Advantage is launching a turn of year advertising campaign in time for the 2009 peaks market urging the public to ‘love your travel agent’.
Sales and marketing director Colin O’Neill said not only would the slogan appear on next year’s marketing material but the consortium has also registered the web address loveyourtravelagent.com.
While the marketing campaign will highlight the financial security and value for money offered by booking through an agent, it is hoped the ‘love your travel agent’ angle backed with a new heart-shaped logo will inject some fun into the campaign.
He added: “People are looking for a chink of light and some respite from the doom and gloom.
“The primary purpose [of the website loveyourtravelagent.com] is not to make a booking but to put the consumer in touch with a local travel agent using a postcode finder. It will also carry offers.”
Efforts will also be made to get chief executive John McEwan press exposure in the national newspapers to further highlight the benefits of booking through a travel agent.
The consortium’s current in-house Insider publication is being scrapped for a 52-page magazine which will be sent out to 360,000 members of the public three times next year.
There are also further plans to do more affinity marketing with other household brands following the success of working with names such as Waitrose, Sainsbury’s and the Women’s Institute.
O’Neill said there will be more marketing workshops for travel agents who will again be encouraged to market themselves using the local press and radio, adding: “Doing nothing is not really an option.”