fun” ➢ Tourists aren’t seeking fun when they book travel; they are seeking fun when they arrive at their travel destination. ➢ E-commerce isn’t actually fun. ➢ Removing "and fun" strengthens “cheap and easy” which align much more strongly with purchaser intent, and therefore resonate better. CURRENT DESCRIPTION​: “[BRAND] is the cheap, easy, and fun way to buy airline tickets online” RECOMMENDED DESCRIPTION​: “[BRAND] is the cheap and easy way to buy airline tickets online” Brand Description
60. 60 Unique Selling Propositions ❖Widest selection ❖Best prices ❖Can combine carriers on a single purchase ❖Can combine service classes on a single purchase ❖These USPs will be most useful in public relations and word of mouth campaigns. ❖For online ads, price and immediacy will overshadow these USPs as written.
61. 7. Strategy Overview
62. 62 Media Considerations Earned Media is considered the most credible / influential, is the best for SEO & is the hardest to get… Earned, Owned & Paid Media should leverage each other and work in concert as often as possible (integrated marketing communications)
63. 63 Strategy Elements: Earned Media ❖Blogger Relations [A = acquisition] ❖Influencer Marketing [A] ❖Traditional PR [A] ❖Organic Twitter [A] ❖Corporate Partnerships / Tie Ups [A] ❖Guerilla Marketing [A]
64. 64 Strategy Elements: Owned Media ❖ Social Media Management: Organic Facebook / Organic Instagram [R = retention] ❖ Skiddoo PH Website: Content Marketing [A] ❖ Skiddoo PH Website: Conversion Optimization [A/R] ❖ Email Marketing [R] ❖ SEO [A] ❖ Online Community of Travelers [R] ❖ Mobile App [R] ❖ Consumer Show Booths (e.g. Philippine Travel Mart, Travel Tour Expo Philippines) [A]
65. 65 Strategy Elements: Paid Media ❖Adwords / Google Display Network [A] ❖Remarketing [Retention] ❖Native advertising [A] ❖Referral traffic [A] ❖Mobile Ads [A] ❖Out of Home (Billboards, Ads in Taxis, etc) [A] ❖Social Media Advertising ➢ FB Promoted Posts [A] ➢ FB Custom Audiences [R] ➢ Sponsored Tweets [A] ➢ Instagram Ads [A] ➢ Twitter Ads [A] ➢ YouTube Video Ads [A] ❖Event Sponsorships [A]
66. 66 Additional Strategic Considerations ❖A broad strategy across earned, owned and paid media should be deployed ❖There should be a heavier budgetary focus on acquisition strategies in Q1 and Q2, with additional resources put into retention in Q3 and beyond ❖Achieving the optimal “marketing mix” given budget and time constraints will be critical ❖All marketing efforts must be measured and cost per acquisition compared to determine the best and worst performing marketing activities
67. 8. Strategy Q1 / Q2
68. 68 Overview ❖Social Media Marketing ❖Content Marketing ❖Traditional PR ➢ Magazine / Broadsheet / TV / Radio ❖Digital PR ➢ Yelp Reviews ➢ Blogger Outreach ➢ Brand Ambassadorships ❖SEO / SEM ❖Brand Partnerships ➢ BDO ➢ Zalora ➢ Others ❖Email Marketing ❖Start things off with a bang with a big, fast integrated marketing campaign: Boracay for Free
69. 69 Social Media Marketing ❖We’ll take over (and set up where necessary) Skiddoo PH Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram, Pinterest, and Flickr accounts. ❖We’ll deploy Oktopost, a web-based social media mgt tool (US$145/mo.) to handle cross- platform posting and repurposing of content. ❖We will develop an editorial calendar designed to engage and retain our target demographic
70. 70 ❖ Integrates with all Social Media Properties ❖ Social Publishing Features: Post Scheduling, Campaigns, Content Curation (IIntegration with Feedly coupled with strong search capability allows users to discover and curate top trending topics from across the web), and an Autoposter.Also integrates with our marketing automation platform. ❖ Influencer Marketing Features: Tracks the social media impact of up to five brand ambassadors ❖ Analytics Features: Conversion tracking and lead capture ❖ Management Features: Offers a native URL shortener (and integrates with bit.ly) as well as UTM tagging, so we always know which campaign our traffic and conversions come from, allowing us to measure effectiveness and calculate cost of acquisition.
71. 71 Content Marketing: Mautic ❖Mautic is an open source (free) inbound marketing software suite ❖Mautic provides detailed lead tracking along with powerful lead nurturing tools to help organize marketing campaigns. ❖Mautic automates the process of finding and nurturing leads through landing pages and forms, sending email, tracking social media, and i ntegrating with Oktopost, MailChimp and ZohoCRM.
72. 72 Mautic Walkthrough ❖ Imagine a new visitor comes to your website. They are an IP address, nothing more, maybe some basic geographic data and a referrer. They browse pages on your website, eventually landing on a special page with a call-to-action form. This form collects a few bits of information (e.g. name and email address). Now this visitor is now a known visitor. Every time they visit we will know who they are, and track their on-site behavior. ❖ We will set up a lead list to capture these visitors and add them to specific campaigns. These campaigns will send emails, post to social media, and other actions based on either specific times or user interaction. Think of it like a decision tree. If the user opens the email, do this, otherwise do that. These campaigns can span hours, days, weeks, or even months. ❖ As this lead completes various actions, you we can give them points (lead scoring). These points help us to weight our leads and determine where they are in the sales funnel. We can send information to leads with a low number of points designed to move them down the sales funnel, and send offers to leads with a high number of points designed to stimulate them to purchase.
