Face to face: Jamie-Lee Abtar of Be Distinctly Different
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Tell us about www.bedistinctlydifferent.com – what are your USPs?
Be Distinctly Different (www.bedistinctlydifferent.com) is a boutique travel marketing, PR and branding agency that works with destinations, tourist boards and brands alike, both direct and through the trade, helping them to grow, develop and make more money.
Whilst many travel and tourism brands, services or destinations may have an appealing product, they often need additional expertise to attract the attention of customers and intermediaries. We offer a collective of travel and tourism professionals: brand story tellers, digital mavens and PR gurus with a wealth of experience and skill, bringing a unique blend of talents to anyone wanting to sell themselves better in the travel market and communicate their authentic story in new, impactful ways. Our team are all part of the millennial demographic, bringing a cutting edge and savvy perspective to campaigns.
In the competitive travel market, being different is imperative. Our three step approach, which we call the ‘Distinctly Different Advantage’ allows us to work alongside our clients producing compelling and winning campaigns.
What type of travel companies do you help?
At Be Distinctly Different, we work with a wide range of travel and tourism businesses with a variety of services specific to their individual needs. Our travel marketing, branding and PR service is ideal for everyone from individual hotels to larger villa companies, an idyllic destination restaurant to a larger tour operator, this is the client side of the business that works to take the stress out of selling travel.
We also work to connect our clients to the trade and have recently launched In The Travel Know which is a monthly interactive e-newsletter for travel agents that offers peer to peer content, advice, and special offers from destinations, hotels and travel and tourism brands from around the world. Perhaps the biggest feature of In The Travel Know and what makes it different from other newsletters is Travel Agent Tales- a 15 minute podcast from an agent giving the low-down on a destination, hotel or brand- it’s like a crash course in selling it effectively! Our very first podcast will feature Grenada in association with Pure Grenada with goody bags filled with Grenadian delights on offer for agents who sign up to receive In The Travel Know and like our Facebook page.
Agents can sign up by visiting http://bit.ly/1GKG4mU, on Facebook at fb.me/Inthetravelknow or by sending a message to m.me/Inthetravelknow.
How has www.bedistinctlydifferent.com helped travel firms stand out from the crowd?
There are very few industries where the product or service is so unique that’s there is only one place or company to get it from and travel is no different. In the face of so much competition we work alongside our clients helping them to grow their business through differentiating their brand and communicating their Distinctly Different Advantage. Our three stage process includes discovering their Distinctly Different Advantage, design of effective marketing strategies and effective delivery of them to win business.
What are the biggest mistake travel companies make in marketing and presenting themselves and what advice/education and help do you offer?
In my experience travel companies don’t pay as much time and attention in the research and understanding phase which ultimately decides the success or failure of a campaign. I can’t stress how important it is to know and understand your market, then tailor campaigns around your target audience.
The trend for authentic experiences has broken the surface in the past year as travel mentality has shifted from ‘tourist’ to ‘traveller’ so it more important than ever for travel companies to break out of the cookie cutter marketing mould and tell their authentic stories.
Our Brand Audit is a good place to start; in our discovery session we take the time to know and understand a client’s brand and then we prepare a comprehensive report of what their game plan should look like going forward. This is great for smaller businesses on a tight budget.
Another exciting service we have recently launched is The Travel Marketing Toolkit which are ½ or 1 day workshops which enable travel brands to learn actionable marketing, branding and PR techniques and strategies that they can implement in their business. Our next Travel Marketing Toolkit is being held in Barbados on 05 January 2017, to find out more please email me at jamielee@bedistinctlydifferent.com.
What role does social media play in marketing travel firms? How is this evolving and again, how do you help?
Social media and travel go hand in hand, you might even call it the new travel agent. Brands can influence potential customers as they research their dream escape with engaging content nudging them toward actually booking, posting breath-taking images, interacting with consumers who reach out, and creating brand advocates. All are great ways to engage users and potentially encourage them toward your brand.
Looking to the future, social media will continue to amplify the word of mouth effect as tips from friends will continue to be among the most trusted forms of travel purchasing influence. There is no better place to reach your ideal target audience than online where they spend their time and in the future we will see:
The continued development of video, live-streaming and real-time content.
The increasing emphasis on ensuring that content is tailored for mobile first and foremost.
Social media gaining greater importance as a customer service tool.
Fast-emerging/developing platforms (like Snapchat) increasing the pressure on those long established.
Businesses increasing their reliance and spend on Facebook.
As the landscape of the travel industry continues to shift and flex around new technologies we help brands to manage their digital footprint and tell their story digitally.
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