Travel content, comms and events team launch ‘The Power of Six’

On a day when the world seemed to be shrinking for so many of us #RuleOfSix, six senior content, events and communications figures with complementary areas of experience came together as The Power of Six #PowerOfSix. It’s a timely reminder of the power of working together with a common goal to showcase the transformative nature of travel.

The Power of 6 is an agile collaborative team of six senior-level creatives from the world of content and media.

By combining our creative expertise, The Power of 6 brings our complementary skills together to make your brand stand out from the crowd with innovative, high-quality content marketing and engaging media events.

The Power of 6 can keep our costs low to give you value, and we can move quickly to provide you with a complete content marketing team when you need it most.

I’m so excited to be one of this team of six alongside Mark Henshall, Howard Salinger (Travel Connection Group), Doug Shields (Shields Media Consultancy), Cathy Bartrop (travelguru.tv) and Nori Jemil.

#contentmarketing #PowerofSix #SaveTravel

Howard Salinger Mark Henshall Cathy Bartrop Doug Shields Nori Jemil

www.quinntessentiallycontent.com/thepowerof6

Aside from Alpe d'Huez's 21 hairpin bends, what else do you know about Isère?

Tour de France: You may know about the 21 hairpin bends on the road up to Alpe d'Huez in Isère. But what else do you know about this French department that's also the third-largest ski region in France?

The Tour de France 2020 enters into Isère on Monday 14 September for 3 days, leaving its main city of Grenoble on Wednesday 16 September.

So for those who want to know a little more about this mountainous area, here's a round-up I wrote as a guest post on Mary Anne's France.

Cyrille Quintard / Alpe d’Huez Tourism

When will the British public start travelling again?

As Britain is still largely in the grip of lockdown, albeit emerging slowly, travel companies and tourism boards are looking to see what they can do to market their products and services. Here's a roundup of what will make visitors feel safe to book and when the majority are thinking of travelling again.

When will UK travellers feel safe to book a holiday?

While there’s still uncertainty, Simon Calder, an independent travel advisor, suggested UK travellers will need to consider five things before they will book any holidays. These include:

1. Can you get to the airport?

2. Has the FCO lifted advice against foreign travel? 

3. Is there going to be an airline to take you? 

4. Is the destination going to let you in?

5. Can you tolerate the UK’s quarantine rules on return?

Simon is also running a weekly poll that shows between 55-58% of people are fearful of travel. 

A recent YouGov poll also suggested that only 14% of UK travellers would be ready to travel again in 2020. For example, if you’re a French destination or sell France, with 8.56 million Brits travelling a year to France, that makes approximately 1.2 million who might travel to France by the end of the year.

And finally at a News Live webinar on May 14th focusing on travel, it was suggested that November at the earliest would be when most would consider travelling outside of the UK..

Who are you catering for & possible travel trends?

Multi-generational travel may not be as popular as some predict. Travelling for larger family groups might be too soon in 2021, especially while 70-year-olds are still being asked to stay at home, or find that buying insurance is too expensive. 

Self-travel or autonomous travel is the immediate trend mentioned by Duncan Craig travel editor of the Times & Sunday Times. It seems to be a safer option to travel in your own bubble, especially while the future of some airlines is in the balance. Self-drive holidays with the Eurotunnel or ferry and checking in to self-catering apartments or gites might feel safer.

However, as of May 15th, it’s still unclear as to whether travel to France is a possibility. Driving further to Spain and Portugal, for example, adds complexity as you will need to check whether you can enter all countries along the way. A safer option for the UK market might be Ireland only. 

Longer holidays and fewer weekend breaks might be a pattern for travellers. Both Simon Calder and Lisa Minot, Travel Editor at The Sun, predict travellers will be taking one big holiday next year, "Two weeks at a time, rather than a scattering of smaller trips" suggests Lisa, while Simon agrees that tourists will likely “cherish” their holiday more and book fewer trips but spend longer away. 

Small family-run hotels (rather than luxury) might have a better future is a prediction from UK travel industry expert Simon Calder in a Bright Talk with World Travel Market suggesting UK travel plans will become more modest. 

Last-minute booking might be a more common behaviour. Simon Calder suggests brands should keep their nerve as many will be unwilling to book quite so far in advance so as to avoid disappointment. Holidaymakers will likely snap up deals late, maybe only even a few weeks in advance.

When should I start creating my content marketing?

If travellers are considering booking a foreign holiday for next year, they might choose the 2020/21 winter season.

Start thinking about Winter 2020/21 content now. With summer 2020 travel unlikely beyond the UK, use your time to plan and update your online content instead.

Now is the best time to start planning your content marketing efforts. Prepare for a September launch for the following winter. That gives you three months - June to September - over the summer to build your content and brand awareness across all of your social media channels and website. I posted some simple steps here for you to think about. 

Contact us for a free consultation

If you’re unsure what content to focus on, contact quinntessentiallycontent@gmail.com for your free 30-minute content consultation.

Resources:

News LIVE - Adapting as a travel editor - May 14, 2020

Bright Talk with WTM: Travel Talk with Simon Calder Apr 30, 2020

Five simple steps travel companies can do to create content

As countries are slowly lifting their lockdown restrictions, and many are starting back at work, we now have a bit of time to think about what’s next. But with so much uncertainty in the travel industry, only one thing is really certain - we all have time to plan. The question, however, is what are we planning for? Hopefully opening up again and welcoming customers, albeit that we don’t know when or how. In terms of travel and tourism, it’s hard for anyone to make concrete predictions, and speculation or future-gazing can potentially take you down the wrong path for both you and your customer.

