Social media key platform for travel product launches: research
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New research has highlighted that social media is king when it comes to launching a product in the travel sector: two-thirds (62%) of brand marketers now prioritise social media in their launch marketing plans.
This is in line with the wider marketing industry, where 74% of marketers now prioritise social.
The research was commissioned by launch marketing specialist agency Five by Five, interviewing more than 730 senior marketers across the UK, US and Australia. This included 34 brand marketers working in the travel industry.
Sales promotion ranked second among the most important channels in travel, with just over a half of marketers (53%) citing it, with email coming in third (38%). TV only ranked joint fifth with digital display (29%) and press advertising (29%), behind direct mail (32%), suggesting that ‘traditional’ above the line ad campaigns are no longer holding sway when it comes to building awareness for new products and services.
This reinforces Five by Five’s consumer study last year, where only 6% of consumers said that TV advertising was a key factor in whether or not they bought a new product.
According to the study, one factor in the growth of social as the go-to channel for launches may be the faster timeframes facing marketers: nine out of ten marketers working in the travel sector (89%) say that the average time between the idea first originating and launching the product has shrunk over the past five years. In addition, three quarters (74%) say they usually have only six months or less to prepare for a product launch.
It also found that just under two-thirds of marketers working in travel (59%) use social listening to support their new product development. This proportion is highest in the retail sector (72%), second highest in the entertainment sector (68%) and by far the lowest in financial services (51%).
Furthermore, half (50%) believe the biggest benefit of social channels lies in generating awareness before the product actually launches.
Martin Flavin, creative director at Five by Five, commented: “Social media has become the most important way to generate buzz for new products and services before they appear. Shareable content and social engagement allow brands to create a groundswell of pre-launch interest in a way no other channel can match.”
The study also asked marketers how they feel launch marketing has changed over the past five years. Despite the tighter timeframes involved, over half (54%) of marketers working in travel now think launches cost more, 65% of marketers believe the internal processes prior to launch are less difficult than they used to be, with almost nine in ten (89%) believing they are now able to make better informed decisions about their product launches.
Meanwhile, nearly all marketers working in travel (98%) think the creative ideas around product launches have become braver over the past five years. While 86% believe launch campaigns are now more measurable.
Michelle Mitchell, strategy director at Five by Five, added: “Deadlines have got tighter – but travel marketers now are more informed about their product launches than ever. This increased knowledge means that campaigns are braver, smoother, cheaper and more effective.”
Unsurprisingly, eight in ten (86%) think launch marketing is significantly different to other forms of marketing and requires specialist handling.
According to the findings, 32% of travel firms use soft launching while 41% use pilots to support new product or service development. The percentage of firms using soft launching rises to 63% among technology brands and 60% for FMCG businesses.
In addition, the three factors most likely to threaten the successful launch of a new product or service within travel are competitor activity (47%) and ineffective marketing communications and slow processes, which were ranked equally at 38%. Senior marketers spend an average of 40% of their time on launch activity, and as a consequence, many cite the need for additional resource around launch.
Mitchell concluded: “The travel industry is highly competitive and marketers working in it say the biggest threat to launch success is rival activity. Not only that, but while the internal processes marketers go through to get their launch off the ground may have become easier, they are still considered a significant barrier to success; there is clearly still room for improvement.
“For many senior marketers, launches have become more multi-faceted. This means that effective communication internally, alignment with external agencies and the correct investment of time and budgets is crucially for ensuring a successful launch.”
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