CAMPAIGNS

It’s Taurus Tourist Season

Tourism marketing is having a moment. Cities, states, and countries are sinking $$ into campaigns that encourage people to give Netflix and Seamless a rest now that weather’s getting warmer + millions are vaccinated. 

We wrote about New York City’s $30 million tourism blitz last month, and similar campaigns have popped up since from the likes of London, Switzerland, Georgia, and Connecticut.

• These campaigns aim to breathe life back into an industry ravaged by the pandemic.
• But even as travel starts to rebound, tourism orgs are rethinking their short-term and long-term marketing strategies as they attempt to lure back visitors. 

On the road again

Mary Gendron, head of marketing agency Mower’s travel and tourism arm, told Marketing Brew that many destinations are “working from the inside out” this year. “They’re looking to attract people in their local areas,” she said, explaining that people might feel safer driving to a weekend getaway than booking a cross-country flight. 

That’s what Connecticut is doing: “Our proprietary research shows pent-up demand for travel, especially regional travel, among Northeast consumers—and we want to ensure Connecticut is top of mind,” Christine Castonguay, interim director at the Connecticut Office of Tourism, told us.

Tourism orgs are also trying to convince people there’s fun to be had and safety measures to adhere to. 

• Makarand Mody, assistant professor of hospitality marketing at Boston University, said “destinations are going to have to be careful not to suggest abandon when it comes to inviting visitors,” something he said New Zealand’s tourism arm was recently accused of, in response to a perhaps too lighthearted campaign. 
• But, but, but: Mody suggested that tourism campaigns should still “tap into people's underlying wanderlust.”

Staying grounded

Clayton Reid, CEO of travel and tourism agency MMGY Global, thinks campaigns should also address broader concerns or trends that might be on travelers’ minds as they start browsing Google Flights again. 

For instance, he claims people still want to see “travel brands communicating that they’re doing right by the environment,” pointing to a campaign by Colorado’s tourism division that asks visitors to “trash the trash” in its parks. 

Looking ahead: Tourism marketers have a lot on their plates. And according to Mody, there is “certainly going to be a temptation for destinations to open the floodgates” in the coming months. 

But he said factors like climate change and over-tourism should factor into their “medium-to-long-term strategies,” especially for popular places like Barcelona and Hawaii, which were experiencing the downsides of tourism pre-pandemic.

“For some destinations, it may mean trying to attract a higher-value, as opposed to a higher-volume, tourist. For others, it may be a need for more overt environmental protection initiatives,” Mody explained. — MS

PODCASTS

Invasion of the PodFronts People

If you’re a regular here, you’ve pulled up a chair to learn about this year’s upfronts and probably now know way too much about the NewFronts. But you might know less about the IAB Podcast Upfront—or, as we like to call it, the PodFronts—which started this week

• Since 2015, the PodFronts have gone from a half-day event to a multiple day showcase. 
• At the PodFronts, advertisers preview publisher programming for the year ahead + decide which podcasts to buy ad space on.
• This year’s lineup includes presentations from NPR, Vox, iHeartMedia, WNYC Studios, and more.  

Why the expansion? Because people love the pod. In 2019, the podcast industry reached 645 million monthly listeners globally, according to PwC, which predicts the industry’s revenues will more than double between 2019 and 2024.

Ears are the new eyes 

“The market's just going to continue to grow really quickly from an advertising standpoint,” Vox Chief Revenue Officer Ryan Pauley told Marketing Brew after Vox’s presentation on Tuesday. He also noted that he’s seen ad budgets shift away from legacy media and toward streaming and podcasts. 

And it’s not just publishers predicting the long-term boom. 

• Agnes Kozera, cofounder of Podcorn, a self-serve podcast ad marketplace, told Marketing Brew that as inventory on hit podcasts continues to grow, so will the PodFronts. 
• She told us ad buyers will start to care more about “the personalities behind the content, the quality of listeners, and aligning with shows and inventory that have the right brand fit, versus just driving the most impressions.” 

TL;DR: Heightened consumer interest in podcasts + resulting brand interest = more and more advanced, precise ways to buy and sell pod ads. — PB

SPONSORED BY LISTRAK

70 Billion Is One of the Larger Numbers

It also happens to be the number of messages Listrak analyzed to compile its 2021 Ecommerce Email Benchmark Report. Sev-en-ty BILLION.

