Have you seen the Thomson ad? You must have done. Watch "X Factor" and you can't miss it, which will probably be why I have. Or had.
The Thomson ad is being given added prominence among the Spanish media for two reasons: one, that Tenerife reckons that it is benefiting from it specifically; two, because Thomson (i.e. TUI) is making as much play as it can out of the travails at Thomas Cook.
The ad is one of the most remarkable pieces of holiday promotion you could wish to see. Unashamedly and gut-wrenchingly sentimental, if it doesn't move you, then you have no soul. It does everything an advert should do, with an emphasis on playing with the emotions.
Break the ad down and you appreciate just how effective it is. Take the language used. Key words and phrases such as "those close to you", "share with them", "cherish", "the people who mean everything in the world to you", "holidays are the most precious time of all" make you well up just by reading them; they are the art of a neurolinguistic programmer who has got right inside the heart, head and mind of the audience.
The words are those of a child, just to add greater poignancy to the whole thing, but they are spoken by a child for a hard-nosed reason: children are massively important when it comes to family purchasing decisions and especially where holidays are concerned. Advertisers know this and exploit the fact for all it's worth.
Then there's the music, a plaintive reworking of The Pixies' "Where Is My Mind" with a distinct nod in the direction of Coldplay. It is recognisable without being known.
And finally, there is the imagery: Tenerife, because that's where the ad was filmed. The island may not be mentioned, but Tenerife is doing all it can to cash in not just in summer but also this winter. Hard luck, Mallorca, the Canaries win again, both because they were the location and because they are open for winter business.
Behind the creativity of the advert, before it was even first worked up and story-boarded, was something much less slushy. BMB (Beattie McGuinness Bungay), the agency which created the ad, was set a "business problem". From the agency's website, I quote: "Consumers see little difference between any of the large holiday operators, resulting in low brand preference and attribution". The "idea" to address this problem was to "remind consumers of the importance of spending quality time with your loved ones and how Thomson truly facilitate this".
The campaign will end up costing Thomson five million pounds, which equates to over two million euros more than the Balearics have in total for tourism promotion in 2012. But were the tourism ministry to embark on television campaigns in the future, it could learn an awful lot from the Thomson ad.
Look at the business problem again. You can easily substitute "large holiday operators" with "leading holiday destinations". From this, you can change the idea to "how Mallorca truly facilitates this".
The advert is generic, not that it has prevented Tenerife from working it to its advantage, but there are important lessons. Firstly, the ad is believable, and this, unlike Mallorcan (Balearics) attempts, is partly because there are no celebrities, which has been a Mallorcan obsession for too long. Secondly, though the imagery of Tenerife is obviously integral, it is also incidental. Shots of landscape and what have you, another usual obsession, do not sell like emotion sells, especially when you want to grab a television audience by the throat.
I have been highly dismissive of adverts such as the Nadal one. They have been ineffective in all sorts of ways, which is why the small promotion spend for 2012 is a blessing in disguise, as it stops the same mistakes being made; mistakes that have centred on a belief that you sell through "place", which translates as landscape scenes. Yes, you can, but not initially. You sell, most powerfully, through emotion, which is exactly what BMB have done for Thomson. They have taken the simple concept of the family holiday and the simple and familiar representation of the family on holiday and come up with something really rather wonderful.
I am not suggesting that Mallorca should imitate the Thomson ad, even if it had the money to do so, but if an appreciation can be made of the power of emotion then future promotion might just become more effective and might also go some way to demonstrating how Mallorca can truly facilitate the spending of quality time and can differentiate itself from other leading holiday destinations.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Showing posts with label Thomson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thomson. Show all posts
Thursday, December 01, 2011
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
One In Ten
A headline which reads "Popular Pollensa" is likely to attract you to the story. And in "The Bulletin" yesterday the front page had just such a headline - in large type, 96 point maybe greater. This was a story about a "survey" which lists the top-ten most popular destinations in Europe, as chosen by Thomson clients, of which Benidorm is at number one and Puerto Pollensa, the only Mallorcan resort among the ten, is at number nine. The article pointed out that "long-term favourites" such as Alcúdia are not in the top ten and that the absence of other Mallorca resorts would come as "a blow to Majorca tourism bosses".
