Travel & hospitality marketing

SUMMARY: Marketers continue to hone in on the best ways to launch viral campaigns -- with mixed results. A few ideas are revolutionary, many aren’t.

See how a German airline created a Web 2.0 community around an email inviting members to join personalized groups. The campaign was so innovative, it walked away with an award at this year’s MarketingSherpa Email Summit. read the complete case study

SUMMARY: Using television to drive online responses is still a work in progress for most organizations. Well-meaning TV commercials often push more prospects to the call center than to the Web.

Check out how a Canadian tourism brand used direct TV and landing page optimization to increase their online lead generation by 21%. Includes two big steps, four tests, and two major takeaways. read the complete article

SUMMARY: "4-in-10 (40%) say they expect to travel less often for business in 2009 compared to 2008." "2-in-10 (22%) expect to travel more for business in 2009." "Almost 4-in-10 (38%) say they expect to travel the same amount for business in 2009 as they did in 2008." view the complete research record

SUMMARY: How do you launch an entire airline on about 1/10th of the budget of most? Very cleverly. JetBlue VP Marketing Amy Curtis-McIntyre's strategy was simple. "If any other airline can do this, then JetBlue can't." Hear her story, including PR stunts, plane painting, and placing ads in publications that major airlines "wouldn't touch." read the complete interview

By Anne Holland, Content Director

Approximately 27 million Americans traveled over this past Thanksgiving holiday; and, all that time everyone spent standing in various lines (check-in, security, coffee, baggage claim) was pretty much a wasted marketing opportunity.

Aside from airline magazines and airport wall posters, very little marketing targets this captive audience, many of whom would be more than happy to seek a momentary mental escape. Here are my top three ideas based on my recent trip... read the complete blog post