For travel destination marketing, it is all about the presentation: what we say, how we say it, and how we choose to deliver the message.
The communication is then picked up, manipulated, dissected, repackaged and then disseminated by various media platforms throughout our destinations. They influence what our potential guests read, hear, see, sense and visualize. The picture the media paint will determine visitors' expectations, as well as their experience.
The one common thread which is a constant through our destination fabric is our media. This voice and ambassador for our destination may be our newspapers, websites, our monthly magazines, and perhaps local radio. The media is pervasive, commanding, and definitive.
Media companies are pressed to remain viable. We know that print circulations are down and that more people get their important news from the Internet. But do hospitality poeple understand this? I doubt it–most hospitality people still put all their money into print media, when survey after survey shows that online media re much more powerful and decisove in helping visitors to learn about holiday resorts, hotels, and the like. Hoteliers are still in the dark ages! Take this magazine for example: each day more people read the website for China Hospitality News than read one month's print magazine–the ratio for website visitors to print readers is 30:1, but advertisers in the hospitality industry for some reason still think print is more powerful. Who trained these managers?
But regardless, a healthy media presence inspires the visitor experience, and we all need to appreciate and understand our media better. We all are players in the same game. We desperately need balanced coverage for our travel destinations.
So how can you work with the media to advertise your travel destination best?
Media financial health is driven by representing your business through advertising and promotion. Likewise, your health is based upon how successful that effort has been. Synergy or what? Review your Marketing Plans, purchase aggregate programs, negotiate hard but fairly, but remember they are in the driver's seat.
Most in the print media are moving frantically towards electronic delivery of news, events, and advertising, understanding that how we receive information and how we choose to access this has changed dramatically. Hospitality businesses have known this for years. Newspapers and magazines, in particular, offer a vast, untapped potential for broader application and exposure of your products and services through their online services. This is a terrific opportunity for collaborative efforts — special programs, interactive referrals, unique promotions. If you are audacious and innovative, you can build your brand!
Take time to think "outside the box". There is money to be made in synergy, even the unusual. What platforms will work for you? Visitors are either assaulted or assuaged by sensations. What level of cleanliness, condition, attractiveness, and service have you presented? Has the perception become the reality? The media interprets that landscape, and new relationships may make your market presence stronger.
Take another look. You cannot have this media thread unravel, for your own well being requires the vibrancy, diversity and strength of an engaged media voice. So, make public relations managers include the media on your outreach committees, promulgate those press releases, collaborate on special programs and initiatives, and see their transitions as opportunities. The Media is your partner.
By John R. Hendrie
CEO, Hospitality Performance, Inc.
John Hendrie believes that Remarkable Hospitality is the portal for the memorable Visitor Experience. Contact him at www.hospitalityperformance.com with your comments.