Combo of Offline & Online Tools Best for Branding, Young Agents Say
by Dori SaltzmanIs a meeting of under-40 travel sellers about creating brand visibility likely to be skewed toward funky, technology-fueled ideas? Not necessarily.
Rather than re-invent the branding wheel, agents at a recent gathering of ASTA’s Young Professional Society (YPS) determined that a mix of basic tools and concepts, combined with a well-thought-out social media strategy, is an agency’s best course of action.
Blurred branding
“One of the biggest issues we deal with every day is the perception that travel agents no longer exist,” said Ryan McGredy, owner of Moraga Travel, and one of 30 or so YPS members who came together last month in Las Vegas to discuss issues facing the agency community.
Part of the problem, he said, is that an agent’s brand is often blurred or overshadowed by the branding of the suppliers the agent sells.
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“This makes for a very unclear brand identity and makes it hard for the client to know who they are working with and, more importantly, who to be loyal to.”
Kari C. Thomas, CTC, of Will Travel Inc. said that for her “it’s about time I make sure that the customer is returning to me and my brand, rather than returning to Cruise Line ABC or Tour Operator XYZ.”
“With the misconception that travel agents are an endangered species, it is more important than ever for me to get out there and increase my visibility,” said Thomas, who is president of the Langhorne, Penn., agency.
Discussions bring “aha” moments
YPS members said there were plenty of “aha” moments during their exchange about visibility and branding. True, the tactics and strategies discussed weren’t necessarily groundbreaking, but some found it eye-opening to look at familiar ideas from a fresh perspective, agents said.
McGredy commented that several familiar ideas were new to him “in the context of travel.” The discussions with other agents will help him advance those ideas from the abstract to “practical applications I can use in my business,” he said.
Revisiting the basics
Reminders of the relevance of basic sales and marketing tools and concepts were important, said participants, many of whom planned to implement or update the traditional offline marketing tools discussed by YPS members.
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“Sometimes just by talking and brainstorming we are reminded of the basics that we have let fall by the wayside,” said Will Travel’s Thomas, who admitted she hadn’t spent much time on branding or visibility.
Here’s what agents said they valued most from the discussion of tried and true marketing tactics and strategies.
Create a slogan. Thomas said her first step would be developing a slogan for her agency.
“We have gone without one for many years or have used ASTA’s tagline. This seminar reminded me that we need something of our own for Will Travel and let the ASTA tagline stand for the travel agency industry as whole.”
Use an eye-catching logo. A tagline along with an eye-catching logo is a favorite idea for S. Nathan DePetris, owner and COO of PRIDE Travel in Long Beach, Calif.
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“These can set you apart from the competition and boost the company’s professionalism.”
Keep branding consistent. Maintaining a consistent image, in all marketing tools, was an important point for Maya Northen, president of Chimera Travel, LLC in Cherry Hill, N.J
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“One of the things that jumped out at me, which seems almost so obvious that it’s easy to forget, is making sure that everything that represents your company has a common color scheme and style, along with your logo and tagline,” she said. “This includes business cards, website, blog, ad campaigns, etc.”
Sponsor community events. Getting the agency’s name out into the local community through event sponsorship was a key idea for Anthony Cheng, COO of APF Travel in Alhambra, Calif.
“We are so focused internally that we forget we should get our name out there through non-travel events,” he said. “The folks at EntertainAir sponsor country club events and charity events; I know there are similar events my company should be sponsoring to get our name out there and build a brand.”
Vary your pitch. McGredy said his “aha” moment came when he realized he doesn’t have to have just one elevator pitch.
“The most powerful is the idea that you can have different elevator pitches, depending on context and what area of the business you are trying to build at the moment,” he said.
As a result, now when someone asks McGredy what Moraga Travel does, he’ll reply: “We create unique destination weddings and honeymoons.
“That’s not all we do, but that’s the first message we want new prospects to get, because that’s the area we’re trying to build at the moment.”
