Travel can help engage consumers by putting unusual and unexpected incentives at the heart of marketing campaigns, says Amy Nield, Head of Prize at Sodexo

The world’s a crowded place, isn’t it?

Think about it. What was your last trip really like? What really stood out for you? It may have been the giant cruise ship that suddenly sailed into town, emptying its hold of minions armed with selfie sticks, cluttering up cafés and restaurants in their wake.

It may have been the daily fight for a sunbed by the pool.

Or it may have been a seemingly endless traffic jam to nowhere. Too much? Well, it seems UK holidaymakers are putting busy touristy destinations behind them and looking closer to home for more bespoke travel experiences. And they’ve got one thing in common: they want a great experience.

We’ve just published a report –  our ‘2018 Sodexo UK Exploring Travel’ e-book – which reveals that promotional marketing expectations are at an all-time high and the competition for consumer attention is fiercer than ever before. It’s up to marketers to deliver on these expectations to create maximum stand out.

If you put experiences at the heart of your campaign, you can engage consumers and truly take your brand places.

In fact, ‘experience’ is driving customer engagement in brand marketing like never before. For this reason, travel promotions can give marketers the edge they need to help their offering stand out in an increasingly noisy and saturated world. But they need to be unique and they need to be immersive.

So how can you beat the crowds and take your consumers on a brand journey they’re unlikely to forget in a hurry?

Unexpected experiences a marketing necessity

According to the British Tourism and Travel Show, not only do “33% of consumers put ‘exploring new places’ as their main motivator for travelling,” but “93% of Destination Marketing Officers consider experiences ‘important’ or ‘vital’ to consumer decisions.”

It’s not enough for UK travellers to want to go to see a new city. They want to book an experience to shout about while they’re there, too.

For marketers who wish to influence behaviour change, it means looking beyond the obvious. If you’re thinking about a standard giveaway that on paper seems reasonable enough, you need to look again.

It’s about doing something different, creating a promotion that reaches the right audience, at the right time, and stopping consumers in their tracks.

If you’re beginning to perspire with anticipation, please don’t fret.

An ‘unexpected’ travel prize incentive doesn’t have to break the bank. Long gone are the days when only a beautiful Caribbean beach would cut the billboard. Today’s holidaymakers are a more varied bunch.

Now it’s all about what you do, not where you do it.

The West Country – but not as you know it

Perhaps it’s down to the fact that many of us have long been accustomed to making the most of cheap no-frills air carriers, but domestic tourism is facing somewhat of a renaissance. ABTA is even reporting that UK demand is set to grow even more this year.

In fact, as Sodexo’s research reveals, “84% of people are considering, planning or have already taken a UK overnight break outside of their home county in 2018.”

Smart marketers can use this thinking to create an affordable and impactful promotional campaign that taps into our love of experiences and a desire to stay closer to home. So, where to next? Now that’s a question.

Our research reveals that while “London may be the number one UK destination for International visitors… it’s the South West of England that ranks highest for domestic tourists (Barclays).” Ah, we can almost smell the pasties.

The off-season is now the on-season, promising quieter towns, villages and roads, along with a less stressful experience for those seeking to get away from it all.

So-called summer destinations such as St Ives boasts indoor cultural treats such as The Tate St Ives; Penzance offers the all year round wild cookery school ‘Fat Hen’ and vibrant arts city Falmouth offers fantastic festivals every month of the year.

UK consumers may love the West Country, but if you can tie your travel prize incentives into latest trends coming from that part of the world, you’ll turn heads more than, say, offering a singular surfing trip in Newquay might do.

And on that note, is now a good time to mention targeting? Think about who you want to impress and you’ll find there’s a whole world of possibilities available.

All about the bragging rights

Whatever it is, it seems consumers are looking for something a bit different. They’re looking at new destinations, perhaps to beat the crowds and find their own way when it comes to holiday planning.

There’s big head-turning kudos for brands who actively engage consumers by helping them to boost those all-important bragging rights.

If you can create the feeling that your promotion is something new, something unheard of, you’ll do well to create maximum stand out.

