Fox Kalomaski

Interactive content has been introduced to a revamped Tunisian National Tourist Office website.

The website homepage at cometotunisia.co.uk now includes embedded video content and image slideshows. The site also includes a live weather feed, travel advice and accommodation details.
 
A travel planner allows visitors to see the country’s sites and activities plotted on an embedded Google map. They can then add to a holiday ‘shopping basket’ as they plan their trip.

News and information on events and festivals is included.

TNTO UK and Ireland director Anissa Ramoundi said: “Now offering a unique and innovative showcase of everything Tunisia has to offer, we hope more web users will exchange the artificial glare of the computer screen for some real sunshine in the Sahara.”

The new look site has been unveiled following British Airways and Tunisair raising capacity from the UK and Jet2.com launching a service from Gatwick, she added.

Marks & Spencer (M&S) is Britain's most trusted retailer for the second year in a row, according to a new online YouGov survey.

The Insight Survey, which this year explores consumer trust in the retail and financial services (FS) sectors, reveals M&S as the most trusted retailer in Britain with 39% of consumers rating it as one of their top three most trustworthy retailers

John Lewis (26%) and Boots (23%) complete the top three in the trustworthy stakes. Tesco's dominance of the supermarket sector (according to the survey, 82% of consumers have used the supermarket in the past 12 months) fails to translate into trust, coming one place and one percent behind Asda (at 20%) in fifth with 19%.

Since consumers are much more likely to trust retailers they use, trust as measured in relation to usage/ market penetration, the new leader is confirmed as John Lewis with a 64% trust rating amongst its customers. M&S drops one place to second with 54%, but Waitrose jumps four places to third with 45%.

When asked to state the main reasons why retailers are trustworthy, consumers rank 'good reputation' as the most important (55%). 'High quality products' and 'Good value for money' came out as joint-second with 42%.'

Lesser still were factors such as 'good selection of products' (33%), 'Ethical business practices' (18%), 'Knowledgeable staff (16%), and 'Low prices' (15%). Marketers may be surprised to see 'Live up to the promises in their advertising' relatively low on the list with only 16% of consumers stating it was one of their top three reasons for being trustworthy.

Significantly, it's only when you compare the trust levels of retailers with financial services companies that you see how well retailers have done at gaining consumers' trust.

While the top ranked retailer is M&S with 39%, the top ranked financial services company is Nationwide, however it only scores 15% in comparison. Indeed, if you were to combine the trustworthy rankings of the retail and financial service companies, retailers would make up eight of the top 10. Nationwide, the highest ranked financial services company, would only come joint 7th with Waitrose.

While you might assume that most people would think a traditional financial services company would be best placed to look after your money, the survey in fact reveals that only 39% of the population think that a financial service did the best job when compared to a retail company.

In a damming indictment of the FS sector, nearly a third of people (28%) stated they 'Don't know', which is effectively a vote against financial service companies. Only 6% think retail companies would do the best job of looking after their money, which is reflected in the apparent difficulties retailers face in converting a good retailer performance on trust into the financial services market.

For example, when rated on their trustworthiness the major supermarkets' financial services offerings rank relatively low with the following percentage scores: Tesco Finance (4%), M&S Money (4%) and Sainsbury's Bank (2%). However, the fact that over a quarter (26%) of the population think both retailers and financial services companies are no better or no worse at looking after your money suggests that all is not lost for retailers looking to strengthen their position in the FS market.

Sam Jordan, managing director, Baber Smith said: "What's interesting about these results is how quality products and value for money have grown in importance as the main reasons for trusting retailers.

"Consumers seemingly have a clear preference for retailers that offer acceptable quality at reasonable prices, rather than those that just offer rock-bottom prices. Striking this fine balance has clearly paid dividends for the likes of M&S, which once again comes out as the UK's most trusted retailer.

Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) has increased its number of departures this autumn on several routes within the region. Two daily flights will be added between Copenhagen and Stockholm due to popular demand.

Frequencies will also be increased on the Copenhagen-Bergen; Copenhagen-Oslo; Copenhagen-Stavenger and Oslo-Stockholm routes.

“Besides a record high load factor, we have also noted a positive booking trend within our Scandinavian network,” said SAS Chief Commercial Officer Robin Kamark. “In order to provide our customers with the most and best departures, as well as transfers, we will offer an additional 62 new departures this autumn.”

By Branwell Johnson

The proposed merger of Continental Airlines and United Airlines will only benefit passengers if the new airline can deliver a “great brand experience”.

The airlines are to join forces, subject to shareholder and regulatory approval, and fly under the name of United Airlines.

