New research out today reveals first time parents are dissatisfied with travel brands, with 72% reporting feeling unhappy with comms from the sector.
The research, conducted by advertising agency d.fferent, surveyed consumers in five key life stages about their opinions of travel brands. The results uncovered the comms desired by students, home movers, new parents, empty nesters and pensioners.
Starting the Journey: how optimised comms can benefit the travel industry, the third report in d.fferent’s Game of Life series, reveals that first-time parents are the unhappiest with travel brands’ comms. They say that companies need to use insight to increase the relevance of marketing messaging.
More than half of empty nesters (61.7%) feel misunderstood by travel companies. But they say they are still able to buy products they want from the sector, suggesting that tweaking messaging to better engage consumers will make a big difference to this group.
There’s room for improvement with pensioners too. Some 80% feel their needs are not understood and a similar proportion report that they can’t buy the holidays they want, revealing a major lack of consumer insight.
Home movers and students, on the other hand are more positive. They feel their needs are understood by the sector, but both require advice to help them stick to their budget, specifically by offering discounts.
Interestingly, of all the sectors surveyed, travel was the sector with the most consumers (87.1%) wanting to hear from brands more. It’s clear there are gaps in messaging and targeting.
Ben Quigley, Group Chief Executive Officer at d.fferent says: “Many travel companies are focusing on cost as far as comms go, undermining the power of their brand. Brand is what ensures audiences build an affinity with them. It’s about more than just the prices on offer. Making the brand inseparable from the customer experience should be a priority. But to do this, brands need to reassess the customer journey to ensure a frictionless experience and increase engagement. With new parents, empty nesters and pensioners all feeling misunderstood, it is clear the sector must put insight to better use, adapting messaging across different groups, based on their needs, behaviours and expectations.”