Our report says ABTA nods to several major cultural anniversaries and events which are set to help cement the UK as the most popular destination [for Brits] overall for holidays in 2018:

• Bristol hosts the 40th anniversary of its world-famous Balloon Fiesta.
• Liverpool will mark 10 years since its successful bid to become European Capital of Culture.
• Several cities including Manchester, Oxford, London and Leeds have gallery take overs and other cultural events to mark the centenary of the Women’s Vote.

By building travel incentives in around events such as these, brands can find ways to tie their marketing ideas in via timely, eye-catching creative and thoughtful messaging.

Five go mad off the beaten track

Here are five more off-the-beaten-track UK travel ideas for weird, wacky and wonderful weekend breaks that may whet even the most seasoned traveller’s appetite and won’t burn the promotional budget – but don’t try them all at once, kids:

• Cheese Rolling in Gloucestershire

Who wouldn’t want to chase a rolling cheese wheel down a hill for a laugh? Well, maybe not all of us, but adrenaline junkies will love it. And for spectators, the event is guaranteed to be a memorable one. Just imagine the cheesy craic in the local taverns and inns afterwards.

• Oyster Festival in Whitstable

A foodie break to the seaside town of Whitstable is a mouth-watering delight. Throw in a quirky overnight stay in alternative accommodation such as the Fisherman’s Huts, and you’ve got a veritable feast for the senses.

http://www.kentonline.co.uk/whitstable/news/oyster-festival-dates-revealed-157394/

• The Highland Games, Braemar

If you can’t wait for Tokyo 2020, how about the UK’s answer to the Olympics instead? The Highland Games take place every summer – think kilts, cabers and ceilidhs. Add in a trip to a whisky distillery or see where all the action from James Bond’s Skyfall took place.

• The Night Carnival, Glastonbury

Somerset plays host to a wonderful and wacky night carnival every November. Like something out of a picture book, this type of event will seriously capture your audience’s imaginations. Attract customers with a night at nearby hot spot, Babington House, or a hotel and spa in beautiful Bath.

• The Green Man Festival, Brecon

Nothing says fun like a fabulous festival, but with so many out there, it’s important you align your brand with a high-quality, absorbing experience. The Green Man is Times’ columnist Caitlin Moran’s festival of choice and one that boasts something for everyone. Dial up the experience with a bell tent and hot tub and you’ll have instant promotional success.

The best incentive for social media marketing

We could go on. We won’t. The point is, if you take your brand promotion to the lesser known parts of well-loved locations, you’ll not only surprise and inspire your audience, but you’ll start some fantastic conversations – which hopefully will be shared on social media.

Travel incentives, such as an unusual, fun-filled weekend away, are perfect for social media, and your bespoke travel prize draw could be the perfect complement to fast-moving promotional platforms such as Instagram and Pinterest.

Ultimately, wherever you decide to take your consumer campaigns, the ‘experience economy’ is where it’s at. Take it out of the mundane and into the wild, unexpected, authentic and unusual, and you’ll entice customers by the bucket and spadeful.

After all, it’s the road less travelled that’s leading to travel promotion gold. Keep that front of mind and you’ll soon be creating customer engagement that’s well and truly worth the ride.

Amy Nield, Head of Prize at Sodexo. Part of Sodexo Employee and Consumer Engagement, Sodexo’s Neon solutions drive consumers to your brand – and keep them coming back. As consumer engagement specialists, we know how to influence behaviour. From building brand awareness to driving consumer loyalty, our unique mix of expertise means we can transform the way people interact with your brand.

The ‘2018 Sodexo UK Exploring Travel’ report can be downloaded for free from the Sodexo site.

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Household towel brand Plenty is collaborating with Disney ahead of the hotly-anticipated launch of the Disney∙Pixar film Incredibles 2, which will be released in UK cinemas on July 13^th.

Manchester-based marketing agency Blue Chip has created an on-pack promotion for Plenty which runs across two million Plenty ‘The Stylish One ‘packs. The activity aims to recruit younger families into the category by offering the chance to instantly win one of 10,000 Incredibles 2 plush toys. Plus there is a prize draw to win an adventure holiday for a family of five to visit Queenstown, New Zealand.

