Destination · bloggers, vloggers and 10 social influencers video and virtual reality 12 personalisation 14 insight: destination marketing 16 to the chinese market design trends 18

DestinationMARKETING YOUR

IN 2019

THE STATE OF

Destination Marketing

MARKETING YOUR

DestinationIN 2019

INTRODUCTION 01

THE STATE OF DESTINATION MARKETING 02

CONTENT MARKETING 05 User Generated Content and Advocacy

CASE STUDY: VISIT SCOTLAND 06Leveraging UGC

TRIPADVISOR AND REVIEWS 08 SOCIAL MEDIA BLOGGERS, VLOGGERS AND 10 SOCIAL INFLUENCERS VIDEO AND VIRTUAL REALITY 12

PERSONALISATION 14

INSIGHT: DESTINATION MARKETING 16 TO THE CHINESE MARKET

DESIGN TRENDS 18 LEVERAGING DATA AND TECHNOLOGY 20Key Marketing and Data Platforms

CONCLUSION 22

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MARKETING YOUR DESTINATION IN 2019

The last few years have seen a revolution in destination marketing. A shift towards highlighting inspirational activities has leveraged social media use in providing opportunities to elevate the value of personal brands amongst family, friends and connections.

We have seen a rise in the number of people choosing to spend their tightening budgets on experiences rather than ‘things’.

The Guardian, May 2017 More than ever, marketing needs to attract and engage people across existing and new platforms with a dynamic and cohesive message which puts the customer at the heart of the campaign. Digital is no longer a channel, but a way of life and successful brands are leveraging technology to create rich, immersive experiences to engage and inspire audiences.

The website now acts as a hub of information with traffic from multiple sources converging to consolidate messaging and inform customers as they make their purchasing decision. Being able to track and attribute leads to activity is essential to ensure future campaigns create more engagement for the available budget. We look in detail at tracking options. This whitepaper is based on a survey of 300 destination marketing professionals and will look at the current landscape of destination marketing including the effectiveness of existing and new types of advertising. We will look at challenges to destination marketers and ways to maximise the marketing budget using new technology and techniques to connect with consumers across multiple digital channels.

CONTRIBUTORS

GREG NEWLAND Executive Vice President, marketing and communications at Travel Portland in Oregon.

MARTIN STOLLCEO at travel-focused social media agency Sparkloft Media.

CREE LAWSONFounder and CEO of Arrivalist.

RICHARD BLACKGeneral Manager, tourism at Sojern.

IAN MCKEESocial and PR Director at AgencyUK and a contributor to Econsultancy.

JAMIE SERGEANTCEO of Global destination marketing agency, Crowd.

GRAHAM DELLProjects Director of Global destination marketing agency, Crowd.

Introduction

THE STATE OF DESTINATION MARKETING

The research we have carried out shows an overall trend that DMOs by and large are continuing to

shift their advertising expenditure toward digital though a large number still find traditional advertising of equal importance.

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The research also showed that while DMOs are generally confident in their ability to quantify the effectiveness of their digital ad spending, a reasonable percentage of DMOs are generally satisfied with the rate of return on their content marketing investments, including Instagram and influencer campaigns. Unsurprisingly, we also found that video was on the rise, and richer formats such as 360 and virtual reality (VR) are now becoming more sophisticated in their execution and measurability, as people now come to expect more immersive content from brands in this sector.

The trend of people sharing great experiences on social media continues to benefit marketers and puts the customer front and centre. Seeing the results of others who have already been is a powerful persuader so utilising user generated content is a prudent move.

ACCORDING TO AN EXPEDIA SURVEY

76% of Boomers and 62% of Gen Xers say experiencing authentic local culture is the most important influence on their travel decisions.

The State of Destination Marketing

BX

People are now seeking ethically-sourced experiences with 52% saying that they would pay more for sustainable and eco-friendly travel products and experiences (Global Web Index, 2018).