Well, if we're talking long-term favourites, then Puerto Pollensa is one such, but more importantly is what - on closer examination - this was all about. This listing, this top ten was based on reviews by clients on the Thomson website. How representative was all of this? Let me tell you how representative - not at all. You can find out yourself: you don't need my word for it. Front-page headlines, want to know the source? Go and have a look - the Thomson site. Seventeen reviews for Puerto Pollensa over three years, 23 for Alcúdia; I didn't bother looking at other resorts. The reviews for Puerto Pollensa were good, only one was really negative. As for the reviews for Alcúdia, they were also good; not as good as for Puerto Pollensa but that was because Thomson came in for a slagging-off. Also, some of the Puerto Pollensa reviews were for villas, which was not the case with Alcúdia. You are, therefore, not comparing like with like.
What on earth is this all supposed to prove? What it represents is that 40 customers over a period of three years or so have been bothered to post some opinions on a website. It does not constitute a survey. A very, very small sample of Thomson clients (how many have there been to Puerto Pollensa and Alcúdia over the past 36 months?) has felt inclined to write something. They have not been asked; therefore, they have not been surveyed. They are self-selecting; they have not been chosen through the application of some research methodology. They and their opinions are not scientific; they constitute a collection of opinions, and a tiny collection at that. And on this basis, someone calls this a survey. No, it is not. If you took this to the likes of the Market Research Society, they'd show you the door and blacklist you from future membership.
It is easy to do this sort of alleged survey. I have done so myself. Three years ago, I trawled through various review sites and came up with what could be described as the best bars and restaurants in Alcúdia. I had intended this for publication, but didn't in the end. Had I done so, however, I would have made it quite clear that it was not scientific, that it was based on selective opinions and that it was really only a starting-point for discussion. As it turned out, or would have done had I published, the "best" restaurant and bar, as in those that received the most positive reviews, were Luna Grill and Cheers/Peach Pit. But then when you think about it, these results would not be surprising. Most tourists stay in the Bellevue area, so they would be likely to opt for establishments in that area. The results, such as they were, proved nothing. And the same can be said for this Thomson thing.
I am unclear as to the motive behind this. It would seem that Thomson have put out the results, as a "spokesman" is quoted, and the main purpose appears to be to promote the review facility from its website on the basis that, as the spokesman and indeed the Thomson website, says: "you've read the brochure, seen the photos and it looks great. But what's it really like?" This is an odd thing, though; it's an admission that the brochure doesn't give you what you want. And some of you may remember that we have been here before with Thomson and its brochure. Remember this: "then walk your dinner off with an evening stroll along the sands or head for one of Alcúdia's bustling bars"? (21 June: John Kettley Is A Weatherman). It was from the Thomson website; it was for the Rio Mar hotel. Where is the Rio Mar? Well, it isn't in Alcúdia, along with the other hotels referred to on the site that are in fact in Playa de Muro.
So, let's just get this straight. Here we have a tour operator extolling the virtue of what its spokesman calls "honest" holiday reports, which does rather beg a question, though I'll leave it to you to work out the question I have in mind. To be fair, we also have a tour operator who is prepared to allow critical comment, as is the case with a review of the Delfin Verde hotel, but do they not want people going there? Far worse, though, is the judgmental nature of the so-called survey - that Mallorca can apparently only have one resort in the top ten and that resorts on the island (Alcúdia, Can Picafort, Cala Bona, Sa Coma, Magaluf, Palmanova, Cala Millor, Santa Ponsa, Calas de Mallorca) are in some way inferior; only one in ten, in other words. Very, very strange.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Elvis Costello And The Attractions (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpprOGsLWUo). Today's title - some of Birmingham's finest.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Well, if we're talking long-term favourites, then Puerto Pollensa is one such, but more importantly is what - on closer examination - this was all about. This listing, this top ten was based on reviews by clients on the Thomson website. How representative was all of this? Let me tell you how representative - not at all. You can find out yourself: you don't need my word for it. Front-page headlines, want to know the source? Go and have a look - the Thomson site. Seventeen reviews for Puerto Pollensa over three years, 23 for Alcúdia; I didn't bother looking at other resorts. The reviews for Puerto Pollensa were good, only one was really negative. As for the reviews for Alcúdia, they were also good; not as good as for Puerto Pollensa but that was because Thomson came in for a slagging-off. Also, some of the Puerto Pollensa reviews were for villas, which was not the case with Alcúdia. You are, therefore, not comparing like with like.
What on earth is this all supposed to prove? What it represents is that 40 customers over a period of three years or so have been bothered to post some opinions on a website. It does not constitute a survey. A very, very small sample of Thomson clients (how many have there been to Puerto Pollensa and Alcúdia over the past 36 months?) has felt inclined to write something. They have not been asked; therefore, they have not been surveyed. They are self-selecting; they have not been chosen through the application of some research methodology. They and their opinions are not scientific; they constitute a collection of opinions, and a tiny collection at that. And on this basis, someone calls this a survey. No, it is not. If you took this to the likes of the Market Research Society, they'd show you the door and blacklist you from future membership.
