WOMMA 2010 - Amplifying Travel Word of Mouth

Amplifying TravelWord Of Mouth

Brad Fay, Keller Fay

Graeme Hutton, UM

November 2010

2

In The BeginningUM has developed a number of successful WOM strategies and models in consumer high interest areas such as technology, electronics and auto

Question

How far can we apply these findings in sectors where word of mouth should be higher?

Travel is exemplary of this issue. Paradoxically, a high interest category but low WOM levels…

WOM & The Travel Market- A Global Perspective

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Follow Closely Give Advice

18%15%

24%

19%

28%

19%

TalkTrack® U.S. TalkTrack® Britain TalkTrack® Australia

U.S. Consumers Less Apt than Australian & British to Be Engaged in the Travel Category

(% of adults who said they “follow closely” & “regularly give advice” in the travel category)

• Australian adults are the most engaged in terms of following new developments in the travel category, and adults in both Australia & Great Britain are more likely to give advice on the subject.

Base: Respondents, All 18+ (TalkTrack® U.S., n=32,070; TalkTrack® Britain, n=2,472; TalkTrack® Australia, n=2,655)Source: TalkTrack® U.S. (Sept. 2009 – Aug. 2010), TalkTrack® Australia (April 7th – May 10th 2010), TalkTrack® Britain (May 14th – 31st 2010)

+6 +5

-4 -6

-4 -1

+7 +7

-4 +1

+3 +5

+3 +5

+1 +4

+1 +5

- +2

+6 +4

+11 +10

-5 +2

-3 -7

-6 -10

Far Fewer Americans Follow “What’s New” in Travel

(% of respondents 18+ who follow each category closely)

18%

20%

25%

25%

25%

28%

28%

29%

31%

31%

32%

34%

34%

34%

43%

Travel Services

Telecommunications

Financial Services

Children's Products

Automotive

The Home

Personal Care & Beauty

Sports, Recreation & Hobbies

Beverages

Household Products

Shopping, Retail & Apparel

Health & Healthcare

Media & Entertainment

Technology

Food & Dining

5


TalkTrack® U.S.TT GB TT AU

% diff from…

Category Conversation Catalyst™ TalkTrack® U.S.

TalkTrack® Britain

TalkTrack® Australia

Food & Dining Catalyst™ 9.6% 8.3% 10.4%

Technology Catalyst™ 6.8 8.2 9.9

Health & Healthcare Catalyst™ 6.7 5.1 6.4

Media & Entertainment Catalyst™ 6.6 7.5 7.7

Shopping, Retail & Apparel Catalyst™ 6.5 6.7 7.4

Household Products Catalyst™ 6.1 4.4 5.1

Beverage Catalyst™ 6.0 4.9 7.0

Sports, Recreation & Hobbies Catalyst™ 5.8 6.3 6.2

Personal Care & Beauty Catalyst™ 5.6 5.2 4.9

The Home Catalyst™ 5.4 4.6 5.3

Children’s Products Catalyst™ 5.1 2.9 3.4

Financial Services Catalyst™ 4.7 6.2 5.8

Automotive Catalyst™ 4.4 3.3 4.4

Travel Services Catalyst™ 4.0 4.8 7.1

Telecommunications Catalyst™ 3.7 4.4 6.3

Category Conversation

Catalysts™ are consumers who

have a large social network and report that they regularly give advice in and follow a specific

category.

Americans Are Less Likely to Be Travel Influencers (% of respondents 18+ qualifying as Category Conversation Catalysts™)


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Travel Services

2.4

4.3 4.5


American Adults Talk Only Half as Often About Travel Brands

(Average # of weekly brand mentions, among adults)• While adults in each country make the same number of weekly brand mentions across all categories (60.4 in

the U.S., vs. 67.1 in Australia & 64.6 in the U.K., on average), Australian & British adults report nearly twice as many travel brand mentions per week.

