IMV53: New Media in Travel and Tourism

The following is a transcript for IMV53: New Media in Travel and Tourism. The original podcast is located here.

Announcer

Welcome to the Internet Marketing Voodoo podcast, brought to you by MindComet. And now, here’s your host, Paul Lewis.

Paul Lewis:

Welcome to internet marketing voodoo, I’m your host, Paul Lewis. Today’s topic is new media and travel and tourism. Our guest today is Chris Curtin. He’s the vice president of global marketing and new media and technologies for Disney Destinations Marketing.

Chris, can you tell the audience a little bit about yourself?

Chris Curtin:

Sure. I have been responsible for designing and ultimately executing the manner with which Disney Destination use digital media to market ourselves. And speaking through different partnerships, that could advance our strategy, different initiatives that would be in line with our strategy, and ways in which to engage today’s consumer, on their terms, not necessarily ours.

Paul Lewis:

Wonderful. You know, as a leader in the travel and tourism space, what sort of new media is Disney currently using or exploring to drive consumers to their brand?

Chris Curtin:

We think about new media in three specific disciplines or sectors of the economy, if you will. The first of which is online, the second of which is mobile and wireless, the third of which the television platform and specifically, the digital part of the television platform and what we refer to as advanced television.

It’s basically in those three areas that we have formed teams to sink through. How do we bring the Disney Destinations brand and message to life through those platforms and to those audiences and what ways can we create or commence a conversation or dialogue with them about what is so distinctive and what is so unique about Disney and its different destinations.

Paul Lewis:

A lot of times, when we talk about new media, people get really focused in just the online, so I’m glad that you kind of gave us those three buckets and the way that you think about things; I think that’s very helpful to the listeners.

What are some of the things that Disney might be doing differently with media than some of the things that other marketers you’re seeing out there are using it for?

Chris Curtin:

One of the biggest ways is we don’t necessarily approach the space or the spaces as an advertiser. We believe that our brand is very experiential, and as a result, we think it’s a perfect complement to this space, which is, by definition, experiential and immersive. And in fact, if you use many of the adjectives that would commonly be associated with digital media, be it immersive, be it experiential, be it consumer centric; those are very much adjectives or descriptors that we would like to have people use when describing a Disney vacation.

And we may have changed a couple of things, for instance, we don’t refer to our customers as consumers; instead, we refer to them as guests. But roughly speaking, when someone describes that medium, we feel like it’s very compatible with the same description that we would give of our brand.

And as a result, we feel like the medium is a perfect fit for the ways in which we want to bring our brand to life.

Paul Lewis:

I think that’s some really good points as well, I love the idea of changing the way that you project your brand and think about how your brand can be this experiential medium, different than how you might use it in print or television.

And I think so many people that we talk to are like, “Okay, so how do I make these new mediums conform to the way I’m used to projecting my brand?” So I think that’s spot on.

You talked a little bit about what you are doing that’s different; are there areas of new media that you like to explore, or things that you’d like to be doing that you’re not doing? Or are there potential areas that maybe aren’t a right fit for Disney but you think are very exciting out there right now?

Chris Curtin:

That’s a great question. You know, fundamentally, we do not want to be nor do we think this brand is a me-too-ism brand. So one of the careful sets of analysis that we always do is determine what is our role within any specific initiative and what is the Disney difference that could be applied to any specific initiative, be it in the mobile space or the online space where have you.

I guess to specifically answer your question, I think UGC and social networking and kind of peer to peer communication is something that is going on in a very robust way at the moment, in and around our different products. I think the big question for Disney is, “What is our role in that conversation?”

And I think we’re working through, at the moment, how we add something to the conversation and what consumers and those two are kind of sharing their experiences about Disney could come to expect from a Disney involvement in some way in those conversations.

So I think probably that’s a big green field opportunity for us that we’re very much focused on and looking at, but at the moment, we’ve done some smaller yet pretty electrifying initiatives including one that is focused on identifying different moms from around the United States who now sit on an electronic panel that you can access through our website and it’s this mom’s panel that essentially helps to answer and helps to give guidance to different moms who are considering or planning or booking a Disney vacation.

And it’s been really, really successful, but I think we’re thinking about, okay, what is the future of that idea, what are the future of other ideas and how do we communicate that under one brand.

Paul Lewis:

Well, I think that’s very exciting, too. It kind of reminds me, Seth Goden talks about this concept of fast feedback loops and how we all have to get moving in digital time to change to a rapidly changing marketplace. And it sounds like that program with feedback from moms and soliciting their opinions in very interactive and timely manner is a powerful step in that direction.

Chris Curtin:

Yep.

