Newman Street’s new chief executive plans PR campaign

New ABTA chief executive Mark Tanzer has said the association must do more to hammer home to consumers the benefits of booking with agents.

Tanzer is working on ideas for a PR or advertising campaign to be presented at the ABTA Travel Convention in November.

Responding to a call from ABTA Greater London chairman John Dellaway to launch a £1 million campaign, he said: “Without doubt we need to do more to promote ourselves. It is not just about the amount we spend but about considering all the options, such as above-the-line advertising, public relations and so on. We will be, and have been, looking at all the options.”

Speaking at a regional meeting last week, Dellaway said: “In ABTA’s 53 years, it has never run an advertising campaign telling people about how great it is. We have not made enough noise.”

ABTA president Martin Wellings said work is already underway to assess how much a publicity campaign would cost.

“It is more important we do something now than ever before and the idea would get major support, certainly from retailers.”

Calling the recent poster campaign highlighting the benefits of booking with an agent rather than online a “toe in the water”, Wellings added: “We need more PR to hammer home the benefits of being a member. Our members are our paymasters and we have to demonstrate we are doing something for them.”

Thomas Cook UK and Ireland chief executive Manny Fontenla-Novoa agreed. “ABTA should be there to fight for and support its members, not just act as a policeman. A million pounds can go a long way and get a lot of coverage if used wisely,” he said.

The poster campaign, launched in August, will see around 500 posters distributed at a cost of £2,000-£3,000, part-funded by the Danish Travel Association. A regional PR campaign launched last January failed to capture the imagination, with no journalist responding to it.

ABTA head of finance Mike Monk told members at the meeting last week that it had run two campaigns in the past five years, spending at least £150,000. He added: “You have to ask if our members want us to spend millions on a campaign.”

To which Dellaway responded: “Well, why don’t you ask them?”