Online Marketing Strategies in TravelConsidering the spate of emerging trends in the online marketing arena, the trick is to not get caught up in the enthusiasm of web fads.

Published: 18 Sep 2008

Online Marketing Strategies in Travel

Considering the spate of emerging trends in the online marketing arena, the trick is to not get caught up in the enthusiasm of web fads.

Be it terms of the budget allocated or the effectiveness, it is still the traditional form of online marketing, which still continues to rule.

"The mainstream has not changed yet i.e. keeping at least 80 percent of resources for "traditional" online marketing techniques… the Web 1.0 of this world but marketing managers have to embrace new trends such as Web 2.0, at least to test the strategic alignment to these new markets moves," said Prof. Gilbert Reveillon, Lecturer in Tourism, University of Sorbonne.

"It is important to know if the specific target audience and segments of markets are present in these new market places and therefore 20 percent of resources left from the Web 1.0 should be put to the test to experiment with Web 2.0 techniques. And why not try up to 3-5 percent out of this 20 percent into the 3D virtual worlds... Second Life is just one instance of these new "visual worlds" making life much easier on V-commerce," added Reveillon, who is scheduled to speak during Online Marketing Strategies in Travel Europe conference, to be held in Munich on 14 and 15 October.

Reveillon, who is going to be part of "Online marketing futures - Innovative ways to engage your customer" session, spoke to EyeforTravel.com's Ritesh Gupta ahead of the conference. Excerpts from an interview:

EFT: How do you think online marketing has evolved especially in the wake of social media marketing? How do you think it complements existing form of online advertising be it banner, SEO, SEM and affiliate marketing?

Prof. Gilbert Reveillon: A specific audience will respond to the usage of these new tools and it's a great opportunity for a brand to differentiate it's value proposition... with the 3D virtual social networks it's a new compelling story that the brand can enhance and deliver in order to transform sales on different grounds.

EFT: A travel comparison site marketing last year mentioned that the biggest trend he had seen was the return of email as an important part of the marketing mix. He even mentioned that RSS will never truly make email redundant. How do you see usage of email and other options such as desktop alerts, RSS, widgets etc?

Prof. Gilbert Reveillon: E-mails are here to stay and for the long-run but the threat is "information obesity". The main issue is about the fact that it's a pure push strategy whereas the Internet world in turning into the new paradigm of pull strategy (RSS feeds, widgets etc.).

A brand can no longer afford to ignore the social web; the fact that the filter to all of these spamming emails is the community. The virtual social network is getting more and more important inside the consumer decision making process. It's the "comfort zone" within which one gets its peers telling him how good a product and a service was when they paid for it: these members of shared communities are willing to get involved in word of mouth and spending time to get involve in the distribution process.

EFT: The market is seeing online video-monetising platforms, that allow advertisers to get their message to their target market without disrupting the user's video experience. Considering such developments, how do you assess progress made in online video advertising?

Prof. Gilbert Reveillon: The key factor for me is tagging and tag cloud... it's the new way to surf the web out of the traditionnal vertical and/or horizontal scrolls... the community one belongs to helps the relevant content to stand out from the mass.

EFT: Recently, a mobile travel technology company told me - travel suppliers, especially airlines and hotel chains have begun to embrace the mobile channel, however travel agents and travel management companies have been slower to. What's your opinion about the same?

Prof. Gilbert Reveillon: Mobile is big in some Asian countries and it fits into the strategy of the 80/20: investing in the mobile channel is part of the 20 percent of resources a manager has to put into new channels and new ways to involve it's target audience. I will put as much resources into mobile as into 3D virtual social networks and as a matter of fact there are more and more players doing both mobile and 3D avatar evolving into the social virtual networks.

EFT: What role do you think mobile phones play – would it be more about service tool, offering manage my booking and check in functions plus accessing travel information including such as hotel maps and directions?

Prof. Gilbert Reveillon: Mobile is just the new but incremental terminal used to acces the web anytime anywhere with any device. M-commerce is ahead of us and we need to get ready to catch it in time.

Online Marketing Strategies in Travel Europe conference

EyeforTravel is scheduled to conduct its Online Marketing Strategies in Travel Europe conference, as part of Sales & Marketing in Travel Europe 2008. The two-day conference will be held in Munich on 14 and 15 October.

For more information, click here http://events.eyefortravel.com/smeurope/socialmedia/agenda.asp or contact Gina Baillie at +44 (0) 207 375 7197 or gina@eyefortravel.com).