Average # of Weekly Brand Mentions


Online

On the Phone

Face-to-Face

8%

11%

80%

7%

14%

78%

10%

22%

67%

8

U.S. Travel WOM More on Phone & Online(How & where travel services conversation was conducted, among adults)

• Adults in the U.S. are far more likely than their Australian & British counterparts to talk about travel on the phone or online.

Base: Travel services conversations, Among adults (TalkTrack® U.S., n=6,812; TalkTrack® Britain, n=1,116; TalkTrack® Australia, n=1,124)Note: Online WOM includes email, instant/text message, online chatroom, and blog.Source: TalkTrack® U.S. (Sept. 2009 – Aug. 2010), TalkTrack® Australia (April 7th – May 10th 2010), TalkTrack® Britain (May 14th – 31st 2010)

How Travel Services WOM Takes Place


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Series1-16%

-14%

-14%

-10%

-14%

-6%

59%

59%

67%

MixedNegative Positive

TalkTrack® U.S. 47

Net Advocacy (positive less mixed and

negative talk)

33TalkTrack® Britain

Worth the Effort: US Travel WOM Very Positive(Polarity of travel word of mouth, among adults)

Base: Travel Services Brand Mentions, Among adults (TalkTrack® U.S., n=6,181; TalkTrack® Britain, n=967; TalkTrack® Australia, n=999;)Note: Neutral not shown.Source: TalkTrack® U.S. (Sept. 2009 – Aug. 2010), TalkTrack® Australia (April 7th – May 10th 2010), TalkTrack® Britain (May 14th – 31st 2010)

31TalkTrack® Australia

10

US. Travel WOM Highly Credible & Leads to Action

(% adults rating travel WOM highly credible/highly likely to inspire action, “9” or “10” on 0-10 scale)

Credibility/Believability of What Was Heard

Likely to Pass Along to Others

Likely to Seek Out In-formation

Likely to Purchase

60%

53%

40%

48%45%

34%

27%

34%

44%

36%

28%32%


• Travel WOM among adults in Australia & Britain trailed far behind travel WOM among American adults on each metric examined here.

Base: Travel Services brand mentions where someone else provided advice, Among adults (TalkTrack® U.S., n=3,734; TalkTrack® Britain, n=582; TalkTrack® Australia, n=599)Source: TalkTrack® U.S. (Sept. 2009 – Aug. 2010), TalkTrack® Australia (April 7th – May 10th 2010), TalkTrack® Britain (May 14th – 31st 2010)

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Internet & Advertising Provide Content to Travel Conversations(% of travel WOM conversations citing marketing or media)

• The Internet plays a key role in driving travel WOM overall as well as for travel giant Delta Airlines. Direct mail/e-marketing is also important in generating talk for the category.

All Categories

Travel Services

% of Household Product Brand Mentions Involving One or More References* 50% 54%

Advertising 23 25

Editorial/Programming 14 10

Television 16 10

Internet 14 32

Point of Sale 9 3

Promotion 9 3

Newspaper 5 5

Direct Mail/E-Marketing 5 9

Magazine 4 4

Radio 3 2

Billboard Ad 1 2

Any Other Type of Ad 3 3

Base: Brand Mentions, Among adults (All Categories, n=145,088; Travel Services, n=6,163; Delta Airlines, n=356)Note: Neutral not shown.Source: TalkTrack® U.S. (Sept. 2009 – Aug. 2010)

1212

10184

69100

348

172

It is True!Talk about Vegas Really Does Stay IN Vegas!

(% of adults talking about “Las Vegas,” indexed to total adults)

• Much like the city’s oft-quoted catch-phrase, WOM about the vacation destination is much higher among those who live in the Las Vegas DMA compared to the other regions of the country.