Paul Lewis:

I guess one of the things, whenever I get into a round table discussion with a series of marketers is, “How do you measure all this?” How do you determine what the ROI is and how you segment your budget between traditional, between what I would now call traditional new media, and then cutting edge new media? How do you do rough budget segmentation and ROI type measurements for these kinds of things?

Chris Curtin:

It’s a great question and certainly something that we’re asked all the time. I think one of the elements of the question is that there’s an ROI analysis of course, cause it is an investment. And you have to be convinced that this investment is better than other investments that you might be able to make from a marketing or advertising perspective.

But there’s also, a new, I think emerging set of analyses or analytics, and they kind of are comfortably fall under the description of return on objective. And I think one of the elements of new media is that it confers a certain relevance to your destination or to your products or to your service to the extent that you do it well.

What I have found, it’s again worth what you’re paying, so you know, just one man’s opinion, but what I have found is marketers who approach the medium and think about ideas that are specific to the medium, not necessarily to a campaign that has multi media or multi platforms attached to it, but really, ideas that are specific to the medium and have creative that’s as compelling as the distribution plan.

Then, I think they do it very, very well. And at its core, Disney is acknowledging that digital media is really kind of the way of the future. And consumers being able to select and navigate and lead the conversation with an advertiser who is trying to tailor their product or service to that consumer’s interest, is, I think undoubtedly, the path that we’re all trying to pursue and ultimately learn our place in.

Paul Lewis:

Great. You know, you touched on earlier the concept of social media and user generated content and how do you enter the conversation and what’s the right way to do that; obviously the concerns of the brands being in control or being subject to the interpretations of the end users; what are your thoughts, not necessarily for Disney, but overall for marketers of major brands. What are the main things they should be thinking about in terms of interacting with user-generated content?

Chris Curtin:

I think, not that there need to be ground rules, but I think that there needs to be an understanding of what is the role of the company in that space, any company in that space, and how is that communicated to those who are conversing about that company’s product or services. And are they there to observe and react, or are they there to field questions or field concerns in real time?

Are they held to the same levels of standards that they would be if someone picked up a telephone and called customer service? I think those are the kind of the unanswered questions from many corporations and the sooner that both the consumer and the marketplace as well as the corporations do elect to get into this area, develop, “What are the ground rules, i.e., what are the expectations?”

I think it will be a lot more clear, but at the moment, I don’t believe those are 100 percent clear.

Paul Lewis:

Yeah, I think as we go on, you’re right. The ground rules, kind of a baseline of the key elements you have to understand and you have to embrace will become clearer. Right now, it’s definitely a lot of experimentation going on out there. So I think that’s a great takeaway as well.

One of the things I’m excited about asking you, obviously Disney deals with marketing to lots of different ages and different cultures throughout the world. What are some of the things, in terms of new media, that transcend or are very specific to certain cultures or age groups that you might highlight for us?

Chris Curtin:

That’s a great question. You’re absolutely spot on with the fact that we have one universal brand, but it finds itself in many different regions and many different cultures, and frankly, in many different states of technological maturation.

For instance, in Asia, as you well know, mobile and wireless is at kind of a 3-G level. In Europe and the advanced television is at a very pronounced and mature level. And here in the United States, the online or the internet is at a very advanced level.

You’re absolutely right with your question and we have been very cognizant of it, and I think it goes back to what we were discussing at the beginning, which is to say we’re very focused on thinking through holistically and comprehensively what we’re trying to achieve, why this medium is the ideal medium through which to achieve that goal, and executionally, how do we insure that from the moment the idea is conceived to the moment that it is put into a marketplace, the quality standards of Disney blow through it?

And as a result of that, you would probably see, if you had the opportunity to look at it from a bird’s eye perspective, a lot of focus in Asia around what are great mobile and wireless initiatives, a lot of focus in Europe about ways in which to kind of bring our message into life through the television and satellite platforms and a lot of focus in United States on what we’re doing with respect to all the online opportunity.

So it’s not to suggest that in each of those other – each of those regions we’re not also doing things in the two categories that I left out, but it is definitely a focus, because we see the consumer trends and we see the consumer adoption rates, and we also see what consumers are comfortable with.

Paul Lewis:

Great, well, I think we’ve gotten a lot of takeaways from today’s interview. I’d love to ask just one last question. As a marketer, especially if you are a marketer who’s company, their idea was launching a website was their big, interactive, sticking their toe in the water so far; what do you think are some of the biggest opportunities, or maybe what is the one biggest opportunity that marketers should be looking at, trying to understand, learning more about investing in, experimenting in right now in the world of interactive and new media?

Chris Curtin:

As a marketer, you should never fall into the trap that you’re either doing something that is advancing your brand or you’re doing something that is advancing your business and commercial interests.

