The New CTC Web strategy:
Let's talk about the new CTC web strategy.... MM: The fundamental change to our strategy is that our marketing execution will be shifting from about 15% web-based activities to almost 50%. Of course, this will require significant operational changes in our CTC offices to support this initiative. One aspect of the new strategy, which will have a big impact for the industry at large, is that we will run TravelCanada.ca off a single platform globally. This is a huge change. In the past, our web presence internationally has been structured as individual websites in individual countries. For example, the TravelCanada site in the United Kingdom has been hosted in the UK and operated from there - as it is the case in Japan and in our other international markets. This has been an expensive way to support a web presence. Technically, the biggest change coming is that about 70% of the content will be global, with the remaining 30% customised for individual markets, within the global content. This way we can serve the brand positioning globally - tailored for each market of course. In the past, for an advertising programme like ComeSkiCanada in the UK for example, using a microsite through which customers could access specialised product information, unless a Canadian tourism business was active in the UK market and in that campaign, it was not able to benefit from the campaign because the consumer had to work too hard to get to that product's information. The use of microsites has been useful for advertising campaign measurement... will you continue to use them? MM: In the future, we are going to reduce the use of microsites dramatically. Soon, when consumers come to the TravelCanada website, they will have the back end of the entire product database to search. Let me elaborate... suppose you come in through a ski advertisement, but would really like to find out about dog sledding because you are intrigued by the whole idea of a 'winter experience', you will be able to get that information quite easily. Right now, you really can't get this type of more global information from a microsite. Microsites have been used extensively to measure campaign effectiveness, a sort of 'middle technology' approach that is akin to coupon response tracking. However, we must never be in a situation where campaign measurement trumps customer service; happily, by fully embracing new internet technology and analytics, we can do both. Microsites will be a part of that, but they will operate seamlessly within the global platform, ensuring customer service and easy access to the full range of Canadian tourism products while providing us with the customer information we need to promote our country effectively. How is this going to affect the way industry partners participate? MM: We know there is a lot more we can do to service the customers, to make it easier for them to get to a booking, no matter what their interest. And this is where our industry as a whole is so important. If you think about it, we are interested in creating interest about Canada, our partners are trying to make sales, and we kind of share all this common interest together. However, only a portion of our industry is investing in our various programs, and getting the direct benefit from them. We have all the other industry players who, while they may not see the value in any one particular program, still need to be attached to the 'awareness of Canada' component of what we do, and it is that attachment we want to make a lot easier. And this is where the web strategy becomes really relevant to small businesses, because at present they don't quite see the relevance of the CTC on the marketing side if they can't participate in our programming. But, if they can see leads being generated far more often through CTC marketing, they will understand our web efforts are working for all Canadian tourism businesses, at all levels and locations. Further, the tourism industry across the country will benefit from our enhanced ability to track customer responses as they click their way through our website. We will be able to gain insights into consumer preferences and thought processes, as well as what motivated them to find out more about Exploring Canada and even (in a non-specific way) where these customers live. (I want to stress that this is not about gathering mailing lists; it is about understanding what our customers are looking for and how to reach them more effectively.) Looking at provincial, territorial, and city marketing organisation websites, they range from very high quality and utility to, well, very low quality and utility to the consumer and the industry. Is the CTC's new web presence going to be crafted in partnership with these various organisations and their sites - despite the disparity - so that a business can be fully effective buying-in locally and letting the DMO or PMO participate with the CTC? MM: In the past, and with our more traditional marketing activities, it has probably been easier for many small businesses to come to us through their provincial organisations, and that made a lot of sense. But when it comes to the web, which is a much more accessible vehicle, businesses should have the opportunity to partner directly with the CTC. So, I would definitely encourage businesses to do both - get involved with their PMO or DMO and the CTC when it comes to web marketing. Who we will be targeting with our brand presence are the consumers who are looking to purchase an experience, then moving them to look for it in Canada. That consumer may not care in which province the experience will be delivered, and we will not be forcing that information onto them as they start looking to purchase the product. For example, let us consider a person who is interested in experiencing the Canadian outdoors and perhaps also trying some fly-fishing. That person will be able to come in and right away understand the opportunities for fly-fishing in Canada - no matter what market they are coming from and without knowledge of the geography of Canada. This person may not even know the name of any province, but they do know they are interested in fly-fishing. Under our new strategy, the customer will understand - immediately - that opportunities for fly-fishing exist right across Canada. Then, they can consider other factors like geography and associated attractions and activities, and proceed to making a booking to purchase the experience they want. What the CTC will be doing is providing customers with the ideas around the experience, making the 'Keep Exploring' concept come alive on the web. Some customers will, of course, start their search on the web with a destination (province, etc.) in mind, and they can continue to do that. But the CTC site will not be organised in a hierarchical or geographic mode; it will focus on experiences first, no matter where the customer is from. How, then, will you be getting people to come to the CTC website in the first place? MM: That is where the shift on the marketing side comes in, where we will be taking more of a guerrilla-style approach, being more 'in the customer's face' in their daily lives and encouraging them to think of Canada first as a destination where they can fulfil their vacation dreams. Then we want them to get on the web, find Canada, and immediately be presented with a range of experiences. The use of a global platform - to which I referred earlier - will allow us to take advantage of a number of powerful knowledge acquisition software and analytical tools to measure, and assess in detail, the kind of response we are getting to our brand and product messaging. This gives us the power to fine-tune our messaging in a way that is non-obtrusive to the consumer, along with the ability to adjust our platform to make it even easier for consumers to find the Canadian experiences they want. This will provide a huge advantage for our Canadian tourism businesses, large and small. It is important to note that this approach enables us to do global partnerships, which we were unable to do in the past but have started doing recently with Air Canada, for example, using the same creative material in two markets (the UK and the US), and possibly soon in a third, Japan. The message is the same, the global web platform will make it work across all markets, and the strategy will make it work for all Canadian tourism products. Michele McKenzie is president and CEO of the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC)
|
It's all happening in Canada these days... a new national brand, a rethink of how the country does business in global tourism markets, and now a new web strategy.