Tourism Advertising

Advertising isn’t dead, but if you’ve spent any of your hard-earned budget on it lately, you know that it has changed dramatically. Are consumers still reading magazines? Are they actively watching television programs, or using TiVo to skip the commercials? Can they pick out your ad from the thousands of advertising messages they see every day? In many cases, consumers are opting out of advertising’s line of fire, but it may not be cause to abandon your time-tested channels. It may just be time to reconsider the way you integrate advertising into your marketing strategy.

An Unlikely Shift In Power

Advertising has evolved in response to a rapidly changing world:

new media outlets and more informed audiences. Consumers now have the power and luxury of tuning out intrusive advertising. They’re more sophisticated and can quickly ferret out false claims and over-promises. And if they’re disappointed, they will strike back with scathing reviews and blog-posts. No where is this more true than in the travel and destination marketing industry.

Strength In Smaller Numbers

Wanderlust helps travel and tourism companies adapt

to this new model of advertising. We understand it has limitations, but it is still possible to create value by leveraging advertising’s inherent strengths. Successful advertising requires seamless integration between online and off-line efforts, both reinforcing the power of a single message. It requires keeping up with an ever-expanding menu of media options and fine tuning media buys to dial in very narrow niche markets. Sometimes it requires that we create the medium ourselves. But most importantly, it demands resourcefulness in identifying your best prospects and finding creative, cost-effective ways to reach those markets, however small or specialized they may be.

But Does It Really Work?

If you rely on the old formulas for advertising,

you might as well throw your money out the window (an act which is guaranteed to attract attention). But if you embrace the new advertising paradigm, if you bridge alternative and conventional media with messaging that transcends both, and if you’re smart, you can reap the benefits of advertising in the 21st century. Just ask the marketers at two very successful companies that still rely on advertising to energize their brands: Apple computers and Southwest Airlines. It can work for you, too.