73. 73 Content Marketing: [Brand] PH Blog ❖ Deploy Mautic ❖ Set up Skiddoo PH Blog as a Travel Website ❖ Develop an editorial calendar of useful articles written by us, our brand ambassadors, and our blogger partners about destinations of interest. ❖ Promote the articles through our social media and brand ambassadors ❖ Eventually (Q2) we will style the blog as an online travel community for the Philippines, with reviews and articles, like a cross between Tripadvisor and Wikitravel ❖ Track results
74. MEDIA LIST FOR SKIDDOO NAME PUBLICATION/NETWORK DESIGNATION Marbee Shing Go Travel Now EIC John Magsaysay Philippine Star and Lifestyle Network Gel Bayona Travel Life magazine General Managing Editor Greggy Vera Cruz People Asia Jinggoy Salvador Sun Star Cebu/Davao Arvin David ANC CityScape Kenneth Irving Ong EDGE Davao Sarah Meier Metro Magazine EIC Elaine Carag Chalk Magazine EIC Jane Kingsu-ChengWorking Mom Magazine & Manila Bulletin EIC Myrza Sison Cosmopolitan EIC Wayne Tulio Summit Media 74 Traditional Public Relations ❖We’re going to want a lot of coverage for the initial launch, as “appearing to be everywhere” will be good for brand awareness and credibility.
75. 75 Digital Public Relations ❖Brand ambassadorships and trip sponsorships will be a big part of our digital PR strategy ❖Influencer Marketing will also play a major role ❖Getting several positive reviews on Yelp will help our brand credibility
76. 76 Digital PR: Influencer Marketing ❖ We want to increase brand awareness and credibility in the travel segment, the fashion segment, and the outdoor activity segment ❖ Suggested influencers are Bogart the Explorer, Kuya Kim, and one of the “it” girls of fashion/society, such as Liz Uy or Cheryl Tiu. ❖ The purpose of the combined efforts of the bloggers and influencers is to establish Skiddoo as the go- to platform for airline tickets, the way Americans thought of Expedia and Orbitz when they were in their second year of operations.
77. Bogart the Explorer Kuya Kim Atienza Liz Uy Cheryl Tiu 77 Digital PR: Suggested Influencers
78. 78 Digital PR: Brand Ambassadorships ❖ We will partner with selected celebrity influencers with followings in travel & leisure, lifestyle, fashion, and business, offering free tickets in exchange for tweets and Instagrams ❖ We will partner with selected bloggers in the same niches for mentions, site advertising, and articles ❖ Travel bloggers will author articles on the Skiddoo PH blog and promote them among their followings via their social media accounts ❖ Selected travel bloggers and celebrities will take over the Skiddoo Instagram account while traveling on Skiddoo- funded tickets to post vacation shots. We will cross-post the photos to Pinterest and Twitter, tagging the celebrities.
79. 79 SEO / SEM / Analytics ❖Search engine optimization must take place immediately on all content we produce. ❖Landing pages will be developed for all inbound efforts (offline promotions, online promotions, digital media, etc.) ❖Link shorteners and UTM tracking codes will tell us exactly where the traffic is coming from so we can measure effectiveness over time. ❖SEM will be used where appropriate to boost visibility.
80. 80 Brand Partnerships ❖We’ve got a bank partnership in development ❖We’ve got the Zalora partnership in the discussion stage, and they are receptive. ❖We will explore additional tie-ups that fit our target market and budget
81. 81 Email Marketing ❖Email marketing is a central pillar of our marketing strategy ❖The Cebu Pacific 1 peso seat sale model is a winner, and we will replicate it ❖Mautic will also help us craft targeted emails to specific site visitors with identified interests in particular destinations.
82. Paid Media (OOH) leveraging Earned Media (Traditional Media, Bloggers, Influencers) and Owned Media (Brand website) Sequence ➢ Billboard will be rented for 30 days ➢ For 25 days, a teaser will be posted telling people to keep an eye on the billboard to fly free to Boracay ➢ On day 26, the offer will be posted. 82 Intengrated Marketing Campaign: Boracay for Free!
83. Demographic Collection ➢ Those visiting the site will be required to give a wealth of demographic and psychographic information (20 minutes to fill out form) Measurement ➢ Link shorteners and UTM codes will allow us to track all sources separately, including the billboard itself. 83 Intengrated Marketing Campaign: Boracay for Free!
84. Mechanics, Terms & Conditions ➢ We will block-purchase 50 seats on a specific flight and return flight. Registrants will be required to fly on that flight. ➢ Flight will be in June (low season) ➢ Registrants will be required to Tweet, Instagram, and FB share a preselected message. ➢ Registrants will be required to book accommodation at a particular partner hotel which we will get a commission on ➢ We may be able to negotiate airfare discounts in return for the exposure ➢ All entries will be human-validated to ensure completeness, with incomplete or false entries eliminated 84 Intengrated Marketing Campaign: Boracay for Free!
85. Earned/Owned/Paid Media Leverage ➢ Media relations: Press release will be sent to all major media outlets ➢ Blogger relations: Bloggers will be told that if they refer any registrants, they will be awarded one free domestic flight. ➢ Organic Facebook, Twitter and Instagram Campaigns will be conducted, advising people to watch the billboard, displaying a location map, and announcing when the offer is live ➢ Paid WAZE ads will be displayed to vehicles within 500 meters of the billboard ➢ Sponsored Facebook posts will amplify messaging and drive visitors to our Facebook page 85 Intengrated Marketing Campaign: Boracay for Free!