It is easy to do this sort of alleged survey. I have done so myself. Three years ago, I trawled through various review sites and came up with what could be described as the best bars and restaurants in Alcúdia. I had intended this for publication, but didn't in the end. Had I done so, however, I would have made it quite clear that it was not scientific, that it was based on selective opinions and that it was really only a starting-point for discussion. As it turned out, or would have done had I published, the "best" restaurant and bar, as in those that received the most positive reviews, were Luna Grill and Cheers/Peach Pit. But then when you think about it, these results would not be surprising. Most tourists stay in the Bellevue area, so they would be likely to opt for establishments in that area. The results, such as they were, proved nothing. And the same can be said for this Thomson thing.
I am unclear as to the motive behind this. It would seem that Thomson have put out the results, as a "spokesman" is quoted, and the main purpose appears to be to promote the review facility from its website on the basis that, as the spokesman and indeed the Thomson website, says: "you've read the brochure, seen the photos and it looks great. But what's it really like?" This is an odd thing, though; it's an admission that the brochure doesn't give you what you want. And some of you may remember that we have been here before with Thomson and its brochure. Remember this: "then walk your dinner off with an evening stroll along the sands or head for one of Alcúdia's bustling bars"? (21 June: John Kettley Is A Weatherman). It was from the Thomson website; it was for the Rio Mar hotel. Where is the Rio Mar? Well, it isn't in Alcúdia, along with the other hotels referred to on the site that are in fact in Playa de Muro.
So, let's just get this straight. Here we have a tour operator extolling the virtue of what its spokesman calls "honest" holiday reports, which does rather beg a question, though I'll leave it to you to work out the question I have in mind. To be fair, we also have a tour operator who is prepared to allow critical comment, as is the case with a review of the Delfin Verde hotel, but do they not want people going there? Far worse, though, is the judgmental nature of the so-called survey - that Mallorca can apparently only have one resort in the top ten and that resorts on the island (Alcúdia, Can Picafort, Cala Bona, Sa Coma, Magaluf, Palmanova, Cala Millor, Santa Ponsa, Calas de Mallorca) are in some way inferior; only one in ten, in other words. Very, very strange.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Elvis Costello And The Attractions (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpprOGsLWUo). Today's title - some of Birmingham's finest.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Saturday, June 21, 2008
John Kettley Is A Weatherman
Oh, the insecurities of the Internet. The paranoia of so much and too much information that has users permanently attached to their keyboards. Take weather. Somewhere, I read someone say that Alcúdia's weather forecast shows showers and fog over the next ten days. And this someone then asked if this is correct? The Internet has bred whole cyber-campuses of experts who are not, but unless, for example, John Kettley happened to be passing this particular forum, how on Earth can anyone respond to this insecurity? I was tempted to respond if only because I looked at the same link and it said sunny and hot, but I didn't bother as the enquirer would doubtless have already consulted all possible weather sites in search of reassurance. I know the weather is important, but the Internet has caused a state of panic, which brings me to another example, this one related to the Continental Park Hotel in Playa de Muro (and take note of those words Playa de Muro, as I shall return to this).
There was a whole exchange in which, based on, as it turns out, an error in the brochure and some plain ignorance, there were thoughts of changing to another hotel and terrible fears that a holiday would be ruined. Because of all this, the Continental Park, which had hitherto languished in Division 1 of local hotels when it came to enquiries, was not only promoted to the Premiership but was also challenging for Europe alongside the usual suspects - Bellevue, the Macs, Lagomonte and Lagotel. But there was salvation for those seeking alternative all-inclusive havens to take the place of the Continental, and this was in the form of reviews on yet another site which gave the place good marks. So, all was good in Continental-holiday land as someone somewhere unknown had said that all was fine and so extended an arm of reassurance around the quaking and anxious shoulders of the Internet.
But something else struck me in the Continental discussion. Someone said that she was surprised to learn, because someone had said so during this discussion, that the Continental was not in Alcúdia. I am not surprised, having looked at Thomson's website. If one goes there, under Alcúdia are listed a number of hotels, some of which are indeed in Alcúdia, but the following are not - in addition to the Continental Park and Apartments, Alcúdia Suite, Amapola, Parc Natural and Rio Mar. They are all in Playa de Muro. And it's not as though Thomson don't recognise the existence of Playa de Muro as they list one hotel if you click on the resort, that hotel being Los Principes, on the beach side of the road opposite the Continental.
