One of the biggest questions that advertisers in the travel industry are facing is: How do we deal with the younger generation? As a millennial myself, the answer to that question is not that simple. It’s a difficult task getting your brand to stick; Millennials and Gen Z have grown up bombarded with advertisements from every direction. I have broken it down into four areas I find to be the most important when attracting young travel consumers.
One evident trait of millennials is they always want more. They’re always looking at what’s new and what’s next. As a marketer, you really can’t get too comfortable when you have found some success in one area. Continue with areas that are working, but consistently look for new ways to extend your reach, be it influencer marketing, virtual reality, or any other upcoming trend. And since traditional forms of advertising are being leveraged by new media, always be ready to adapt. (Check out our tips on the right media mix for Millennials for more info.)
Royal Caribbean is a great example of creative adaptation for young consumers. Even though they were doing fine, they recognized the need to get ahead of the competition and set their sights on an emerging consumer market. In order to do that, their brand produced a teen-based web show in 2014 called ‘Royal Crush.’ The intention was twofold. First, pursue the ‘teenage girl’ market segment, who Royal felt could persuade parents into taking more cruise vacations. Second, generate an interest in cruise offers as they get older. In just over two years and a handful of 7-minute shows, the brand gained over 75 million views.
Contrary to popular belief (of the older generations), younger generations are in fact very intelligent. Millennials are the most educated generation, and Gen Z is following in their footsteps. Since both of these generations have become one with their phones, they’re always learning. And because of that, they know exactly what they want. To anticipate that, consider using big data or artificial intelligence (AI) to find patterns and understand personality traits of your new consumers. Or more simply, start with tools already available to you in Google Adwords or Facebook. An American Express study found 83% of millennials are ok with brands tracking their habits to ensure a personalized experience. In other words, you’ll gain the trust of young travelers by satisfying them with personalized results.
Visual marketing continues to grow, and it allows you to connect on high emotional levels. Consumers want to envision themselves on an adventure before they even make plans for the trip. Focus on the experience and let their imaginations take over, but make sure if you’re using videos to keep them short and sweet as millennials prefer short 10 seconds videos compared to the 30-second windows. It may even take less than 10 seconds as it only takes seconds for anyone, especially millennials, to lose interest.
Allow your brand to be seen on multiple platforms, and make sure that when your brand is being advertised it is easy for the consumer to make the next jump in the purchase process. A December 2016 study done by Google found about 2/3 of younger travelers felt completely comfortable planning an entire trip on a smartphone. When the ability is right in front of them, millennials are inclined to make more impulse big-ticket purchases than any other generation.