The marketing brand will be a combination of both companies’ brands. Aircraft will have the Continental livery, logo and colours alongside the United name, and the planned launch campaign slogan will be “Let’s Fly Together”.

However, Gary Jacobs, chief executive of specialist travel and airline advertising agency Fox Kalomaski, says that for most airline passengers, brand loyalty is secondary to knowing if they will arrive on time, at the right destination and at the right price.

Jacobs says first class passengers are still brand loyal, depending on the benefits and individual membership schemes that airlines offer, but that air travel is mainly a commoditised market.

“Loyalty is generally engendered from getting the right level of service. These two airlines have a long history and well-established identities but success depends on what they mean to the customer and the individual experience they may have had with the airlines.”

Ash Gupta, of The Gupta Partnership, says: “Scale is vital in today’s market, but a step back towards the customer-centric attitude of Singapore Airlines or BA in its heyday is equally important.

“Customers have been treated like disposable pawns despite marketing promises, and if this new scale can be used to promote customer happiness and loyalty this could set a benchmark for the industry.”

Peter Knapp, executive creative director, Europe and Middle East for branding agency Landor, says that the challenge of this merger will be that the bigger the airline becomes the blander the brand will become.

He adds: “The priority should be focused on adding customer value…not focusing on making the fleet look consistent. There are already numerous versions of the United livery in the sky and the brand remains poorly considered by many. Another one isn’t going to suddenly change peoples opinion, however if the merged brand could start deliver on some basics it might help the new airline be reconsidered in a far more favourable way.

Consolidation has long been expected in the airline industry, which has been hit by the global economic downturn, rising fuel costs and the fall-out from the Icelandic volcano crisis.

Gary Jacobs, chief executive of travel marketing company Fox Kalomaski, helps you get consumers to spend longer on your website

Although travel businesses can survive without a website, we live in a digitally-led world - and any channel that can deliver new business opportunities and represent your business 24/7/365 must not be ignored.

Research into why some travel agencies don’t have a website reveals answers like these:

“We don’t need one, maybe it’s our location but we’ve been here for 20 years and we’ve got enough business without one.”
"We’re just a small local retail agent and sell every tour operator’s product”
“We used to have one but it’s not working and is in development”.

Reading between the lines, would I suggest that some folk deem websites to be more trouble than they are worth.

Keep it simple
Websites that are rich in content, clear to navigate and deliver a great customer experience are more likely to keep the visitor engaged long enough to convert to a sale, either online or over the phone.

Ultimately, the secret to creating a sticky website – a site that keeps a visitor for as long as possible – is to keep it simple. Simple to find the information they are looking for and simple to contact you or book online.

There are plenty of websites that will give you guidance on how to make the most of your website and plenty of marketing companies who can do it for you.

Case study: 14 islands film challenge
Challenged with making bahamas.co.uk a much content-richer site, Fox Kalomaski developed the 14 Islands Film Challenge to find 14 up-and-coming filmmakers to create engaging short films on and about the Islands of the Bahamas.

The 14 five-minute feature films can be seen at bahamas.co.uk or 14islandsfilmchallenge.co.uk.

The marketing initiative encouraged consumers to follow the exploits of the 14 filmmakers by signing up to become ‘armchair critics’ and be in with the chance of winning a holiday in the Bahamas as well as many other prizes. The results show a huge uplift in website visits since the films went live.

15 minute web review
Take 15 minutes to find out if you are following  these suggestions. Where there are gaps, form a plan of action.

Site performance: Are you using tools such as Google Analytics to measure how your visitors interact with your site, how long they spend on particular pages and what they are looking for? Importantly, look at the bounce rate - the percentage of visitors who leave your site from the home page without further browsing.

Test and learn: Are you trying different approaches with your content – such as holiday reviews by customers and staff or competitions? Online research reveals that eight out of 10 people who spend time online engage with video content through business and or social media sites. Measure what works most effectively using your analytics tools.

Research: Ask your customers what they want when they visit your site and ensure you give them what they’re looking for. Simple questionnaires can be hosted on your website or ask them over the phone or in person how your site could be improved.

Data collection: Building a relationship with your visitors and potential customers provides a valuable database. If you have a holding page that says your site is under construction, turn it into a data-gathering opportunity by offering to send information on the latest offers and special deals based on what the customer wants, in return for their email or address details.

Keep your site fresh, clean and simple: A refresh of your existing site is simple and cost effective and remember that your web visitors are generally impatient to find the information they’re looking for, so make it very easy for them to find.

Content, content, content: Use the above suggestions to analyse whether you are creating engaging content that will give you a greater return on  your investment.