How can they be so inaccurate or misleading? How can, for example, the blurb for the Rio Mar, which is before the canal going towards Alcúdia Pins and Can Picafort, state: "then walk your dinner off with an evening stroll along the sands or head for one of Alcúdia's bustling bars"? Which bars might these be? Those of Bellevue? Then the stroll would be, how long, 45 minutes? An hour? The blurb does at least locate the hotel "a hop, skip and a jump away from the shimmering sands of Muro beach" (for God's sake, and now you might know why I have a problem with "brochure talk"), but the Alcúdia reference is way off-beam. For Alcúdia Suite, which is opposite the Laberinto Giant Maze, the site says that the apartments have "the added bonus of being within easy reach of all Alcúdia has to offer". Yes, if you don't mind a trek or a bus. For the Continental, there is no reference to either Playa de Muro or Alcúdia from what I could see, apart from the fact that it is located under Alcúdia on the site.
Apart from anything else, when I was talking about Muro town hall's thoughts about some plan for promotion, I said one of the biggest challenges lay in creating an identity that is separate to Alcúdia. And the Thomson website shows just how much of a challenge. The Muro worthies should start by telling the tour operators to make damn sure that they know what is Alcúdia and what is Muro.
QUIZ
Chain - Paul Young covered "Don't Dream It's Over" by Crowded House. (See here for the better version, i.e. the original: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZZfuCJ970w) And who, basically, were Crowded House before they became Crowded House? Yesterday's title - Fifth Dimension, "Up, Up and Away". Today's title - who did this? They didn't do much else.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
There was a whole exchange in which, based on, as it turns out, an error in the brochure and some plain ignorance, there were thoughts of changing to another hotel and terrible fears that a holiday would be ruined. Because of all this, the Continental Park, which had hitherto languished in Division 1 of local hotels when it came to enquiries, was not only promoted to the Premiership but was also challenging for Europe alongside the usual suspects - Bellevue, the Macs, Lagomonte and Lagotel. But there was salvation for those seeking alternative all-inclusive havens to take the place of the Continental, and this was in the form of reviews on yet another site which gave the place good marks. So, all was good in Continental-holiday land as someone somewhere unknown had said that all was fine and so extended an arm of reassurance around the quaking and anxious shoulders of the Internet.
But something else struck me in the Continental discussion. Someone said that she was surprised to learn, because someone had said so during this discussion, that the Continental was not in Alcúdia. I am not surprised, having looked at Thomson's website. If one goes there, under Alcúdia are listed a number of hotels, some of which are indeed in Alcúdia, but the following are not - in addition to the Continental Park and Apartments, Alcúdia Suite, Amapola, Parc Natural and Rio Mar. They are all in Playa de Muro. And it's not as though Thomson don't recognise the existence of Playa de Muro as they list one hotel if you click on the resort, that hotel being Los Principes, on the beach side of the road opposite the Continental.
How can they be so inaccurate or misleading? How can, for example, the blurb for the Rio Mar, which is before the canal going towards Alcúdia Pins and Can Picafort, state: "then walk your dinner off with an evening stroll along the sands or head for one of Alcúdia's bustling bars"? Which bars might these be? Those of Bellevue? Then the stroll would be, how long, 45 minutes? An hour? The blurb does at least locate the hotel "a hop, skip and a jump away from the shimmering sands of Muro beach" (for God's sake, and now you might know why I have a problem with "brochure talk"), but the Alcúdia reference is way off-beam. For Alcúdia Suite, which is opposite the Laberinto Giant Maze, the site says that the apartments have "the added bonus of being within easy reach of all Alcúdia has to offer". Yes, if you don't mind a trek or a bus. For the Continental, there is no reference to either Playa de Muro or Alcúdia from what I could see, apart from the fact that it is located under Alcúdia on the site.
Apart from anything else, when I was talking about Muro town hall's thoughts about some plan for promotion, I said one of the biggest challenges lay in creating an identity that is separate to Alcúdia. And the Thomson website shows just how much of a challenge. The Muro worthies should start by telling the tour operators to make damn sure that they know what is Alcúdia and what is Muro.
QUIZ
Chain - Paul Young covered "Don't Dream It's Over" by Crowded House. (See here for the better version, i.e. the original: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZZfuCJ970w) And who, basically, were Crowded House before they became Crowded House? Yesterday's title - Fifth Dimension, "Up, Up and Away". Today's title - who did this? They didn't do much else.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
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