Will Just be the ticket to fill gap in Thomson’s portfolio?
SOME things never change at Thomson Travel Group. As the group’s board continues to struggle with the demands of running a public company it has again been left to the holidays division to lift the gloom around Greater London House.
Just is the latest attempt by Thomson to offer holidays for different markets and is a refreshing no-frills brand for people who don’t want everything that’s included in a normal package holiday.
Thomson deputy managing director Shaun Powell said:”You get a flight, a room and a beach and that’s it. You spend less on us and more on you.”
Transfers are available from the airport to the resort at £10 per person.
Powell says the company has done particularly well with its targeted brochures for summer 2000 like Superfamily, Small andFriendly and Thomson Platinum and I expect Just will fill a gap in its portfolio.
Modelled on the low-cost airline, Go, the new brand will appeal to young, independent couples.
The programme is mostly short-haul and uses basic named accommodation exclusive to the product. The “guide book” has no specific fares, but rather holidays set out in different bands with lead-in prices. Customers only find out how much they pay when they or their agent contacts the company and the price can go up or down at any time.
Thomson is paying agents 10% commission on the product but, not surprisingly, expects a fair chunk of this type of holiday to be booked direct. Just has a Web site, www.just.co.uk, but clients have to make a phone call to book.
Just has a capacity of 130,000 and Powell hopes it will attract some clients who traditionally book a late Thomson deal, which have all the costs and overheads of a brochured holiday but often have to be sold at a loss.
Powell refused to say how much Thomson was spending on launching the brand and, more importantly, getting it established.
But he pointed out that as it is targeting a niche market, the costs would be a fraction of those at JMC, which is trying to reach a wider audience.
“Our television adverts will be very targeted and we’ll be doing things like advertising on the back of train tickets,” he said.
Ilike the idea of Just, but it is essential it is communicated in the right way. It’s dangerous to call Just a package, because it’s not a package as we know it and if people think they are going to get something similar to a normal holiday, they will be in for a shock.
Brand confusion in the market is not going to help that communication process. Recently, we’ve had three brands launched – JMC, Just and Buzz – which have all been influenced by Go and use that trendy lower-case typeface.
Whereas Just, Buzz and Go are singing the same tune about a simple, efficient, no-frills service, JMC has got a completely different message, claiming that it will offer the best packages on the market.
Will holidaymakers be confused?Probably and you wouldn’t want your Just client to think he was getting a JMC holiday or vice-versa.
It is also important that Just holidays are always cheaper than Thomson packages. Just passengers will sit at the back of the Britannia aircraft and will not be given meals on flights. If they find out that someone on a late deal has paid the same price and is perceived to have more for their money, there will be trouble.
Remember, the no-frills airline passengers are on different aircraft from their scheduled counterparts and they’re paying substantially less.
You can just imagine the field day a consumer programme will have with disgruntled clients who think they should be entitled to food and transfers in the early hours of the morning.
There’s also a danger that Just will spark a price war which will be good for consumers but bad for the industry. There’s no real equivalent product on the market, but that won’t last. Competitors will either launch something similar or work out the true cost of the holidays when a transfer and flight supplement have been added in and then match Just on price.
Just fills a niche and has a good chance of taking off, but it could also have a significant effect on the whole market.
Just
Targets: 18-35 independent couples. No kids.
Capacity: 130,000
Prices: constantly changed and can go up and down.
Accommodation: named, basic and exclusive.
Supplements: no accommodation or under-occupancy supplements, but some flight supplements.
Holiday: only contains flight and accommodation. Everything else, including food on flights, is extra.
On sale: through agents, via the Internet on www.just.co.uk, or through the call centre on 0870 6060789.
Entertainment: none organised and no resort reps, but an emergency number is provided for clients.