To me, those two points should not be incompatible; instead, they must be viewed as kind of two sides to the same coin. If you think about a website, as an example, I don't know what it is for other companies or other products and services, but the vast majority of people who consider a Disney vacation; they research that Disney vacation and they try to learn more about which hotel to stay at, what properties to see, how many days to stay, what restaurants to dine in, and all the rest.

And every time you do that, there’s a brand impact you’re making on those prospective guests. And I feel very strongly that you are, in many respects, kind of representing what a Disney experience is, even if you are just reflecting ultimately a mechanism through which you ultimately have your Disney experience.

And all too often, people sit back and say, “Hey, a 30 second ad is just a taste of Johnson and Johnson or just a taste of what Coca-Cola is.” And because of digital media and how immersive it is, and in some ways how elongated it can be, I think it’s much more impactful, ultimately, on what your brand is and who your brand is and what consumers think of your brand.

Then, perhaps, even a 30 second spot was in its heyday. So I think it’s very important from a marketing perspective to really think about what you stand for as a brand, what is your brand promise and making sure you deliver upon that, particularly in digital media.

Paul Lewis:

I love that analogy, I once was talking to the head of marketing for a very large restaurant chain, and he said, “Our brand experience starts the minute someone steps their foot out of the door in our parking lot,” and everything from how that experience would be all the way through when they leave.

And I like this idea of a brand experience starts from the time you begin to interact with us through digital media, whether that be on our website or into one of our distributed interactive experiences. I think that’s a great way of looking at things.

Chris Curtin:

It’s also ______ a view of our brand, too, because we like to do things that only Disney could do, be it on property or off property with our marketing. Good examples of that is we had two homepage executions this prior year; one of which was on AOL the other of which was on Yahoo.

And during the course of those homepage executions, we had our characters literally fly across the screen, in part because that’s unique to Disney, but it’s also distinctive within the industry. And there are not many other companies who can boast digitally animated characters who could fly across AOL or fly across Yahoo and ultimately command your attention and then invite you to learn more about what Disney was doing or trying to communicate that day.

And I think it’s much like going to a Broadway or going to the theater; the minute you get into that theater experience, well before the curtains have kind of unveiled, the production has begun. And every part of it should be thought through, and every time you see a Disney message, even if it’s a marketing or advertising message, that’s an extension of what we think is important and who we think we are.

Paul Lewis:

Couldn’t have said it better myself; that is a very astute and relevant point, I think, for all of us marketers.

Well, Chris, I know we’re just about out of time today, I want to appreciate you and I know your schedule’s very busy; I appreciate the time you’ve made for us. I did want to wrap up with just a couple truth or marketing questions. Are you ready to play?

Chris Curtin:

Sure.

Paul Lewis:

All right. The first one is, somewhere in the continental U.S., gas will reach $5.00 a gallon and obviously these gas prices will have some effect on the travel industry in 2008. You think we’ll get up to $5.00 a gallon in 2008?

Chris Curtin:

Well, I really hope that that’s not true.

Paul Lewis:

I’m sure.

Chris Curtin:

I really, really hope that that’s not true and I hope that we are on path towards finding ways to make gas pricing as reasonable as possible and also take alternatives out there for consumption. But I hope that’s not the case.

Paul Lewis:

Great. Well I hope not either. I have one other one for you. There was an article that came out the other day that said the first hotel in space is slated as potentially as early as 2012. By the year 2025, the first theme park will open in outer space. Truth or marketing?

Chris Curtin:

Well, we do have an attraction called Mission: Space.

Paul Lewis:

That’s true.

Chris Curtin:

Which is one of the more popular attractions that we have, and you know, I gotta believe that the sky’s the limit, but I’m unaware of those plans. Although Mr. Branson, it seems like he has a strong commitment to intergalactic space flight and trying to find a commercial opportunity around it. And I think, even Google, I was reading somewhere, is in some way sponsoring or participating in some of those initiatives. So if you put Virgin and Google together and you have others in the mix, who knows what is possible?

Paul Lewis:

Yeah, with Google and Virgin, maybe the sky is not the limit.

Chris Curtin:

Exactly. Those two companies, and certainly the individuals who lead them are so visionary that you couldn’t put it past them.

Paul Lewis:

Well, Chris, again, we really enjoyed having you on the show today, thanks for all your insights and I hope you enjoyed the experience as well.

Chris Curtin:

Thank you so much.

Paul Lewis:

As always, I’ve enjoyed having the audience listen in, you can find more information as well as the text information of this, in addition to the audio cast, on internetmarketingvoodoo.com.

Thank you so much.

Announcer

For more information on this week’s topic, visit internetmarketingvoodoo.com. This podcast has been brought to you by MindComet, the Relationship Agency.

[End of Audio]

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