To enter, consumers must visit www.plentywins.co.uk/incredibles2 and provide their full name, contact telephone number and a genuine email address along with the unique code found on the inside of every promotional pack. There are 10,000 Disney∙Pixar Incredibles 2 plush toys to be won instantly online. The toys are around 7 inches tall and represent the main characters of the Incredibles 2 film – Bob Parr (Mr Incredible), Helen Parr (Elastigirl), and their children Dash, Violet and Jack Jack.

Winner selection is via ‘winning moments’.

In addition to the instant win, everyone who enters their unique code online at the microsite, whether they have won a toy or not, will be put into a random prize draw to win a holiday to Queenstown, New Zealand for a family of five.

There is a No Purchase Necessary entry route for Northern Ireland. In the Republic of Ireland, where the law requires that brands operating prize draws where consumers have to buy a product to enter must partner with a charity which has been granted a lottery license, Plenty is working with LauraLynn Children’s Hospice.

The promotion went live this week and will be supported with a full media campaign including TV, social and in-store throughout the summer months.

Jess Harper, Account Director at Blue Chip, says: “This promotion will really inject some fun and excitement into the Household Towel category, not only by adding value with every pack, but also through recruiting younger families into the category and ultimately driving incremental volume.”

The release of the Incredibles 2 film sees Helen (voiced by Holly Hunter) being called on to help bring Supers back, while Bob (voice of Craig T. Nelson) navigates the day-to-day heroics of “normal” life at home. Meanwhile, a new villain hatches a brilliant and dangerous plot that only the Incredibles, working together, can overcome.

Consumers can enter on the microsite until 30^th November 2018. All valid entrants will be submitted into the prize draw for the holiday prize, the winner of which will be drawn on 3^rd December 2018.

The Plenty brand is owned by Essity, formerly part of SCA, the giant Swedish paper products group. Other Essity brands include Cushelle paper towels and the TENA range of personal hygiene products.

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Hovis, the iconic British bread brand, is running a Christmas on-pack promotion on its Best of Both loaves offering consumers the chance to win a Grand Prize of a family holiday to Lapland plus winter experiences or one of 1,000 Hovis Christmas egg cup and toast cutter sets.

Most ‘family holiday’ prizes are for two adults and two children aged 12 and under; however, for this promotion, Hovis has taken the unusual step of specifying in the terms and conditions that only the entrant needs to be over 18; if they win, then the second traveller can be of any age and the third and fourth travellers must be 17 or under. This allows for a much wider range of family groups to enjoy the prize. Anyone under 16 will have to have written parental consent to be allowed to travel.

Just under six and a half million promotional packs featuring a temporary Christmas pack design went live in store mid-November. To enter, UK mainland consumers have to buy a promotional pack, visit the www.hovischristmas.com website and enter their details and the 10 digit code found on the best before tag. They will then be entered into a draw to win either the Grand Prize or the branded egg cups and toast cutters.

There is a No Purchase Necessary entry route for consumers who live in Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland.

The Grand Prize is a five-night trip to Lapland, Finland, for up to four people, plus flights, travel insurance, £1,000 spending money and up to three activities, such as a husky safari, a Northern Lights viewing tour and a reindeer farm visit by snowmobile, including a reindeer sled ride and Lappish dinner. Activities are dependent on time of year and weather conditions.

The Grand Prize cannot be taken during Christmas and New Year (23rd December 2018 – 2nd January 2019), Easter Sunday (1st April 2018) and Bank Holiday periods in the UK (30th March, 2nd April, 7th May, 28th May and 27th August 2018); aside from these dates, however, it appears there are no exclusion for school holidays.

Hovis has a long history of promotional campaigns – in fact, the product’s name was the result of a competition run in 1887; a London student won £25 for his suggestion, which is a contraction of the Latin phrase hominis vis – “the strength of man”. The Hovis brand is now owned 51% by global private equity company, The Gores Group, and 49% by Premier Foods.

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German low-cost airline Eurowings, the State Tourist Board Baden-Württemberg, Europa-Park, and Stuttgart Airport have once again partnered to promote their destinations and brands in the UK via a Virtual Reality experiential activation at Westfield Stratford City.

Created by London based communications agency, collab-ed, the UK Summer campaign built on last year’s award-winning #nextstop campaign to once again encourage Londoners to discover the beautiful SouthWest of Germany via convenient Eurowings flights between London and Stuttgart Airport.