The more luxury end of the travel sector has started to leverage this in 2018, with an increase in new Eco-Resorts opening around the world and these brands are empowering travellers to feel good about their choices.

CONTENT MARKETING

USER GENERATED CONTENT AND ADVOCACY

It’s no secret that most travelers rely on

multiple sources of information during their buying journey, from the moment they begin considering a destination right up to when they book travel and accommodation.

These sources include OTAs; peer review sites such as TripAdvisor; travel news and media, including travel videos; and, increasingly, mobile apps.

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IN ORDER TO AVOID OBSOLESCENCE

We no longer live in a two dimensional ‘brochure-like’ world. Destinations must adapt and embrace new media and technology and also take a brand-like approach.

CASE STUDY

VISIT SCOTLAND

Leveraging UGCThe Visit Scotland website has taken an innovative approach to User Generated Content by bringing the community together within the website.

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Visit ScotlandInstead of simply promoting the location itself, VisitScotland also encourages user-generated content with its dedicated online community. Described as a place to ‘share experiences, pick up tips, ask questions and get insider advice’ – it serves as social proof for potential visitors, as well as helping to enhance general brand perception.

Online reviews and peer recommendations are still the most trusted sources of information for consumers, with many ranking first-hand experiences and opinions above any type of brand promotion.

THERE ARE ENDLESS THREADS ON THE VISITSCOTLAND COMMUNITY, RANGING FROM DISCUSSIONS ABOUT PLANNING A CYCLE TOUR TO FRIVOLOUS SUBJECTS SUCH AS TIPS FOR HARRY POTTER FANS.

This type of user-generated content is invaluable for travel brands and DMO’s alike, helping to continue the cycle of interest and engagement from potential and previous visitors.

VISIT SCOTLAND

WWW.VISITSCOTLAND.COM

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CONTENT MARKETING

TripAdvisorand Reviews

Social Media

Vacationers are keen reviewers with half of them stating that they have posted a review of a company or service in the last month, as well as almost 40% using review sites when researching a trip (Global Web Index, 2018).

TripAdvisor is the number one destination site for travellers looking for 5 star experiences, and so leveraging this user generated (and therefore highly trusted) data is essential.

Platforms such as Facebook and Instagram are constantly innovating their content formats, most recently by introducing 3D photography on Facebook, to keep users engaged. While Facebook mixes native content from users and traditional banner ads from brands, Instagram is still able to offer a strong organic opportunity for DMOs and drive discoverability of content through the use of hashtags. Instagram fares almost as well as Facebook dynamic advertising, with around 43 percent of respondents claiming a good or very high ROI from Instagram.

TripAdvisor makes available an API which can be utilised when applied to local offerings for your DMO.

Integrating this data on owned platforms should prevent the need for visitors to double check activities and destinations on the main TripAdvisor site and keep them on your site.

Instagram is the most visual of social channels, and with an emphasis on inspiration and exploration provides a perfect opportunity for DMOs to latch on to.

Ian McKee Social and PR Director at AgencyUK and a contributor to Econsultancy

INSTAGRAM AND RETURN ON INVESTMENT

VERY HIGH ROI

GOOD ROI

FAIR ROI

POOR ROI

NO ROI

HARD TO MEASURE

13%

30%

31%

4%

2%

20%

How would you rate the overall return on investment (ROI) in building and promoting your Instagram account?

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Particularly in the case of a tourist board, you’ve automatically got a large bank of advocates — your ‘customers’ (visitors) are more likely to be enthusiastically sharing via social, but you’ve got residents too.

No one sells New York better than New Yorkers, London than Londoners or Azerbaijan than Azerbaijanis.

In the relatively early days of Facebook marketing back in 2008 one of the most successful initiatives I ever implemented was a simple open album on a tourist board client’s Facebook page.

People living or visiting the region would more than happily upload their shots, and we would share the best on the main feed, with that content often being far better received than the more polished official tourist board stuff.

Startlingly simple, but effective. It’s easy to see why this is increasingly becoming the approach for destinations worldwide.