Base: Respondents, All 18+ (Total Public, n=65,156; Las Vegas DMA, n=396; West, n=13,310; Midwest, n=15,709; Northeast, n=13,279; South, n=22,858)Source: TalkTrack® U.S. (Sept. 2008 – Aug. 2010)

% of adults talking about “Las Vegas” – indexed to all adults

Total Adults

Las Vegas DMA

West Midwest Northeast South

Developing A WOM Strategy For Travel

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Travel in Perspective:WOM Opportunity Grid

Source: UM Analyses of Keller Fay Data

1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0 5.51

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% Penetration of Category Conversation Catalysts (13+ Pop)

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%

Total Mentions NormIn

flu

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High Mentions/High Influencers

High Mentions/Low Influencers

Low Mentions/Low Influencers

Low Mentions/High Influencers

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WOM Opportunity Grid


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5

7

9

11

13

15

Food & Dining

Media & Entertainment

Technology

Retail & ApparelBeverages

Sports/Recreation

Personal Care & BeautyHealth & Healthcare

Household Prods

The Home

TelecomsAutomotive

Children’s Products

Financial

Travel


Ca

teg

ory

Sh

are

of

To

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en

tio

ns

%

High Mentions/High InfluencersHigh Mentions/Low Influencers

Low Mentions/Low Influencers Low Mentions/High Influencers

Total Mentions NormIn

flu

en

ce

rs N

orm

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WOM Opportunity Grid81% Fit Between WOM Conversations & Influencers


1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0 5.51

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f(x) = 3.13927070316937 x − 3.23250028399409R² = 0.662900174845921


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High Mentions/High InfluencersHigh Mentions/Low Influencers

Low Mentions/Low Influencers Low Mentions/High Influencers

Total Mentions Norm

Infl

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nc

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No

rm

Change MAP

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1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0 5.51

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% Penetration of Category Conversation Influencers (13+ Pop)

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%

Invite Activation & Participation

Go Beyond The Expected!

WOM Opportunity GridImplied Consumer WOM Strategies

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WOM Opportunity GridImplied Influencer WOM Strategies

1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0 5.51

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5

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% Penetration of Category Conversation Influencers (13+ Pop)

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%

Celebrate& ActivateInfluencers

Identify& NurtureInfluencers

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WOM Opportunity GridSummary Consumer & Influencer WOM Strategies

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Activate Consumers.Celebrate& ActivateInfluencers

ActivateConsumers.Identify& NurtureInfluencers

Be Unexpected.Identify& NurtureInfluencers

Be Unexpected.Celebrate& ActivateInfluencers

Igniting A Travel

WOM Strategy

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Identifying & Developing

Travel Influencers

Consider competition and promotion to foster travel influencers:

Top Influencer Magazines Top Influencer Web Sites

Travel + Leisure

Condé Nast Traveler

Arthur Frommer’sBudget Travel

Source: MRI 2010 Travel Category Influentials

Trip Advisor

Hotwire

Orbitz

Note how these two media platforms fulfill different need states

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Providing The Consumer Trigger

Provide Reminders & Reasons to Talk

“Last summer my wife and I spent a couple of weeks in Sardinia and we loved every moment of it. When we got back, we told all our friends about this gorgeous island, but then something happened: we stopped.”

“A trigger can be simple. The LiveStrong bracelet triggers conversations about living with cancer. Samples from the Kiehl’s store trigger you to talk about skin care as you hand those packets to friends and family. In the case of Sardinia, a link to a video or some pictures would have acted as triggers. All we needed was a reminder.”

-- Emanuel Rosen 4/21/10

Source: MRI 2010 Travel Category Influentials

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Create Strategic Surprise

“By mastering the art of strategic surprise, brands are… forcing us to think; refreshing our jaded view of the everyday world”

“We repay them by noticing and spreading the news… to our neighbors as well as our Facebook friends”

Molly Flatt, President, WOM UK

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Be Unexpected

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A UM WOM Modeling Insight

To achieve scale and speed,

brand WOM characteristically needs

Digital, Social, or Advertising Media

27Construction of the TransAtlantic Tunnel: Paris to New York By Train In 8 hours

28Web Page: Paris to New York By Train – Be Among The Pioneers!

