IC TRAVEL AGENT May 2014 | Page 10

Video apps emerged as a popular means of watching digital videos across all age demographics. But Gen Y used video apps on smartphones and tablets in slightly greater numbers than Gen Xers, and substantially higher numbers than baby boomers. Gen Xers were the most likely to stream video from a webpage on a tablet, while baby boomers used websites to watch videos on smartphones more than the other two age groups. Read more here AND here. Tap and Book Let’s stay with the video format for the moment as it truly is the best format for showcasing travel no matter what the journey or where the destination is. You can create a 15 minute travel feature or you might prefer to create a 30 second commercial. Your choice and here’s one tool for you to explore and others like it. http://www.celtra.com/ Click around the Celtra website and you’ll find you can actually create a video with a Tap AND… feature. Right away, a Tap and Book idea comes to mind. Show off your video and then asking clients to Tap and Book makes a lot of sense. What Else To Attract GEN Y? Travel as an activity offers so much of what GEN Y like, from music to games and of course videos. The sounds of various countries would mean sourcing the music a destination is known for, or embedding the promotional theme the tourist board is using. Either way… music is attractive to the GEN Y ear and eye. How can you use it? You can try using it with one of my favourite creative tools: Animoto. Animoto Pro It’s going to cost you USD$39 month if you want it, and if you subscribe then you can produce video content with embedded call-to-action buttons. Features include multiple sound tracks, video duration of up to 20 minutes. The Animoto video is made up of photo images and video clips that are 10 seconds max. The timing suits the mindset and focus time of GEN Y. They are distracted quite often by multitasking various devices – so short, sharp bursts of video can work. Try Animoto here. Gamification Gamification is something you’ve been doing for years so no need to panic. Remember your points system and referral discounts – yes? It’s the same thing only today you’ll exploit the digital landscape and make the game such as collecting points more interesting and more interactive using, wait for it, BIG words coming up: Game Mechanics! WOW! Gamification then can involve many different activities that apply game mechanics and psychology to drive the “user” - your client – to follow a specific set of desired behaviors – like click and book! Out of the many game activities such as being challenged, building points, badges, brand loyalty and advocacy, a travel agency could focus on contests, coupons and customer loyalty programs. The word ‘play’ when it comes to travel agency gamification means to book a trip that’s how you want your game users to understand play. OR, they could achieve status by referring friends to your agency. Think how you would like to engage your clients into a travel game – offering free prizes for playing and rewards for “work” such as referrals. Some of those freebies or rewards could be won as result of booking a group of their own friends. Your preferred suppliers are well into the gamification side of 5 Screen Marketing. Be sure to ask your BDMs for information as to how you can offer your clients the chance to play.