Econsultancy writer, Ian Mckee highlights local influencers as a means to generate interest in a destination:

Brand USA is doing it, so’s Visit Brasil. Barely a day goes past at the moment where I’ve not shared a shot tagged #VisitBath or #VisitWiltshire for my local tourism organisations.

Mainly because I love where I live and work (I’m an advocate!), but also because like any self-respecting social media professional, I am addicted to likes — massaging your followers’ egos is a key part of a UGC strategy after all.

If anyone is left wondering why it hasn’t more commonly played a central role in the tourism industry given this, it is just an evolution of what some travel brands were doing nearly a decade ago.

There’s also an element of the reactive here. An unofficial Instagram community exists for virtually every destination — #IGersUK, #IGersUSA, #IGersDubai, etc.

It would be silly for any destination not to want to capitalise, and many do so by partnering with their respective unofficial community (Visit Bath has just hosted an IG meet up with #IGersBath).

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Bloggers, Vloggers and Social Influencers

INFLUENCER CAMPAIGNS AND RETURN ON INVESTMENT

VERY HIGH ROI

GOOD ROI

FAIR ROI

POOR ROI

NO ROI

HARD TO MEASURE

6%

38%

29%

5%

1%

22%

How would you rate the overall return on investment (ROI) on working with influencer campaigns?

Another key way that DMOs promote their brands is through teaming up with influencers, and around 44 percent report a very high ROI working with bloggers, Instagram stars, and others that have a large presence on social media.

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Influencers are like an extension of our sponsored content efforts, allowing us to reach audiences where they are consuming media in a voice that is natural, native and non-DMO.

Greg Newland Executive Vice President, marketing and communications, Travel Portland

However, as with all aspects of marketing, DMOs need to be strategic when it comes to running programs with influencers. Traditionally, DMOs and influencers have often worked together on an ad-hoc basis, in which bloggers or others with large followings request free stays or press trips in return for coverage on their blogs and social media channels, and many of the respondents we surveyed expressed trouble in finding appropriate influencers; there were even complaints that influencers were too “high maintenance.”

Others have had more success with influencers; for example, the Tempe Tourism Office recently hosted a group of four influencers, which resulted in over two million total impressions.

This landscape has also changed over the last year or so, with the emergence of the ‘micro-influencer’ and many brands are now harnessing the value of a smaller, but highly engaged community, as well as reducing the investment entry point for influencer partnerships.

Martin Stoll, CEO at travel-focused social media agency Sparkloft Media, encourages a more formalised method, approaching influencers like another channel of advertising. His firm generally advocates paying influencers and entering contracts that clearly define expectations around both influencer output and the DMO’s rights around the influencer-created content. “I think influencers have sort of become their own media model where they come and they have an audience built in,” he says. “And if that audience is interesting, instead of paying the money for a print ad or something, I’m now paying an influencer to put content that I want in front of an audience that I want.”

DMOs should consider influencers as both an expert content creator for their target audience as well as a powerful media channel.

BLOGGERS, VLOGGERS AND SOCIAL INFLUENCERS

Ensuring that influencer activity is working and thus contributing to the ROI is essential. This can be achieved through the use of specially constructed landing pages, tailored to the influencer’s audience and with tailored tracking codes which can attribute conversions to influencer activity. Being able to compare performance on a like- for-like basis from day one will provide the intelligence required to adjust and optimise influencer usage.

VIDEO AND VIRTUAL REALITY

Both video and virtual reality (VR) are instrumental in content marketing across industries. According to a study by Cisco,

video traffic will account for 82 percent of consumer web traffic by 2020 (compared to 70 percent in 2015), and most content marketing strategists are focusing heavily on the medium.

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VIDEO AND RETURN ON INVESTMENT

VERY HIGH ROI

GOOD ROI

FAIR ROI

POOR ROI

NO ROI

HARD TO MEASURE

17%

43%

20%

3%

1%

16%

How would you rate the overall return on investment (ROI) in building and promoting your video campaigns?

