Using The Principal

Marketing Communications Tools

In Travel and Tourism

Chapter 5

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Learning Objectives

At the end of this chapter, you will be able to

• Define and understand the roles of a range of marketing
communications strategies as elements of the
communications mix.
• Recognize the importance of alternative forms of
communications to the promotion of tourism and
hospitality organizations.
• Develop an appreciation of the application of the broader
range of communications mix to an organization's
integrated marketing communications strategy.

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 • Integrated marketing communications - to integrate all forms
of communications created by organizations to achieve a wide
set of organizational goals for delivery of messages to all
stakeholders of the organization.
• Marketers are able to influence potential consumers by
different communication tools.

Introduction

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 • The means of providing the most
persuasive possible selling message to the
right prospects at the lowest possible cost.
5.1 • This represents a highly practical and
profit-oriented view of the role of
Advertising marketing communications through
advertising messages.
and public • A specific form of marketing
relations communications which is concerned with
bringing information about an
organization, its products and services, or
any other messages to the attention of the
market. 4
Advertising
Advertising can take a variety of forms
and should be targeted directly at desired
audiences.
Advertising is not synonymous with
‘promotion’, because many messages
delivered through advertising are
concerned either about:
- providing information and creating
awareness of the organization,
- its channels of access/distribution or
about otherwise informing or reminding
the markets about the organization
through the provision of appropriate
information
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 greater fragmentation in terms of use of
media channels

growth in pull strategies (to drive

Direction of consumers towards certain actions)
advertising
messages in the greater interactivity in advertising
present context messages
has taken a shift
increase in use of personal endorsement
in terms of: (by celebrities or ‘ordinary’ users)

more innovative media strategies

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6-stage process for successful advertising
(Morgan and Pritchard, 2001)

Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3

Awareness Comprehension Acceptance

Stage 4 Stage 5 Stage 6

Preference Purchase Reinforcement

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The focus of advertising should be directed towards
elicitation of particular types of response:
The persuasion response
The sales response (whereby (whereby the advertisement
price is the key message to message is powerful enough
stimulate action) to change attitudes towards a
product or brand)

The saliency group (like

Involvement response
(whereby customers
empathize with the product or
brand)
persuasion, but where
advertising attempts to relate
the product or brand to
consumers identity or social,
cultural and socio-economic
characteristics, so that they
identify with the values of the
brand/product).
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 The discipline which builds and maintains reputation, with
the aim of earning understanding and support and
influencing opinion and behavior.

Public It is the planned and sustained effort to establish and

maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between an
Relations organisation and its publics

The focus of PR activity can be divided into two aspects:

The delivery of information at the The marketing- or promotion-related
level of corporate communications PR activity in the communications mix

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2 types of organization's publics
1. External
• Media – television, radio and press
• Public – local communities, pressure
groups and the general public
• Government – local, region, national
authorities, non-governmental
organisations
2. Internal
• Internal stakeholders – shareholders,
banks, board of trustees
• Internal representatives – staff,
trades union representative
• Internal commercial – suppliers,
agents and intermediaries,
customers
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 1. Reactive
Reactive messages are required as
responses to requests from media
Reasons to and press.
Engage in
2. Proactive
Public Proactive messages are created in
Relations response to a range of information
stimuli.

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 Message Credibility
FIVE key
characteristics
No Direct Media Costs
of messages
directed at an
Loss Of Control Over Publication
external
audience - Loss Of Control Of Content
Jobber (1995)
Loss Of Control Of Timing
 Sales Promotion

5.2 Sales • Sales promotion is generally considered to be

a ‘below the line’ activity, the point of which
Promotion, is to stimulate sales or otherwise direct
consumers to behave in a particular way.

Merchandising • SP are used alongside a more general

communications strategy to raise awareness
and Personal of the brand or product, to launch a new
service or relaunch a brand or product.

Selling • Awareness is raised, interest created and sales

stimulated through a single communications
campaign.

