All publicity is good publicity – or is it?

“All publicity is good publicity” said the American showman and impresario PT Barnum. It’s a quote that implies that that any attention, even if critical, can keep a person or brand in the public eye. 

 

And there is no doubt that this week’s national media coverage of the alleged mechanics behind elements of the homeworking operation of InteleTravel has certainly brought the brand, and definitely the homeworking travel agent, into the public consciousness of the travel consumer.

 

However, that coverage certainly challenges PT Barnum’s take on the benefits of negative publicity.

 

The most valuable assets a business or industry sector can have is the confidence and trust of its customer. Without those two base ingredients any business or profession stands, at best, an uphill struggle for success, and at worst total collapse as has been seen many times over the years in business – just look at Ratner’s, at one time Britain’s leading jewellery retailer, or Lehman Brothers the investment bank. Both lost the confidence and trust of their customers and quickly collapsed like a house of cards.

 

More: Travel agents defend profession following The Sun article on InteleTravel 

 

Marketing history is littered with other successful big name businesses and brands that fell down spectacularly, or were severely damaged, because they simply lost the trust and confidence of their consumer.

 

Trust and confidence take time to build, often years or even decades. But they can evaporate overnight.

 

And that is why this recent media coverage of homeworking in an element of the industry, with its comparisons to the notorious pyramid selling and multi-level marketing practices that have ruined many market sectors, is so serious and must be treated so.

 

Already I have heard people in the industry say, “It’s tomorrow’s fish and chip paper, it will pass” or, “It’s nothing to worry about, there is so much news about it will be buried and forgotten by the weekend”. 

 

But just like the wildfires in southern Europe, California or Australia, all you need is one spark to light the dry kindling and suddenly a whole area can face serious damage.

 

I suspect that many retail travel brands will be untouched by this potential problem of trust and confidence – familiar brands like Tui and Hays Travel, with their large physical high street presence, national advertising campaigns in the media and, to the consumer, their conventional way of doing business, may well benefit from the spotlight being shined upon certain areas of the industry where trust is being questioned.

 

But for the homeworking sector specifically, and for new start-up travel retailers generally, this coverage is seriously bad news. The risk of being tarred with the same brush is very real and that could seriously damage business prospects.

 

There is no doubt that in recent years, certainly post-Covid, the reputation of travel agents and advisors has been in the ascendancy. The real value of what this part of the industry does has been seen and embraced by the public.

 

But right now, every bit of that goodwill may be needed as other media pick up on what may be the major consumer story of the summer.  

 

The key now is for the trade to close ranks and speak with one voice in defence of the standards and practices of the sector. Abta, as the trade body, and supported by leading consortia such as Advantage and the big travel brands like Hays Travel and Tui, need to step up to the plate with a major PR and advertising campaign emphasising the codes of conduct the industry operates to, the rigorous recruitment processes and ongoing training schemes the sector has in place and the value that agents and homeworkers provide for the consumer.

 

For be under no illusion, if the industry dismisses this recent coverage in one of the country’s largest newspapers as just a flash in the pan, we could end up dealing with reputational wildfires of our own that will impact the wider sector significantly.

 

PT Barnum was wrong, not all publicity is good publicity, but there is an opportunity here for the industry to show its rigorous approach to how it operates, recruits and trains its people. We shouldn’t let it slip by.