Source: Marketing Magazine

According to a survey done by digital marketing intelligence firm comScore Inc, nearly 1.2 million total people in Singapore visited sites listed in the travel category in January 2010. This is nearly a 50% surge from last year and an all-time high recorded for this category so far.

“In January, three out of five travel category visitors browsed two or more sites in the category, which suggests that consumers are being very diligent in comparing prices prior to purchase. Consumers are clearly being more cost-conscious these days, which is creating a more competitive environment among online travel agents and suppliers as they vie for consumer loyalty and share of wallet,” comScore vice president of Southeast Asia Joe Nguyen said.

The survey also noted some of most favoured sites for travel amongst Singaporeans.

Online mapping and travel guide site Streetdirectory was the most visited Travel destination with 475,000 unique visitors, up 33% from the previous year. Nearly half of the top 10 positions were occupied by regional and local airline brands. Tiger Airways was the most popular with 197,000 visitors in January, which is a 99% leap versus numbers a year ago. Qantas Airlines was second with 166,000 visitors, a 122% increase from last year and Singapore Airlines third with 145,000 visitors, up by 29%, followed by AirAsia.com with 137,000 visitors up 132%.

It was also found that 25-44 year olds account for more than half of the visitors to travel sites. Visitors aged 45-54 composed 19.5% and 15-24 year olds accounted for 17.5% of traffic. Females accounted for a slightly larger proportion of visitors to travel sites, representing 51.9% of visitors compared to 48.1% males.

Source: Marketing Interactive

The fist such extensive campaign by the client in the market, runs across different online platforms, such as blogs and social media.

The campaign targets PMEBs and internet savvy travelers and is supported by online banners on platforms such as Channelnewsasia.com, Hardwarezone.com.sg and Facebook that drive traffic to the micro-site.

In the one-month long campaign, renowned blogger Eunice will blog as she goes on a 8- days trip to Tasmania, encouraging readers to follow her blog and interact with her as she embarked on various activities and experiences in Tasmania.

In addition, readers can walk away with free Tasmania hampers when they spread the message through social media such as Facebook and Twitter.

Source – Marketing Interactive

The “Breaking News” campaign – which targets PMEBs and travellers – is supported by online banners on platforms such as AsiaOne.com, Relax.com.sg and StraitsTime.com that drive traffic to the microsite.

Spearheaded by Clickworkz Solutions, the one-month long campaign gives users the chance to win free trip to Macau by signing up with their details. If they refer at least one other friend with a valid email address, they will get an additional bonus entry into the draw.

In addition, registered users can also post the referral link on their Facebook or Twitter to attract more friends to participate.

“With this campaign, we hope to reach out to the audience virally building up the data bank and at the same time to enhance awareness of this holiday destination amongst travellers,” said Lee Cheun Kiat, chief operating officer, Clickworkz Solutions.

Source: Marketing Interactive

Speaking at the Global Leaders Series held by the American Chamber of Commerce in Singapore, Edelman spoke about the new age of public engagement and explained that social media is now mainstream.

“The idea that this is still some kind of niche thing is false,” he said.

Edelman also spoke about the fact that authority has been dispersed. With over 100 million people watching videos on YouTube and the massive numbers on networks such as Facebook and Twitter, there is an increasing need to engage with multiple voices through multiple channels.

“It used to be a conversation that would go from the company to the media and the media would have an audience – that’s false now. We’ve moved from an era of media ratification to media justification.

“Public engagement is in fact about advancing shared interests in a world of cross influence – that’s the big idea. If you’re thinking about how to do public engagement, the first thing to do is to start listening differently.”

Edelman explained that businesses must have discussions with new influences. They should open themselves up to input from others because these people want to participate in a better outcome.

However, he warned that in joining the online conversations, businesses must be careful not to take the imperialist attitude of directly informing the conversation. They should also try to avoid using the voice of the CEO but rather a researcher or someone closely involved with the particular subject being mentioned.

Source: Marketing Interactive