Ok. Almost every survey has some kind of agenda and they all have their individual flaws.
So, with some trepidation, I opened up yet another email this morning from a company claiming to have results of a major survey, etc, etc.
However, the study by direct marketing agency, Entire, discovered something which should send some reasonably seismic shivers down the spine of destination marketers.
In response to the question "When choosing (a) holiday destination(s) in the next 12 months what do you think will be the BIGGEST influence on your decision?", the poll returned the following results:
* Recommendation from a friend/family - 8%
* Recommendation from a travel agent - 0%
* Independent reviews (eg. newspaper supplements/ online blogs) - 6%
* Destination's marketing activity (eg. travel brochures/TV ads/travel channels) - 4%
* Price - 46%
* Impact on environment (i.e. carbon footprint) - 1%
* Having previously been there and wanting to return - 20%
[The survey was carried out late last year online in conjunction with Yougov (credible agency) and with 2,000 members of the UK public]
Now any online-based survey is almost always going to throw up the low score for travel agents being an influence or the place to go to book travel - that's almost a given these days.
But even taking into consideration the date of the survey (December 2008), when there would have been less activity around, should it be a worry that the efforts of destination marketing companies appear to be getting lost?
Price, without doubt, is obviously going to be a determining factor in many decisions, but 4% does seem remarkably low.
I was expecting Entire to say howwell they are working for their clients on improving exposure and are clearly greatest agency known to mankind, etc.
In fact, their representative simply admitted: "Entire was a bit shocked as well."
And so it might be if it and other's efforts are washing over consumers.
At a recent function I sat with the head of the London tourist office of a major European tourist destination.
I was told that despite the terrible state of the economy (visitor numbers are expected to be down around 10% this year to this particular country), more money would be poured into offline marketing and trade exposure.
This might appear to some to be a fruitless strategy given the above statistic about marketing recognition and a general slowing down of the influence from travel agents.
Lots of issues to consider...
So, what do we all think?
UPDATE: Column from VisitBritain addressing these very issues.
I can only speak from our experience: marketing holiday accommodation in an area almost unknown outside the country where it is located and with a poor reputation within the country. Location marketing here a. seems unable to see the location with the eyes of any outsiders, which makes it pretty hard to get a coherent message across and b. is very poor at marketing itself abroad. Thus the area and the country are underplayed in volume and content of the promotion done - and quite large sums of money are being spent. For us, it means that we have to do a lot of location marketing ourselves before we can sell our accommodation.
Is this evidence of some kind of marketing fatigue and proof that marketing strategies are going to have to change in the next few years?
But counter to that, I'm surprised the influence of TripAdvisor etc isn't greater- even if you count that as a kind of indirect word-of-mouth thing the total is still only 14%. Is it this we can expect to grow after (if) the downturn has run it course?
1) Consumers don't like to admit to being influenced by marketing. Generally, in most markets, people will claim to have made their decisions on all sorts of things but rarely marketing - that would be like admitting that they were easily fooled. And yet there are countless studies that show that marketing is cost effective (otherwise why would companies bother?)
2) Most destination advertising isn't trying to influence immediate holiday purchase, but working much earlier in the purchase cycle to get countries onto people's mental shopping list, so that when a consumer thinks "hmm, i fancy a winter sun holiday", they aren't starting with a blank sheet of paper but will already have an idea of which countries might be appropriate; consciously or not, many of the places on that mental shopping list may be there because of advertising. When it comes down to making a final decision, it's obvious that other factors such as price help make the final decision.
So in short, I think surveys like this are asking the wrong question when it comes to identifying whether or not destination marketing works, and this survey is therefore an unreliable guide.
Could the 4% be because the marketeers are not doing a very good job at marketing a destination? Tourist boards don't interact with consumers very well, especially using social media.
I am surprised only 8% said family or friends.
Don't you reckon that the responses could be influenced by the terms the survey options are presented in? As a consumer, I think I'd hesitate to tick anything that said 'Destination's marketing activity', as it connotes clinical corporate manipulation and by selecting it, I'd have to admit that I'm influenced by advertising, which I – and I suspect a lot of others – wouldn't want to do. If the survey option had just been 'brochures', then I think the picture may have been different.
