Some thoughts about COVID-19 and the future of travel

For three years, we’ve heard rumblings. The ecological cost of leisure travel was unconscionable. Millennials couldn’t wrap their heads around things like paper passports. The era of peak travel was coming to an end.

And then, 2020. And all those rumblings turned into that train from Snowpiercer.

For consumers, 2020 might represent a seismic shift in collective consciousness. But for travel marketers, it’s more like an acceleration of five trends we were already grappling with. (Or, in some cases, trends we hoped would go away if we twiddled our thumbs long enough.)

#1. We are all SI/SO now

In mountain towns, accommodations are sometimes labelled SI/SO. Ski In/Ski Out means no schlepping gear through town. And suddenly, just as important, it means no steamy buses or sardine-tight gondola lines.

Right now, every travel destination needs to ask itself what its own version of SI/SO is. Maybe you’re running accommodations on a resort property or in a walkable downtown area. If so, the answer to this question is obvious. And you should look to create package deals with nearby attractions that let travelers get from their beds to their experience with a minimum of operational friction and human contact.

Smaller Convention and Visitors Bureaus might not find obvious answers, but they’re out there. Americans are craving nostalgia and have an ongoing love affair with mom-and-pop shops. Put those together and you can design a bunch of new experiences, from drive-in concerts to farm-to-sidewalk outdoor dining. And destinations could use streaming technology to sell virtual ticket options to experiences that have limitations on the number of visitors.

The upside to designing SI/SO experiences? People pay more for them.

#2. Travel sans surprises

In one of my talks, I joke that Baby Boomers and Millennials are the same. They both expect someone else to do everything for them. Boomers use travel agents and Millennials download digital concierges, but both groups expect a curated vacation.

This tendency is probably going to pick up steam among Gen X families seeking to quell their anxiety about exposing their kids to coronavirus. And it’s guaranteed to force seniors online. Before 2020, 68 percent of seniors said they bought something online at least once a week, but 80 percent preferred to shop in person. COVID-19 is going to change that, pushing seniors onto the Internet to consume more content and make more purchases. With 99 percent of Boomers planning annual leisure trips, you can expect them to start learning the same digital techniques that have made travel so much more accessible to Millennials.

#3. #StayCloserToHome

America’s always been Roadtrip Nation. Between 2014 and 2019, the number of people taking roadtrips increased by 64 percent. And, according to a 2020 travel trend report released by a global collection of 750 independent hotels, microcations were rising in popularity among all age groups. And that was before coronavirus.

Resonate recently released a survey that stated that even after stay-at-home orders are lifted, only 11 percent of people would feel safe traveling internationally. But 52 percent would feel safe traveling within their own states. As travelers start dipping their toes back in the water, their first excursions are likely to be those they can drive to.

There are two ways to take advantage of this. First, advertise not just to home-state audiences, but your neighbors. Your first customers might be people within just a few miles, who trust you specifically because they see you on their way to work every day. Second, make yourself part of a curated road trip. Create tools that let travelers reach you without airlines, and show them how much fun they can have along the way.

#4. Your face is your passport

Organizations like the World Economic Forum (WEF) have long advocated digital identity tools that’d let you manage a profile, collect digital “attestations” of your identity and decide what to share. United States Customs and Border Protection is using facial recognition to match travelers to passports. And reaction has been mixed, with companies like IBM and Amazon being forced to scale back in response to privacy concerns. But fast forward to today. Travelers might start advocating for biometrics so they can get through security without touching anyone.

Back to the WEF. “In a COVID-19 context, a traveler would be able to securely obtain and store trusted, verifiable health credentials such as immunizations or their health status in their digital identity wallets. This would be combined with other trusted, verifiable identity data from public or private entities.”

This is one of those trends that went from being ten years out to two years out in the space of a month. Every time you hand someone your driver's license, paper ticket, phone or passport, you run the risk of contracting a deadly disease. Consumers will be watching to see how fast destinations offer biometric check-in, digital passports, contactless payment, medical screening and robot cleaning. And once early adopters pave the way, the rest of the industry will have to get on board.

#5. Make healthcare part of the pitch

When you work with luxury vacation properties or ski resorts, there’s often a whispered understanding that somewhere in the decision-making process, someone (often referred to as the Chief Mom Officer) will ask “Where do we go if one of our kids breaks a leg?” And when you work with airlines, there’s always that one traveler pulling a Naomi Campbell.

COVID-19 will turn these whispers into shouts. Proof of sanitation and access to emergency care will help consumers feel confident about being away from home again. And destinations should consider sharing that information on their websites.

[Ed. - I wrote this piece for the Heinrich blog, complete with links and sourcing. I'm crossposting here, just for posterity.]