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Paris Subway Billboard – Paris to New York By Train In 8 hours

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French travel agent, Voyages-SNCF, wanted to be seen as more than just a train booking agent

5 days after the TransAtlantys’ ad campaign broke:• 107,000 Google & Yahoo searches, • 74,000 emails sent inc the website link

• 4,000 emails were sent to Transatlantys.com, many of which included résumés

• Debated on national French TV

Record 87,000 reservations via site, sales up more than +50%

By year end, 2 million unique visits to website and Transatlantys train tickets even auctioned on eBay

TransAtlantys Hoax

Proving SuccessMedia’s Contribution to WOM

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Airlines Dominate Travel WOM (Top 10 brands with most mentions, by country)

TalkTrack® U.S. TalkTrack® AustraliaTalkTrack® Britain

1. Delta Airlines

2. Southwest Airlines

3. American Airlines

4. United Airlines

5. Expedia

6. Marriott

7. US Air

8. Travelocity

9. Jet Blue

10.

Continental Airlines

1. Qantas

2. Jetstar

3. Flight Centre

4. Virgin Blue

5. Tiger Airways

6. Singapore Airlines

7. Virgin Atlantic

8. Air Asia

9. Emirates

10.

Air New Zealand

1. British Airways

2. Thomas Cook

3. Easy Jet

4. Thomson

5. Ryanair Airlines

6. Virgin Atlantic

7. Expedia

8. Travelodge

9. Holiday Inn

10.

KLM

• Travel websites also make the list in each country, while hotel brands are limited to the top U.S. & U.K brands. The second-most mentioned brand in the U.K. is travel company Thomas Cook, unique because it operates storefronts, as well as a website, where Brits can purchase holiday packages.

Top 10 Mentioned Travel Brands

Base: Travel Services Mentions, Among adults (TalkTrack® U.S., n=11,290;;TalkTrack® Britain, n=1,561; TalkTrack® Australia, n=1,776)Source: TalkTrack® U.S. (Sept. 2009 – Aug. 2010), TalkTrack® Australia (April 7th – May 10th 2010), TalkTrack® Britain (May 14th – 31st 2010)

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Delta’s Reported Media SpendTV1%

Mags44%

Newspapers28%

Radio1%

Digital2%

OOH24%

Delta’s annualized media spend circa $20 million (2 years ending July 2010)

Source: Kantar (media ex digital) and Nielsen (digital)

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Delta Projected WOM

Delta Actual WOM

Delta Airlines WOM Model

Source: UM Analysis of Keller Fay Talk Track, Kantar (media ex digital) and Nielsen (digital)

WOM Model Fitr2 = 86%Adjusted r2 = 85%

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Delta Actual WOM

Delta Projected WOM

Base WOM Level

Delta Ad-Generated WOM Level

Delta Airlines WOM ModelCore Drivers

Source: UM Analysis of Keller Fay Talk Track, Kantar (media ex digital) and Nielsen (digital)

WOM Model Fitr2 = 86%Adjusted r2 = 85%

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Source Of Potential WOM

-20%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Base: 82%

Competitive Ads: -11%

Delta Ads: 7%

Media’s contribution to WOM is relatively low. Ranges in other categories between 10%-40%

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Source of WOM Primary Media Channels

1.85

7.41

0.00

1.00

2.00

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4.00

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8.00

Delta TV Spend Delta Newspaper Spend

Ave 4-Weekly Historical WOM Contribution

Pro

jec

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Bra

nd

Co

nv

ers

ati

on

s (

Mil

lio

ns

)

Source: UM Analysis of Keller Fay Talk Track, Kantar

Other media may also have affected WOM via campaign synergy etc

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And the moral of the travel story is…Foster engagementSeek ways to remind people to talk about travel experiences• “Forward thinking:” Leverage traveler databases for content designed for sharing

• Trigger memories with photo sharing, newsletters, reviews, etc.

Leverage Media for WOM Advertising really does help boost travel brand conversations. But a brand’s competitors will eat its WOM lunch, unless the brand: • Develops outstanding, compelling messaging

• Ensures sufficient competitive weight and intensity

Be unexpected! • Travel marketers need to provide consumers and influencers with

reasons to talk. In campaign communications development, think Strategic Surprise

39

[email protected]@umww.com

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

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WOMMA 2010 - Amplifying Travel Word of Mouth