It's a small point, and I think it's safe to assume that price would always be the most influential factor, but I think it's worth asking whether 'survey psychology' plays a part.
Am I surprised? No. The percentage number may differ, but in most surveys and reports - there will be a new one on DMOs by PhoCusWright - the influence of the DMOs on the actual decision making for destination choice is extremely low.
This has been the case for decades and I speak from personal experience from my work in the DMO world. It does not really surprise many marketers at these organizations.
The DMOs task is to create the permanent or "ambient noise" for the destination with their long range oriented and constant marketing effort, based on which other travel organizations with a stake can build upon. These private players are then usually cited by the travelers in surveys as having the larger influence on destination choice. Not really surprising as they offer the product.
What hasn't changed much over the years are personal recommendations by friends and previous destination visits. This is where social media will play an increasingly important role as it accelerates that kind of "noise" in the marketplace.
Interesting post. Some reasons why this might be the case:
- Tourist boards are often quite biased and don't look objectively at their product - result is lots of campaigns saying the same thing: 'taste our unique food', 'lie on the world's best beaches' etc
- Campaigns can be quite clichéd, with similar slogans / advertising campaigns - think of all those Mediterranean destinations with shots of a bikini-clad babe wading through shallow water...
- Sometimes there is a lack of courage to be really innovative - because civil servants and voted-in politicians don't want to take any risks - this is especially evident in social media, where there is a fear of negative comments from consumers. Many tourist boards need to take a bit of a leap of faith here.
- Often the country's HQ will want to roll out the same campaign worldwide, which inevitably doesn't inspire / engage with local audiences. It's always best to tailor a campaign to a local market.
There are some really innovative tourist boards out there however - but lots of others need to catch up.
I agree with Joe, and it's a worlwide problem.
Sorry to make my little promotion, but I made an interesting post about this subject for France DMO's:
Why many French DMO’s will fail with Web2.0 and Travel2.0? Some views!
http://tinyurl.com/bmhv5u
See also the comments from Joe Buhler and other.
@James "There are some really innovative tourist boards out there however - but lots of others need to catch up"
The ratio seem to be 30 to 40 % innovative and the other out of the game ;-(
Best regards from Marseille
Claude
I agree with Joe and James, DMOs are notorious for risk aversion. They are comfortable with their traditional sales conferences and brouchureware, and don't want to be the first to try new technology, aka social media.
But to their credit, this survey does not take into consideration that there is some overlap in categories. I know it is within a DMOs mandate to "persuade" journalists, and to shop new story ideas, which enters the independent review category. So respondents may not have directly attributed a DMOs influence to the destinations marketing activity category.
I think that the early adapters will reap large rewards for their destinations, and I look forward to seeing what will come next.
Allow me a follow-up comment. I'm certainly not an apologist for DMOs - quite the contrary - but it is hard for people who have never actually worked inside one of these organizations to understand their overall mission. Even agencies working for them only get a partial look inside.
It's a very complex brief, with a lot of stakeholders to satisfy. There are many reasons why there are few risk takers among DMOs when it comes to innovation and user of emerging tools.
On the other hand, the fact that 200+ U.S. DMOs are now using Twitter in one form or another is a promising sign. Others will no doubt follow, but there will remain a lag in adoption, for the reasons mentioned at the outset.
It is agreed - many suffer from aversion to change, risk and investment, not wishing to embrace modern and popular technology which halts their progress!
Whilst our innovative clients take the decision and responsibility to do it for themselves and are enjoying independent success by engaging their customer and delivering a message that is working for everyone...
http://www.exposure4.com/video/destinations
Congratulations to those leaders!
I have not seen the full survey but based on that one question then I do not believe any conclusions can be drawn as to the effectiveness or otherwise of DMOs.
IMO today's savvy shopper (especially in this economic climate) is always going to say that price is the BIGGEST factor. However, in reality what a person says they will do and what they actually do are often different things.
Many factors will come into play when a person makes their buying decision and price will certainly be up there. But it will not be alone and any number of others will be taken into account at the same time.
As Joe says it is the DMO's task to create the "ambient noise" aka branding. The resultant impact will often be at the sub-conscious level and perhaps impossible to measure.