I have revised my opinion on why Millennials are so obsessed with travel

Millennials' passion for travel is well documented. Research will tell you that to them, "experiences matter more than things." But I always had a tiny, terrifying suspicion Instagram Culture had convinced a whole generation it's more rewarding to photograph life than live it.

I've recently discarded that theory, too. (Or last least downgraded it to Interesting But Unprovable Cocktail Conversation Fodder.) My new theory is Millennials are obsessed with travel because technology makes it easy as hell.

Don't want to figure out exchange rates? No worries, your credit card now works worldwide. Ditto your cash card, which means no more hunting for safe spots to buy local currency.

Google Translate makes it easy to get around without knowing a single word of the local language. (No more spending your pre-trip months memorizing a list of key phrases like, "Where's the bathroom?")

And you can junk your transit schedules and your maps. Just type in the monument you're searching for and Google will provide real-time directions. Unless you're Gen X or older you have no conception of how seismic this change is. I can't emphasize it enough. I have vivid memories of standing on street corners with paper maps unfolded wide, spinning in a circle looking for something, anything that might give me any clue where the hell I was. I remember the stress of having to keep one hand on my wallet and one hand on my backpack while I craned my neck up at a spinning list of bus departures written in a foreign language. All those worries are just... not worries anymore.

No wonder every Millennial I know spends their vacations overseas. Travel is awesome and beautiful and educational. And these days, it's as simple as ordering pizza.

#99uLocal #Denver #IMMDataCreate

Just a few months ago I was sitting in the audience at 99u. In a week, I'll be speaking at it, as part of the first 99u Local worldwide event. I'm all sorts of nervous. And excited. And grateful to Jen for selecting my presentation, the writeup of which goes like so:

The Internet gives marketers access to an infinite amount of data. But used incorrectly, all those numbers lead to false conclusions, off-target creative, and the wrong sorts of consumer actions. In this talk, Matt will outline the common mistakes we make when we tap into Big Data. And he'll share a strategic process for getting from an unwieldy set of numbers to a tight brief that will set your creative team - and client - up for success.

It's a great talk. But at this moment, I'm just nervous. Fortunately I'll be sandwiched in between some pretty inspiring speakers. And I have another week to nail my schtick. Sign up here.

Every brief you get has three problems hidden inside it

The client has a problem. He has to show results. Now. The average tenure for a CMO is 23 months. If the campaign doesn't work, your client will have hell to pay.

If you consistently fail to solve this problem, your agency will be pitched under the nearest bus. You will be let go. A few of your friends will lose their jobs.

The agency has a problem. It needs to do work that makes it famous. That gets on the blogs. That wins awards. Because great work is an agency's main tool for bringing in new projects, new clients and new talent.

If you consistently fail to solve this problem, you will be fired before you drag your whole agency into a self-defeating downward spiral of boring work that attracts timid clients.

The consumer has a problem. He's numb. He looks for inspiration, joy and meaning. And finds Charlie Sheen and Jersey Shore. He is assaulted by so many ads and logos that they've become nothing but the paper that covers the walls of his world.

If you consistently fail to solve this problem, nothing much will happen to you. You will go on winning awards and your clients will shake your hand heartily. But at the very deepest level, you'll be a failure. You were handed the chance to talk to thousands, maybe millions of people. And you passed the opportunity by. In your soul, you'll know. You're part of the problem. You're making this world worse. Not better. You're putting up wallpaper instead of kicking open windows.

Every brief you get has three problems hidden inside it. Average ads solve one. Good ads solve two. Great ads solve three.

You don't need a flashlight if you're a lighthouse

Social media analysts like to buzz about how important it is to join the conversation. To search it for verbatims. To monitor and measure and react to it. All that is not unimportant. But I don't think it's the main thing, either.

Our job is not to control consumers' conversations, but to capture their imaginations. And the best way to do that isn't by spinning in the comments or linking on the forums. It is to create content worthy of being passed around.

I had a personal experience with viral content recently. On Aug. 24, 2010 I published this post named "Patton Must Have Worked in Advertising." It was subsequently picked up by The Denver Egotist. Then by The Orlando Egotist, The Des Moines Egotist, The San Francisco Egotist, The St. Louis Egotist and Design Taxi. It was named post of the month on Only Dead Fish. Quoted on waxmuseum. And linked on Twitter here. And here. And here. And here. And here. And here. And here. And here. And here. And here. And here. And here. And here. And here. And here. And here. And here. And here. And here. And here. And here. And then my eyes glazed over and I broke Google.

I'm not saying my little essay was the equal of Arcade Fire's devastating multiscreen music video. (Linked at PSFK, The Denver Egotist and Contagious Magazine. Go watch it now.) I'm just sharing it because it is a personal story. And the lesson I have learned is this. "Join the conversation if you must. Create it if you can."

