- Stay sensitive to the current climate. While it could be easy to just go back to the traditional narrative, and the planned fall or winter campaign, this is a new world we now live in and we have to make that shift. Examine what you already had planned and see what tweaks you can make to address potential concerns or hesitations of travelers and address them through the campaign.
- Build consumer confidence to travel again. Instill consumer confidence in travel-related decisions with facts, and put front and center the information you know they’ll need to comfortably resume travel. Highlight what new sanitization or safety features will be put into action. Instead of just telling them, show them if you can. Arming your consumers with the information empowers them to make a decision to travel that they can feel comfortable and confident in.
- Extend invites to “Early Adopters” to start the momentum. This is where you can lean on those great connections or relationships you’ve built up. Extend an invite to influencers, media, celebrities and top-tier loyalty guests who have been a cheerleader for your brand in the past. Take it a step further and bring them all together for a special week of curated events and activities to welcome them back. While onsite their organic storytelling will help ease those at home who will see through their lens that it’s ok to get back out there and travel!
- Lead with innovation and creativity. The overall landscape has changed and at the moment it is easy to put all your focus into the critical elements and decision making that has come with tackling COVID-19. Trust us, we know that it is most important at the moment. However, through all this disruption, now is also the time to stay creative, think long-term and prepare compelling consumer campaigns to get ahead of the curve for what comes next. Coming out on the other side strong will set you up to lead the pack.
- Be Flexible. During these unprecedented and uncertain times, putting together a marketing plan can feel like trying to hit a moving target. Best advice is to keep a pulse on consumer sentiment, establish what’s the right campaign tone for the current moment we are in, and be ready to move quickly. Stick to your core brand identity and values, but be prepared to be nimble with your delivery, because things can shift on a dime.
