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#WTMA17: VR, the future of travel marketing
10 May 2017
Holiday company Contiki caters exclusively for 18 - 35-year-olds. To meet the needs and catch the attention and imaginations of this age group amid a constantly disrupted travel space, Contiki has to innovate continuously. Kelly Jackson, GM of Contiki SA spoke to WTM Africa 2017 delegates about how Contiki achieves this through utilising VR technology. We asked her to tell us more.
Kelly Jackson, GM, Contiki SA
What drives Contiki to innovate and how do you go about it?
We are continuously inspired by emerging technologies, platforms, trends and market drivers, and as a company, we invest in forward-thinking marketing. We constantly strive to innovate and create incredible and memorable campaigns and content.
Why has Contiki embraced Virtual Reality? What are the benefits of using VR as a travel marketing tool on both sides?
We introduced VR in 2015 as a means to further engage our travellers. It provides us with the opportunity to bring our brochure to life and allows consumers to get a taste of what they could be in store for if they booked a trip with us.
Tell us about some of Contiki’s VR campaigns and the response to these campaigns
All our VR campaigns are loaded onto our Samsung headsets. We initially started with VR content that focused on Europe as a destination and then introduced USA and Latin American content. Now we have a whole range of destinations available to view by means of VR.
As one of the leaders in the VR space, we ran an April Fool’s day campaign in 2016 around our introduction of VR and taking it to another level.
How is VR helping Contiki attract a new audience and what kind of audience?
I wouldn’t say a new audience, but it is providing us with an opportunity to engage more consumers – particularly when they come talk to us at expos about our trips. This interactive experience allows us to give them a little taste of what an adventure with us would be like, and hopefully, with that excitement, they’ll book a trip to experience it all – in real life.
What is Contiki’s approach and how important is it to create original, authentic content?
We have our own in-house team that creates all our video content. The content is filmed on our trips by our teams and is a true reflection of what we offer and who Contiki is.
What’s next for VR and how will this affect how Contiki’s travel marketing strategy?
We always have something awesome and exciting up our sleeve. We can’t give away too many secrets... but for now, VR is a fun and engaging way for us to connect with potential travellers.
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