A complete list of the 42 pages of branded content in the December 2009 issue of GQ

Are they ads? Are they articles? Are they just filler in between photos of Leighton Meester? I don't know. But there sure are a lot of pages of branded content in GQ these days:

Pg. 39 - The Gentlemen's Fund, Adrian Grenier and Nautica talk about conservation and a charity named Oceana.

Pg. 73 - The Gentlemen's Fund, Ashton Kutcher and HP talk about education and Unicef.

Pgs. 81-84 - Grey Goose offers a guide to the best holiday vodka drinks.

Pgs. 93-113 - GQ and Bombay Sapphire present their search for the nation's most inspired bartender. (From Denver, someone named Anika Zappe gets a nod.)

Pgs. 117-121 - Verizon Wireless brings us The Global Gentleman Photo Contest and the Global Gentleman's tips on Paris.

Pgs. 132-133 - Heineken offers up ideas on how to "rule the revelry" this holiday season, with tips on gifts, hotspots, fashion and music. (Check out pandora.com/heineken for the brand's ultimate party playlist!)

Pgs 135-138 - Toshiba teams up with four "men of talent" to design artwork for four limited edition laptops. (Hey, it's Omar Epps!)

Pg. 139 - The Gentlemen's Fund, Mark Wahlberg and Gillette tell us about the Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation.

Pgs . 143-146 - Ketel One presents The Gentleman's Guide to Holiday Entertaining. (Two words: artisan pizza.)

Pg. 147 - The Gentlemen's Fund, Josh Duhamel and Ketel One tell us about the Pat Tillman Foundation.

Pgs. 165-170 - The Gentlemen's Fund, Ashton Kutcher (again) and HP talk about a flood in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Ashton makes a mini-mag about it. On an HP.

Pgs. 189-192 - T-Mobile publishes four pages on ways a few worldly guys have personalized their cell phones.

One of these days I am going to visit London

What would The Strokes sound like with Ian Curtis behind the mic? Not as cool as you'd think. Nevermind. Editors' campaign for their new album mashes up Google Street View and music to create an amazingly engaging digital experience. Check it out.

[Ed. - h/t Contagious]

Selling sport: Under Armour, the Colorado Rapids, the USATT, Arena and Nike

Before I was in advertising, I worked in gyms. Over the course of six years, I worked at the towel desk, at the front desk, in membership sales, and finally as a certified personal trainer. I have a special passion for athletic marketing. And a special frustration when it goes wrong.

Like Under Armor's audacious new line, "Under Armour is Football." I saw the flagship spot during a college football game, and when the game came back on, I couldn't help but notice that both the teams had Nike logos on their jerseys. Ouch.

Or the long-running Colorado Rapids tagline, "Experience The World's Game." Apparently the team hasn't noticed that Americans give absolutely zero weight to global opinion.

Or the United States Table Tennis Association's continued insistence that the best way to increase participation is to point out that table tennis is a game that anyone can play. So they put out publications featuring elderly and disabled athletes and then wonder why young, athletic men and women don't gravitate to the sport.

What do I like? A print ad for Arena swimsuits, which I first saw on the SCAQ blog and have reposted here. You want to be a monster in your next open water race? Wear an Arena suit. Simple. Insightful. Powerful. And so cool.

And at the risk of being obvious, I like Nike. From their relationship with Oregon football to the Live Strong line to Nike+, they have defined the meaning of athletics for two generations of Americans. They're a big brand that is still relevant to the cutting edge. And that's a pretty amazing thing to pull off.

Advertising is like a drug. But better because it doesn't mess up your liver.

The most interesting thing I've read lately is Wired"s "Placebos Are Getting More Effective. Drugmakers Are Desperate to Know Why." In modern double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trials, Big Pharma is getting beaten by sugar pills at an increasing rate. And it's not just new drugs that can't find a way to make the cut.

Some products that have been on the market for decades, like Prozac, are faltering in more recent follow-up tests. In many cases, these are the compounds that, in the late '90s, made Big Pharma more profitable than Big Oil. But if these same drugs were vetted now, the FDA might not approve some of them. Two comprehensive analyses of antidepressant trials have uncovered a dramatic increase in placebo response since the 1980s.

What happened? Wired hypothesizes it's advertising.

Part of the answer may be found in the drug industry's own success in marketing its products. Potential trial volunteers in the US have been deluged with ads for prescription medications since 1997, when the FDA amended its policy on direct-to-consumer advertising. The secret of running an effective campaign, Saatchi & Saatchi's Jim Joseph told a trade journal last year, is associating a particular brand-name medication with other aspects of life that promote peace of mind: "Is it time with your children? Is it a good book curled up on the couch? Is it your favorite television show? Is it a little purple pill that helps you get rid of acid reflux?" By evoking such uplifting associations, researchers say, the ads set up the kind of expectations that induce a formidable placebo response.