Focus on what you can control

Instead, focus on what you can control. It’s a great time to build brand awareness, inspire your customers and gear up to something amazing by creating great content. Some big brands are already engaged, but if you’ve been taking a pause, here are five suggested steps to help you get on track with your content.

1. Keep communicating

Get closer to your customers by keeping communicating - it lets them know you are still open for business. Find content you can share quickly and easily on social media.  

2. Plan

You’re currently in survival mode and your five-year plan has gone out the window. A simple way to get you on track is to create a 4 to 6-week plan of short-term content goals and objectives. Having worked at Google for seven years, I’m still a fan of free Google tools for project management.  There’s a roundup here of the capabilities. 

3. Review

Take a little time to accurately define who you are and what you offer that’s different from your competitors. Now review all your current content assets and check they still resonate with you and your brand. At the same time, are you happy with your online presence? Perhaps take time to start adding content on to Instagram or other social channels where you’ve not been before. 

4. Create

Take time to create new content. But be creative - while we are starting to suffer from virtual burnout and fatigue with armchair travel and Zoom parties, there are still some great ideas out there that you can use to keep your customers engaged, such as: 

• Trip-planning content. Look at useful and inspiring trip-planning content to help people dream about you and help them plan are all persuasive ways of engaging your customers with the destination. Then as soon as they are ready to book, your brand will be front of mind. Ideas might include travel guides/itineraries and tips to Pinterest maps, quizzes, puzzles and colouring pictures; guides on how to create their own itinerary on Google maps; infographics on how to run virtual themed parties.

• Your story. Let your people tell their stories. Storytelling is a great way for your customer to connect with you. Communicate the human face behind the brand and get your people in your team or destination sharing their experiences of the role they play, such as local chefs and mixologists sharing local recipes; local producers showing what they’ve been doing during lockdown, and much more. You could use simple video interviews or ask them to write their story.

• Ask your customers to share their experiences - capture testimonials from customers and how they enjoyed travelling with you. Use past experiences to help people dream and think about what’s possible. Get them to share pictures and stories. Personal, more honest stories are likely to resonate more than what your sustainability credentials are. 

• Finally, create some content that will help reassure your customers with the safety protocols that you’ll have in place for them when they arrive.

5. Iterate

What I learnt working at Google is to constantly innovate and iterate. Get something out there and if it doesn’t work, try again. Don’t keep flogging a dead horse if your content isn’t working - you can always tweak and change it, but also don’t be afraid to try. The only brands losing out are the ones who don’t have an online or social presence at the moment.  

Examples of brands who’ve been creating content during lockdown

If you want inspiration from other brands, some who’ve been doing this well lately include: Kuoni’s The World Will be Waiting #KuoniMoments, Visit Faroe Islands with their fun Remote Tourism campaign, and my very own city of Bristol was voted by Rough Guides as one of the top virtual tourism campaigns. 

Next steps

If you’re unsure what steps to take next, we can help. Contact quinntessentiallycontent@gmail.com for a free 30-minute content consultation.

About Me: I’ve worked in the travel industry for years from in-resort operations (during crises including Egypt) to creating guidebook content and most recently working at Google. During lockdown, we’ve been creating content for a brand new travel brand launching soon. We’ve also been creating new partnerships with video brands whose skills can complement our content skills, as well as connecting with non-travel digital PRs, freelance journalists and marketing agencies covering fashion and interiors, all of whom offer a fresh, exciting perspective on what travel brands like yourself can offer. We’ve also been experimenting with recipes, focusing on self care (online step aerobic classes, hot tub, cycling, running), contributing to local businesses, and volunteering for the local council creating content and communications for a hub of 140 volunteers supporting local residents currently in need.

How I became a travel writer

I was 14 years old. My English teacher set a challenge to write about a holiday. I'd never been abroad, so I picked up a brochure from the travel agent. I was drawn to a black Kuoni safari brochure with a half-moon cutout showing a lion.

Travel was my dream

And that became my dream. I wanted to travel. My first trip abroad at 18 was to work as an au pair in Gerardmer in the Vosges, France.

At uni, I took schools orchestras around Europe. I then spent my year abroad studying in Paris. I wrote for the student newspaper and did a short stint on the Express&Star. But really I wanted to travel.

Working as a resort rep

After uni, I worked in ski resorts for Quest and SkiBound, before finally working for my dream company Kuoni, where I worked in Switzerland, Mexico, Maldives, Egypt and as a tour escort in China & Hong Kong (as well as Heathrow Airport).

On my return to the UK, I finally began my travel writing and editing career, working for PopOut Maps, Frommer’s and eventually Google doing online travel and maps content, before starting content marketing.

My career has gone in different directions. One week before lockdown I was enjoying the beaches on the North Shore of Oahu in Hawaii that had been on my wishlist for years. For now, travel is obviously now off the table, so I’m spending time remembering the amazing places I’ve lived in and visited while I stay at home.

#BGTWStayAtHome #Travelwriting #DestinationManagement #ContentStrategy #Kuoni