CONTENT MARKETING STRATEGISTS ARE FOCUSING HEAVILY ON VIDEO AND DMOS ARE NO EXCEPTION.

An overwhelming 87 percent of respondents claimed to be developing video campaigns to promote their destinations, and nearly 60 percent reported a very high or good ROI when video had been included in campaigns online - higher than the ROI for both Instagram and dynamic advertising on Facebook.

Video and Virtual Reality

There is no better way to market your destination than through video and a quarter of the DMOs we surveyed reported having developed such content to promote their destinations. Formats have evolved over the last couple of years and nearly a third are considering using VR in the future. However, many of the respondents surveyed commented that they felt it was too early to accurately calculate the ROI of such technology.

Video is expected to continue dominating web traffic in the years to come, and savvy DMOs are investing heavily in the medium in order to drive brand awareness. Video also provides one of the highest content marketing ROIs, a trend that will likely continue, especially as social media becomes more visually driven (as illustrated through the success of 360 video and Instagram Stories). In addition, video can be combined with other technologies to gather data about viewers, as exemplified by Expedia and the Hawaii Tourism Authority’s facial recognition program, designed to give viewers travel guidance based on their reactions to footage of the state.

PERSONALISATION

DMOs are constantly looking at new ways of using technology to provide site visitors with an engaging and memorable experience.

Personalisation is now expected from brands and we predict widespread adoption in 2019.

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PersonalisationPlatforms such as Sitecore are packed with powerful personalisation features and automated marketing, which can be the difference-maker in customer engagement, but few organisations are maximising the opportunities this functionality represents.

The concept of building separate landing pages for each user group or scenario is now a dated concept.

Personalisation techniques allow pages to be created in-real time, based on the knowledge held on the user or audience segment. Which Google search created the referral? Is the user a first-time visitor or repeat visitor? What country are they in? What time of day is it? What device are they using to browse? What information are they looking at? Every interaction is collected and stored, ready to help influence the type of content that should be surfaced to them, based on their interests and browsing history.

Data collected during journeys and interactions can then be used to align anonymous users to personas and ensure the organisation serves content and calls- to-action based on need. Have they used the tools we have provided? Have they read articles surfaced to them? Have they subscribed to a newsletter? Have they made a purchase or booking?

Strong signposting is paramount to providing a valuable experience to the user, whilst also encouraging them through the engagement cycle from passive visitor to active user.

Using an aligned content strategy, it is possible to intelligently assess strong indicators of a visitors needs and motivations. Dwelling on pages about activities for children probably suggests a family visit. Nightlife perhaps suggests a younger visitor. Checking last-minute flight availability and visa regulations could suggest an imminent visit. In collaboration with content specialists and implementation of these technologies, a DMO can interpret AI and content into a driver for meaningful insights and targeted content strategies.

Surveys reveal that users are happy to give information on themselves when they see it as a mutual benefit and get something back in return. They are happy if they know the information provided is secure and not going to be used inappropriately.

Personalisation is a powerful tool and while the data collected can be overwhelming, we see this as essential for destination marketing in 2019.

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INSIGHT

DESTINATION MARKETING TO THE CHINESE MARKET

According to a report by the China Tourism Academy in 2017

131 million Chinese people travelled abroad and spent over $115 billionwith predicted continued high growth in traveller numbers and trip frequency. Chinese tourists now form over one fifth of global tourists’ expenditure overseas - twice as much as the U.S..

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DESTINATION MARKETING SITES TAILORED SPECIFICALLY TO THE CHINESE MARKET

VISIT BRITAIN WWW.VISITBRITAIN.COM/CN

FRANCE WWW.CN.FRANCE.FR

ONTARIO, CANADA WWW.ONTARIOTRAVEL.CN

GERMANY WWW.GERMANY.TRAVEL/CN

Last year, China experienced a growth of 18% in outbound international tourism, according to a report by ITB Berlin. With this dynamic growth, China is turning into a vital source market for many destinations. In parallel, the efforts of more destination countries to simplify visa procedures for Chinese tourists has also played a stimulating role.

A survey by Nielsen in 2018 found that Chinese tourists care most about experiences when considering destinations, and are willing to spend more on dining, sightseeing and relaxation. A study by Hotels.com in 2018 showed that Chinese tourists are looking for adventurous destinations and are increasingly exploring long-haul regions in Europe, the Middle East and the South Pacific.

The majority of Chinese tourists use mobile payments when travelling abroad and 76% of those looking to travel hoped to be able to use mobile payments when travelling overseas. It is critical that DMOs integrate Chinese mobile payment functionality to help attract tourists to the area, but more importantly, enable them to spend more.

Digital marketing that is tailored and presented in Chinese with precise and relevant content is just the beginning. Due to the regulation of the internet, it is imperative to be active on local search engines, such as; Baidu and Sougou; and the social networks that are used exclusively in China - Weibo, WeChat, Youku, Aiqiy and Zhihu. The China Tourism Academy Report 2017 found that 60% of Chinese travellers are influenced by social media.

Destination Marketing to Chinese Travellers

40.6% of mobile users have searched destination related information on Chinese search engines

In general, Chinese tourists are heavily influenced by reputation, experiences shared on social media, and influencer or Key Opinion Leader (KOL) campaigns. In order for non-Chinese DMOs to have access to this growing market they must have expertise in local culture and spending habits, and the unique challenges associated with having an online marketing presence in China.

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Design Trends

Inspirational photography will continue to play a key role in site design in 2019 addressing both those looking for the ‘wow factor’ and those looking for a low-key and authentic experience.

Leveraging authentic user generated content is both cost-effective and beneficial in appealing to the social savvy audience.

Embedded video will continue to dominate offering an instant overview of a range of experiences that the destination has to offer, thus appealing to a wide cross-section of audiences.

However, with the constraints associated with mobile in mind, graceful degradation of the experience is vital especially in those initial areas.

Mobile first should now be obvious with more than 50% of websites being consumed on mobile devices. Having a fast and easy to navigate site on mobile should be the focus of UX and site builds.

That said, traditional desktop sites should not be neglected as ‘work-time’ surfing will still provide an impactful experience on larger screens.

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USER GENERATED CONTENT

TENNESSEE

WWW.TNVACATION.COM

Using a mix of immersive photography and video, the Tennessee site makes use of social content through the #MADEINTN hashtag. It makes no secret of the experience and inspiration on offer clearly using both labels to provide maximum clarity for would-be visitors.

ADVANCED UX

KLM IFLY50

WWW.IFLY50.COM

Offering an advanced UX which encourages exploration, KLM’s iFly50 site delivers an immersive experience with the primary call to action to take your trip further on the KLM website where booking is available. Used in conjunction with transactional sites, allowing would-be travellers to explore on their own is a valuable soft-sell into the purchase funnel.

MOBILE EXPERIENCE AND SOCIAL INTEGRATION

VISIT CALIFORNIA

WWW.VISITCALIFORNIA.COM

The Visit California site offers an easy means of navigating to in-depth and attractively presented information on activities and locations within California. Mobile experience is excellent and visitors are encouraged to share the experiences they find through simple tools associated with each piece of content.

LEVERAGING DATA AND TECHNOLOGY

KEY MARKETING AND DATA PLATFORMS

There are a number of marketing and data platforms currently available in the travel space, and while travel intelligence platforms typically focus on the hospitality industry,

many offer specific tools that can be invaluable for certain DMOs.Such platforms are vital to helping DMOs focus, personalise, automate, and target their campaigns to maximize marketing ROI, freeing up time and staff resources to work on other projects. They can also make high-level data analysis and ad targeting more plausible for smaller DMOs that lack the resources for dedicated research personnel.

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Key marketing and data platformsThe most established providers include ADARA, Arrivalist, Forward Keys, nSight, and Sojern, along with non-industry-specific tools such as Google Analytics and Facebook Insights. Each platform offers its own unique strengths and capabilities; for example, ADARA Impact is designed specifically for DMOs with data tools that help them see where their campaigns are most successful, by tracking the buyer’s journey across sites and platforms. Arrivalist offers a product that can actually measure when a computing device is brought to a location after being used for booking, a capability that will be increasingly important as mobile bookings continue to increase over computer-based bookings in years to come.

“In the past, travel marketers have looked at impressions over bookings,” said Cree Lawson, founder and CEO of Arrivalist. “We look at impressions over arrivals. So where most travel marketing attribution hinges on an advanced online observable booking, we are able to measure a spectrum of response that’s never been possible before,” he continues. “We can measure their arrival in a place by looking at the change in location of the computing device… You can see the whole spectrum of response regardless of how the user booked, and whether that booking path was observable or not.”

Sojern works a little differently, taking its own approach to programmatic advertising. “We have really strong data partnerships with just under 50 top travel sites globally,” said Richard Black, general manager, tourism at Sojern. “We’re able to get that data in real-time and be able to serve an ad in under 11 seconds, as opposed to travel search, which is pretty amazing.”

“Typically, destinations have a value for what a person is in market and their destination per day,” he continues. “We’re able to take that information and we’re able to take our bookings, if you will, and apply it to that price point and come up with economic impact. That’s a really important factor for destinations because again, without an attribution model, it’s hard for them to show what their advertising is truly doing.”

Being able to review both the performance of the website in relation to the campaigns sending traffic toward it will be essential in the evolution of the website in terms of content and future optimisations.

CONCLUSION

Building on the trends of inspiration and individual social brand building.

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ConclusionBuilding on the trends of inspiration and individual social brand building, being able to leverage the work already being done by advocates, locals and reviewers will be key to creating effective and engaging destination marketing.

Rich and immersive content formats will continue to be key to creating engagement, both off and on site with virtual reality and panoramas gaining more traction as the technology becomes more widespread and more cost-effective to produce.

On-site data collection and campaign attribution will continue to be key in keeping DMOs informed. Whether this is achieved through the use of tools built for purpose or a bespoke GA set-up will be reliant on budget.

YOUR WEBSITE NEEDS TO ACT AS THE DESTINATION FOR ALL MARKETING ACTIVITY SO NEEDS TO BE FAST, EASY TO USE AND FLEXIBLE ENOUGH TO UTILISE CONTENT WHETHER CREATED INTERNALLY OR BY A COMMUNITY OF CONTENT PROVIDERS AND INFLUENCERS.

Personalisation adds an extra layer of intelligence to ensure an engaging and tailored experience with the added benefits of providing data about website visitors and their needs.

Talk to us about marketing your destination in 2019

Crowd, UKBournemouth T: +44 (0) 1202 529743 E: [email protected]

London T: +44 (0) 1202 529743 E: [email protected]

Crowd, UAEDubai T: +971 (0) 4 446 2034 E: [email protected]

Crowd, CHN

BeijingT: +86 185 2086 1259 E: [email protected]

ChengduT: +86 185 2086 1259 E: [email protected]

Hangzhou CityT: +86 185 2086 1259 E: [email protected]

Shenzhen

T: +86 185 2086 1259 E: [email protected]

Xi’an City T: +86 185 2086 1259 E: [email protected]

Crowd, USANew York T: +1 (885) 270-3270 E: [email protected]

San Francisco T: +1 (885) 270-3270 E: [email protected]

Crowd, NLAmsterdam T: +31 (0) 20 2101611 E: [email protected]

Crowd, CAToronto T: +1 (647) 625-5926 E: [email protected]

Documents

Destination · bloggers, vloggers and 10 social influencers video and virtual reality 12 personalisation 14 insight: destination marketing 16 to the chinese market design trends 18