Is this an indictment of the pharmaceutical industry or a testament to the power of the mind? Probably both. But mostly, it's a reminder that the ad game is scary powerful and not really a game at all.

Marketing that which does not need to be marketed

I have always wanted to do one of those dense, integrated campaigns that seduces consumers with mystery. I tried once, but the effort was just a stopgap measure performed on my own time and creatively it was a huge flop. The marketing supporting the film of Watchmen is just the sort of thing I wish I could have pulled off. Microsites, games, coffee and much more. But I wonder why one needs to do viral marketing for this film at all. The director of 300 helms the film version of the greatest graphic novel of all time? That's going to get attention from every theater, website, movie critic and entertainment show in the world. And my guess is that the sort of people who use their iPhones to play online multiplayer games are already going to see this film anyway. Maybe they should have spent their budget on TV?

No excuses

This is first ad I have seen in years that gave me chills. You can read more about it here.

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Even though I'm a writer, I have a thing for Web 2.0. Social networks, blogs, SMS, widgets, that sort of thing. I like them because they're marketing tools that "don't just show life to people, but make them live."

To invoke Guy Debord in an essay on marketing tactics is to dare the wrath of a hundred thousand college sophomores. Situationist International wasn't known for purchasing Nikes. But maybe it should have been. After all, "Nike killed the three martini lunch." (And who am I quoting there? Fenske?) Without a raft of ads encouraging us to "just do it," those who can take lunches would probably spend them hitting the bar instead of the barbell.

Nike got rich using traditional media to promote an active lifestyle. But everything top-down advertising does, Web 2.0 does better. It lets people connect based on affinity instead of proximity. It lets local actions take place on an international scale. It gives the people access to the powerful. Perhaps best of all, it tests the concept of juristic personhood by daring brands to live up to their legal status.

And for all the good it does, Web 2.0 only has two real downfalls. It immortalizes everyday language, holding it to an impossibly lofty standard. And it encourages content creation so much that it has confused shamelessness and celebrity. (I wrote a despondent essay on the latter issue; someday I may even post it.)

I think most marketing people buy in to the idea that Web 2.0 is an opportunity for brands to engage with consumers. But how many understand the flipside? Web 2.0 is an obligation. Because consumers now expect brands to make life better. And so Burger King creates a game and Target builds a Facebook group and Adidas shoots a practice film and ESPN makes a widget.

See what I'm getting at? Traditional advertising asks consumers to pay a premium for a product based on brand equity. Web 2.0 asks consumers to pay a premium for a product based on brand utility.

Web 2.0 marketing is perhaps something Debord would have welcomed, if he could have forgiven the spectacle of it all. Because while a brand can't make you live, it can now give you tools and opportunities. That's something that a print ad simply can't provide.

Crossposted on Karsh Connect.

What's a concept?

On September 3, I left this comment on The Denver Egotist about the definition of the word "concept."

I think the problem is the floating definition of the word "concept." In ad school, they teach you one definition, which revolves around the idea that the consumer must bring a bit of himself to the work in order to understand it. But I've heard people use the word concept as a synonym for "theme." And as a synonym for "cool to look at..." [T]he word concept is like the word edgy - so overused it borders on meaningless.

I can't remember who first explained the word concept to me. It was probably one of my teachers at The Creative Circus. But I've always found the following explanation interesting.

Consider the three arcs to the right. In each, the "A" represents the product and the "B" represents the ad.

In the top arc, the product and the ad are right up next to each other. There's no room for the consumer to have fun with the ad, to feel a connection to it. The headline is probably something like, "Today, you can buy this chair for $99." And the visual is probably a chair. This is not a concept.

In the middle arc, the product and the ad are nowhere near each other. Nobody could make sense of this ad. The headline probably says, "Attila the Hun loves you." And the visual is probably a boat, upon which sits a hippo. This is not a concept.

But the final arc is. The product and the ad aren't smothering each other, but they're close enough to make the consumer feel the shock of recognition and a bond with the brand that transcends any short-term product offering.

Of course even that labored and lengthy definition can't possibly explain something as good as this:

AdWeek on Colorado Farm Bureau Insurance

AdWeek on our new campaign for Colorado Farm Bureau Insurance:

In polite society, we're no longer allowed to say anything bad about nature. Even when a natural disaster strikes, we're sure to be told that it's really the fault of human activity. Nature itself can do no wrong. At any rate, that's the modern orthodoxy. It may not be fully shared, though, by someone whose home has just sustained thousands of dollars worth of damage due to an ice storm. This campaign for an insurance company does a deft job of acknowledging the nature-is-blameless mind-set while addressing the reader's practical concerns.

It's nice to get recognition and awards and stuff. But in a way, it's even nicer just to be understood.