| Journal: TWUK | Section: |
| Title: | Issue Date: 29/05/00 |
| Author: | Page Number: 78 |
| Copyright: Other |
Branding proves to be name of the game for Thomson site
I’VE BEEN to a lot of conferences recently and heard much talk about the Internet.Everyone seems to agree that in the future, brands are going to be very important. People want a name they can trust when they book holidays on-line.
That’s why Thomas Cook is pretty confident about the future.
It hasn’t really been setting the world alight with its Internet strategy but when it’s got a decent site, most people will feel confident about giving over their credit-card details to such a famous and trusted name.
So I find Thomson’s Internet strategy baffling.
For all its pre-Charles Gurassa problems, Thomson is still a great brand. It’s one of the few mass-market companies that the general public always ask for. So why is Thomson launching a variety of sites without playing on the name?Why pump money into something called the first resort.com, when you can capitalise on Thomson?
The operator argues that it’s all about choice – if that’s the case, then why not just use your established retail name?
Most people think you can get a cheap holiday at Lunn Poly and are not aware of the level of directional selling.
It’s crazy for Thomson to use the Net to try to convince people that it’s a niche operator which can cater for all tastes. Instead it should capitalise on brands which are trusted by millions of holidaymakers.