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 to stimulate sales over the short
term

Reasons to as an ongoing way to meet

employ sales longer-term marketing
objectives for market share
promotion

to react to competitors’ actions

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 Familiarization Trips
• Familiarization trips for intermediaries and the travel press have long been associated with the tourism and hospitality industry.
• The relationship between the media and the travel and food and drink supplements has relied on these types of promotions,
which in return often result in greater positive exposure for the establishment or destination.
• Fam trips are critical to overcome intangibles in tourism.
• Fam trips are important because travel agents can be conceived as opinion leaders.
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 Sponsorship has been defined as ‘a business
relationship between a provider of funds, resources
or services and an individual, event or organization’

Offers in return some rights and association that may

Sponsorship be used for commercial advantage

There are four main forms of sponsorship which can be used

as part of the communications mix strategy:
sports program arts events
sponsorship sponsorship sponsorship sponsorship

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FIVE main reasons for an organization's choice of
sponsorship
Sponsorship
• Each of these types of activity has the benefit of having the power to bring
the brand to the attention of a very large market, largely through the
potential of televised or other broadcast media coverage.
• There are five main reasons for an organization's choice of sponsorship as
part of its communications strategy:
• creation of favorable brand associations
• creation of promotional opportunities
• creation of additional publicity
• creation of corporate hospitality opportunities
• creation of corporate social responsibility (CSR) profile
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 Personal Selling

Part of the marketing communications mix concerned with direct

interaction between the seller and buyer.

Highly effective form of communication because the seller can respond

to the individual needs of the consumer and provide a tailored and
flexible solution.

This effectiveness is driven by the expertise, motivation and personal

qualities of the sales force.

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Personal Selling
Personal-selling techniques are
often most effective in high-
involvement decisions, where
there is a high degree of risk
and/or complex decision-
making.
There are many tasks
and functions of the
sales team:
• Finding new customers
• Selling services
• Communicating
• Representing the organization
• Establishing and maintaining
relationships with customers
or other stakeholders
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 Brochures
• A source of information and in aiding consumer
5.3 decision-making
• Traditionally helped overcome some of the problems
Brochures, of intangibility and also allowed the organization to
deliver some strong messages about the destination
or organization in an advertising format.
Print and • Requested by potential consumers - a good chance
to sell.
Online • However, they are often very generic,
undifferentiated, and so they may not have enough
Advertising appeal for niche market audiences
• Create representations of the resorts, destinations
and brands featured by the organization.

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 • Generally refers to the printed
Print media, advertisements in
newspapers, magazines,
Advertising advertorials and other printed
forms.

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 • Including e-CRM and e-newsletters, refers to
advertising placed on websites or to e-mail
database advertising.
Online • Advertising on the Internet comprises
essentially three different types of format:
Advertising 1. Search marketing
2. Classified advertising
3. Display advertising

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 Organizations need to:
• Know the proportions and characteristics of
5.4 consumers who search for and book their travel and
hospitality services online, as opposed to, through a
Distribution travel agent.
• Know how consumers hear about the services or
Channels in destination.
• Know which activities are preferred by customers
Tourism: through which channels at which times, achieved
through research and data processing.
Creating • Understand where consumers access the marketing
communications and under which circumstances,
Access they reacted favorably in terms of the content of the
message which in turn led to a favorable action or
reaction, such as a purchase or some other desired
action.
5.5 Direct Marketing

All the media activities, Targeted at individual The purpose: to capture A call to action can be
communications and users instead of through information about delivered through a
responses which are intermediaries customers and potential range of media
directed at individual customers from the platforms. The purpose
customers or potential responses they make to of the call to action
customers direct ‘calls to action’ maybe to:
1. make a purchase
2. request a brochure
3. visit a website
4. send in your details

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5.5 Direct Marketing

Direct marketing establish and manage direct relationships with customers, through
the capture of personal information in a database.

The main types of direct marketing for tourism and hospitality organisations include:

direct response
direct mail e-mail inserts
advertising
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 This chapter has discussed and evaluated a range of
alternative tools in the communications mix.

In the present context, it was shown that all these

forms of communication can be used very effectively
to achieve particular communications goals.
Summary The applications to personal selling, sponsorship, PR,
direct marketing and events and exhibitions were
discussed.

Organisations can make an effective impact with

consumers using a variety of channels and

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Thank you