Irish Agency Group in National Ad Campaign

In a bold move to promote travel agents and drum up new and repeat business for its licensees, TRAVELSAVERS Ireland has rolled out a national branding and advertising campaign. The enhanced program, which three components: 1) television advertisements airing via RTE Aertel, 2) a travel agency signage program, and 3) billboard advertising, was announced at the American Marketing Group’s Got Talent international conference in Boca Raton last week.

TRAVELSAVERS, an international marketing organization, includes more than 3,000 independently owned travel agencies in 15 countries. Each agency has an exclusive-territory, giving it  control over client relationships and prospective leads in their area.

“Given the economic challenges facing travel agencies throughout Ireland, we feel the time is just right to support our agencies with an attention-getting, nationwide national branding and advertising campaign,” Nicole Mazza, chief marketing officer for TRAVELSAVERS.  “The program is part of our ongoing commitment to offer our agencies consumer-focused initiatives – at no cost – that drive leads and sales to them.”

In phase one, which started earlier this year, TRAVELSAVERS Ireland partnered with preferred suppliers Royal Caribbean International and MSC Cruises to offer enticing weekly promotions that include exclusive consumer incentives such as onboard credits.  Consumers access the campaigns running on RTE Aertel through their televisions or the Web.  When potential clients call the phone number noted on the promotions, they are routed via a state-of-the-art GPS system directly to the TRAVELSAVERS licensee nearest to them to discuss their holiday options and book their trip.

The program has been such a success and the response from consumers and TRAVELSAVERS Ireland agencies has been so positive that the group has increased the frequency of the ads by 500%. Plus, additional preferred suppliers such as Sunway, Inghams, BMI Airlines, and SAS Airlines are now participating.

Complementing the Aertel advertising, TRAVELSAVERS Ireland has unveiled a nationwide signage initiative. The group’s licensees now have an option to add a TRAVELSAVERS sign to their storefront, giving them the opportunity to strengthen their presence in their local marketplace while retaining their individuality.

“Our new signage added a simple prominence in a delicate fashion which certainly helps lift our office frontage,” said Tom Britton of Marble City Travel, a TRAVELSAVERS Ireland agency.  “We have all been amazed at how such a simple item could raise our profile from a street view.”

The third phase of the national branding campaign will be billboard ads, which will begin to go up this summer in key locations.  A TRAVELSAVERS image will target holiday-goers and incite them to call a 0818 number.  They are then referred to the TRAVELSAVERS Ireland licensee nearest them to book the trip.

For more information about the promotions or about joining TRAVELSAVERS Ireland, agencies can contact Brian Rafferty at brafferty@travelsavers.com or 353 61 72 0500 or visit www.travelsavers.ie.