For the past twenty years, I have been involved with Tourism Marketing.  From my first job at a major resort, to creating campaigns for the biggest tourism company on earth, I have enjoyed every minute.  Today, I’ll try to whittle down two decades of experience into the 5 Secrets of Tourism Marketing.

Give your audience the experience of being a guest.

1. Tourism Marketing Must be Integrated.  If you’re involved with resort marketing, the days of just running television commercials, or just having a website are long gone.  Today, campaigns must be fully integrated, with print, TV, a great website with video, remarketing, and display advertising.  You must reach the people who are searching for a great vacation, and you need to increase awareness of your brand to those who will take a vacation six months from now.
2. You Should Use Direct Response.  Direct response marketing gives you immediate feedback, and an immediate return on your investment.  In less than one week, your campaign can become self-funding, and your advertising expense suddenly becomes a profit center.  One caveat – you must find an agency with significant direct response experience, and more importantly, a great record of success.  The industry track record is just 5%, but some agencies, like Random, have a success rate of over 90%.  Choose your agency carefully… it is the most important decision you will make.
3. Social Media is Paramount.  Tourism destinations serve as an escape to guests.  Your team has created incredible accommodations, service, and experiences for your guests, but millions of people may stumble across your Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram pages.  Your social media team must have a clear voice, and personality to convey what it means to be a guest at your destination.  Are you exclusive?  A family resort?  Perfect for active, adventure-seekers, or an ideal escape for those who just want to relax on a deserted beach?  Your agency, and your social media team, must work closely to create that voice, and help build your brand to a new audience.
4. Show them, Don’t tell them.  When you’re looking for the ultimate vacation, do you want to read a lot of lengthy text and look at a few pictures, or would you rather take flight over the incredibly landscaped gardens, soar over the sparkling pool, and fly across the white sand beaches and crystal blue sea?  With new camera technology, drones, and great crews, we can create incredible videos at just a fraction of what it would have cost you a few years ago.  Work with an agency that specializes in creating the experience of being at your resort, and you will be amazed at the differences in your conversions.
5. Create a Relationship with Your Guests.  Every guest that visits your resort is likely to tell a few friends of their experience.  Make sure that those stories are great ones.  Your relationship begins with your commercials, your print ads, and your social media team.  It continues with your call center representatives, your front desk staff, the restaurant service, pool attendants and housekeeping.  Once they leave to fly home, make sure that relationship continues.  Keep in touch through email, direct mail, and social media.  Send special offers, key updates on your resort, or simple photos at that perfect time of year.  By keeping that relationship going, you will keep your guests returning year after year.

About the author:

Randy Pryor is the president of Random, a leading tourism marketing and resort advertising agency in Orlando, Florida.  He has been creating tourism advertising for over twenty years for some of the largest resorts in the world.  Please contact him at Randy@GoRandom.com with any questions.

Let your audience take flight over your resort.

The words Direct Response Marketing can instantly create apprehension from most marketing executives and business owners.  It is easily the most difficult form of advertising to master, but the one with the greatest potential rewards.  If done correctly, it can transform your entire company.  As president of The Random Agency, I have had the pleasure of generating tens of millions of dollars for our clients through direct response.  Our products have ranged in price from $19.95 to over $30,000, in a huge variety of categories.  From tourism marketing to kitchen gadgets, there are few businesses that could not benefit from DR.  Today, I’d like to share five reasons why every business should use direct response advertising.

1. Direct Response Advertising can be incredibly effective.  Direct response marketing can be one of the only ways a tiny company can grow to millions of dollars in sales in a few short months.  Through DRTV, we establish an MER, or media efficiency ratio.  Simply put, the MER is gross sales divided by media costs.  Generally, if that ratio is over 1.75, your campaign is successful and can use profits to expand rapidly.  If the MER is high enough, your business can easily qualify for media funding, which allows your company to expand advertising at an even faster pace, and create a major presence in the marketplace.
2. Direct Response Marketing provides immediate results.  If you’ve ever spent millions of dollars in brand advertising, you know that results of that campaign are gauged in months or even years.  With direct response television, we know in days.  By appealing directly to consumers, we receive immediate feedback, and can quickly gauge response.  While our test periods are usually 1-2 weeks, and drag orders can continue for months, we know immediately if we have a hit.
3. Picking a Direct Response Agency is easy.  Actually, we should say that picking a direct response agency should be easy.  You can ultimately narrow down direct response agencies by one simple question:  “What is your success rate in direct response?”  Why is this so important?  The industry average is between 5-10%, while The Random Agency’s success rate is over 90%.  As I mentioned, direct response is one of the most difficult forms of marketing to master, and only a few agencies do it well.  Do your homework, and your chance of success is over 1000% greater.
4. Direct Response advertising is much less expensive.  Did you know that DRTV rates are sold at a fraction of the cost of normal advertising rates?  Television stations sell this time at special rates, provided there is a specific call to action to consumers.  All you need to have is phone number or a website address, and let us handle the rest.
5. Direct Response advertising pays for itself.  Most companies have an annual advertising expense budget.  With direct response, those advertising dollars can instantly be returned in revenue.  Our typical media test ranges between $10,000 and $15,000.  If you have a positive return, you expand the campaign.  Suddenly, your advertising isn’t an expense… it’s a profit center.

If you’re ready to get started on a potential direct response campaign, do your homework!  Selecting the right agency to help you is the most important decision you will make.  If you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact me directly here.   We wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors!