“Taking travel from ads to acts” for Travel 2011

So, what is the current state of travel in digital and online? That’s pretty much the key theme of todays’ Travel 2011 event in Bruges (Belgium). Travelmedia‘s Olivier Dujardin gathered speakers from Groupon, Google, Sunweb, Tourism Ostend and even the primus inter pares of Belgium’s twittering politicans, Vincent Van Quickenborne (update: well, bacause of #nogov he had to sent a colleague), joins in to share his point of view. So, I was humbled when Olivier invited me to share my perspective: taking travel from ads to acts.

1. Create acts, not ads Be maniacal in managing expectations and do stuff that actually makes a difference in people’s lives instead of paying for ads. Example: NS and NMBS. I have been a 30.000 euro customer over the last 8 years, but haven’t received any loyal customer affection.
2. Marketing is way too important to leave it up to the marketing department KLM Surprise was a nice case, but it mainly showed how communications is rapidly shifting to acts and the kind of stuff that isn’t done by the marketing department, but by logistics and other parts of the company. And it showed how a range of succesful cases help to convince the board that social media and, even better, truly putting customers first is extremely beneficial.
3. Create stuff worth sharing Do stuff that is worth talking about and worth sharing to tap into word of mouth and social media. Example: The Antwerp Zoo used their unused potential to engage the Belgian public around the birth of Kai Mook. And, my favorite case of all time: how a simple Bed & Breakfast in Florence games tripadvisor.com and made a more than decent profit. 

Let me know if you’re around at Travel 2011. Would love to meet up.