7 March 2011 by Hotel Industry Magazine

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Digital Marketing: Latest Trends in Digital Marketing

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With technology developing at a dizzying rate, some managers fear that they are lagging behind in the latest developments in digital marketing. We bring together two prominent figures from the world of digital marketing to discuss this fast-changing sector.

Our digital marketing panel:

• Tom Dibble: CEO, Screen Pilot
• Rob McCutcheon: managing director, Astracasting

Hotel-industry.co.uk: Why has digital marketing leapt to the top of the hotelier’s agenda?

Dibble: Simple … Reach. Getting access to a qualified audience who are searching for travel products is the main reason why hoteliers live in the digital universe. It’s also far more controllable and ultimately digital marketing is the only modern-day and affordable way of having a direct channel to market. Developing this direct distribution channel means you’re creating opportunities to own the guest from the outset, but more importantly, you can also capture a better margin by not paying commission to an intermediary.

McCutcheon: I think that the consumers’ growing thirst for technology and the growth in mobile phone usage is taking digital marketing into a new era. It’s no longer enough for a hotelier to have pleasant ambient media playing in the background of lobby areas or free internet access for business meeting areas – rather, hoteliers are now expected to provide interesting location-based information and rewards for loyalty that can be picked up “on the go” by busy customers.

Hotel-industry.co.uk: So the industry is changing fast! What emerging trends can you identify in digital marketing?

McCutcheon: I think that the massive expenditure on apps by all the leading brands in virtually every market is a key issue. This has led to hotel suppliers of ambient media struggling to justify how they offer ROI to a hotel marketing manager – who, in turn must justify the spend to the financial director. Therefore, I think we’ll see more screen media operators winding up their operations. The trend looks set to continue unless the various media operators look at partnering with value-added services that can increase ROI with physical downloads of offers and vouchers.

Dibble: Cheaper smart-phones will translate into higher device saturation in the consumer market. Better phones, faster data speeds means more people surfing on their phones with enhanced browsing experiences. However, just because these consumers are using their mobiles to do more stuff, m-commerce (mobile commerce) in the travel industry will be finely segmented to locations and brands that support the profile of the m-commerce traveller.

I think the rise of social media is particularly interesting. For example, our Facebook marketing strategies differ greatly to that of paid search tactics. Knowing how to engage and interact using each channel to market is key. Search is a tactic for when you want to gain engagement from someone who already knows they want to travel. Social media on the other hand is a tactic that can align a hotel with an intent that doesn’t currently exist or by peer recommendation of a guest’s experience at a property or brand.

Hotel-industry.co.uk: Are UK hoteliers keeping up with the pace of change?

Dibble: The digital landscape changes so fast. The best thing an owner, operator, marketing or revenue manager can do is stay as current as possible and evaluate opportunities with experts. I’ve always felt that hospitality has lagged behind by about two years in the US, slightly less in Europe, when it comes to keeping up with emerging trends in the digital landscape. With the size of the global travel industry in mind, it’s a leading force of e-commerce – it should lead, not lag!

Hotel-industry.co.uk: Is there a clear ROI on digital marketing?

McCutcheon: To date, I would say that you would struggle to show effective figures that back up ROI on things like screen media and free Wi-Fi access. But opportunities are now available to use bolt-on technologies that can deliver physical content to mobile consumers, thus taking the place of traditional paper-based reward vouchers and flyers. This new technology has a traceable feed into ROI calculations.

Hotel-industry.co.uk: So has calculating ROI become more complex?

Dibble: Certainly, yes. Simple ROI more or less stops at, “I sent out an email campaign and want to know if it generated any bookings and how much it made.” Complex ROI, on the other hand, can get really academic and scientific, but ultimately is all about understanding the behaviour of customers as they interact with the brand – not just the marketing efforts. Success isn’t always measured on bookings or leads. Rather, engagement is also becoming a more evaluated metric of success for different types of digital marketing efforts.

Hotel-industry.co.uk: Why is it important for hoteliers to partner with third party companies like yours to improve their digital marketing?

McCutcheon: Third party technology companies will only survive by adapting to change and keeping ahead of the changes in market forces. Hoteliers are busy people who need to concentrate on running their businesses. The hotelier should let the third party take the strain as a trusted partner and work with them on developing new ideas and pilot schemes to prove ROI for new mediums as-and-when they arrive.

Dibble: We live and breathe in the digital world. It’s the essence of who we are. For Screen Pilot, our mission statement for the hospitality industry is to drive awareness and direct distribution revenues. We shift hundreds of thousands in revenues away from in-direct channels, online travel agents and other intermediaries by delivering qualified traffic directly to the property website. Just because you don’t have multi-million pound marketing budgets does not mean you can’t compete online. Our clients are proof you can.