In 2016, Ed Euromaus, the mascot of Europa-Park, was welcomed by Londoners as they helped him find the #nextstop for his bus in a campaign also created by collab-ed. This year, Ed returned to take Londoners on a virtual reality journey to his home, Europa-Park, in Baden-Württemberg.

The 2017 campaign centred around a VR experiential activation in Westfield Stratford City where visitors could check-in to #FlyWithEd on board his special Eurowings plane to the Sunny Side of Germany; touching down in Stuttgart Airport to discover the Black Forest, before taking a rollercoaster ride through Europa-Park, Germany’s largest theme park.

Campaign seeding via social media continued the narrative from last years’ campaign whilst this year the reactions of visitors were videoed and shared across the campaign channels via the hashtag #FlyWithEd in order to drive social amplification.

Additional Out Of Home activity consisting of digital OOH throughout Westfield Stratford City and print OOH throughout Stratford International Station further promoted the VR experiential activation.

Visitors also had the opportunity to extend the experience via campaign gifting, with VR cardboards and a free digital download of the Coastiality app (App Store & Google Play) enabling the experience, and partner brands, to reach directly into the homes of an even wider audience.

“The response has been fantastic,” says Manuela Spröwitz, International Marketing Manager at Eurowings. “The 360° video is a great tool to inspire visitors to travel with Eurowings to Europa-Park and the region. We are really happy to increase the awareness of our flight offers with this innovative and exciting flying experience – on ground!”

“It’s been great to be able to build on last year’s success and really take this story to the next level”, says Nichola Kirkman, Creative Director of collab-ed. “This year’s campaign has been tremendously well received by Londoners and is yet another indicator to us that audiences are increasingly receptive to innovative marketing and being reached in more meaningful and powerful ways.”

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Hovis has linked up with Trolls, the latest film from DreamWorks Animation, for an on-pack promotion offering the chance to win a family holiday to Los Angeles, where they will also visit the DreamWorks and Fox studios.

The promotion is appearing on eight million loaves of Best of Both and is already in store. To participate, consumers have to buy a promotional pack, find the 10 digit alphanumeric code on it and then go to www.hovis.co.uk/trolls and enter the code and provide their personal details.

“Trolls is a perfect fit for Best of Both, with its family-friendly appeal,” said Hovis marketing director Sharon Barraclough. “We are confident the release of Trolls and the prize on offer will drive further demand and attract new shoppers.”

The prize includes a four day (three night) stay in Los Angeles in a four star hotel, return flights from London Heathrow, the Dreamworks and Fox studio tours, goody bags and travel insurance for a family of four.

The competition’s Terms & Conditions specify that to be eligible, a ‘family’ must include at least one adult aged over 21, one person aged over 13 and two children aged 12 or under. The T&Cs also include the warning that the actual dates of the prize trip may fall outside school holiday times.

The promotion kicked off on October 1^st 2016 and closes on 31^st January 2017. It is open to UK residents excluding those from Northern Ireland.

Trolls, which opens in the UK on October 21^st, is a 3D computer animated film based on a range of toys originally created in the 1960s.

Hovis relaunched Best of Both in May 2016 with a new ‘softer’ recipe and packaging designs intended to appeal more to children.

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Anchor Spreadable is giving people the chance to see what’s under the Christmas tree early with its “Shake it, squeeze it, win it!” promotion.

The spread brand’s latest on-pack promotion, running from October to December, is based on the core insight that everyone is guilty of shaking and squeezing the presents under the tree before Christmas Day.

For the chance to win something, consumers enter a code from promotional packs of Anchor Spreadable and then get the chance to shake and squeeze a virtual present. If they guess right, then they win that present – which could be a prezzybox voucher, digital cameras, Christmas jumpers, socks or bikes for the family. Everyone who plays is also entered into a prize draw to win a family trip to Florida.

The promotion has been created for Anchor by integrated agency whynot! to encourage cost-conscious consumers to trade up and treat themselves this Christmas. It is part of Anchor’s new campaign for 2015 — ‘That’s the Good Stuff’ featuring the brand characters, the ‘Hugglers’.

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