Whew, let’s back up for a second. Listrak is the cutting-edge integrated marketing platform built specifically to drive results for retailers—in other words, they know a thing or two when it comes to increasing engagement, revenue, and loyalty at every point of interaction. 

So what’s in this report? Think benchmark results for 70,000,000,000 emails sent by 1,000+ retailers and brands across 11 different types of email campaigns in 2020. 

Listrak didn’t just hoover up the data on email campaign metrics either; they broke them down into key findings, such as:

• Increased send volumes don’t degrade engagement rates
• Personalized product recommendations increase conversions 
• A single integrated platform is crucial

Want more insights based on a rather large number of marketing emails? Get Listrak’s 2021 Ecommerce Email Benchmark Report here. 

INTERNSHIP GUIDE

It’s “congrats email” season for summer internships, which is fun and hard and everything in between—especially when you factor in the “we’re all virtual now” aspect. 

In our final () chapter of Marketing Brew’s Guide to Getting a Marketing Internship, we’re diving deep into what you should do after you get the offer. That includes…

• Negotiating your hourly rate
• Determining if you should relocate, even if the position is remote
• Starting off on the right foot

You’ll get “what to do after the offer” advice from top marketers at Nasdaq, VaynerMedia, Teal, and more in this chapter.

But if you haven't landed an internship quite yet, not to worry. Just check out the first three chapters of our Guide to Getting a Marketing Internship. They cover everything from resume dos and don'ts to prepping for a Zoom interview, taking you through the entire process. 

Click here to read Marketing Brew’s Guide to Getting an Internship Chapter Four: Getting Hired. — PB

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

• Former President Donald Trump’s new blog has gotten roughly 212,000 engagements, a far cry from the figures he used to pull on Twitter.
• The Washington Football Team hired a chief creative officer to lead “storytelling” and digital sales, a first for an NFL team.
• Cannes Lions named Microsoft its Creative Marketer of the Year.
• United has picked 72andSunny as its global agency of record.

SPONSORED BY LINKEDIN MARKETING SOLUTIONS

Finding your brand’s way to an engaged audience has never been easier. When you need to reach business professionals, you need the right tools to do it. Luckily, LinkedIn is the place and LinkedIn Marketing Solutions has the tools to make your marketing dreams a reality. See what we mean?  

AD FRAUD—VACCINE EDITION

Can you tell a real marketing story from a fake?

1. Uber and Lyft have teamed up with the Biden administration, offering free rides to vaccination sites through July 4.
2. So has McDonalds, with packaging rolling out in July that’ll remind guests to get a shot.
3. Unilever, owner of Ben and Jerry’s, is sending ice cream trucks to vaccination sites.
4. Krispy Kreme’s free donut vaccine promotion has led to bankruptcy for the brand.

Keep scrolling for the answer.

FRENCH PRESS

There are a lot of bad marketing tips out there. These aren't those.

Digital: Conversion is good. The “post-click experience” can multiply it by 300%. This report can help you get there.

Time it: Never sure when to post that sweet, sweet content? Here’s the best time to post on each platform. And yes, seek help if you’re posting on LinkedIn after 8pm.

SEO: Despite its name, Google Crawler isn’t something from a Frank Herbert novel. It’s actually incredibly important to your site. Learn how it works here.

How the best connect: 9 out of 10 Ad Age 200 brands have chosen Roku, and for good reason—their message can reach households with an estimated 155M people nationwide. TV starts here.* 

FROM THE CREW

We’re a few days away from our inaugural Marketing Brew workshop! If you haven’t completed your (free) registration for next week’s event on Wednesday, May 19, at 1:00pm ET, maybe you should? Especially if:

1. You want to learn how to best use Pinterest for your marketing needs.
2. You want to hear lively discussion about Pinterest between two Vistaprint marketers and our very own Marketing Brew reporter, Phoebe Bain.

Whether you’re trying to convince your boss that maybe you should look somewhere beyond Facebook as a marketing tool, or want to bone up on all things Pinterest, this workshop is for you. So RSVP right here to guarantee your spot.

AD FRAUD ANSWER

Krispy Kreme is still kicking, although we suspect most people might have forgotten about the promotion. 

ICYMI

Catch up on a few Marketing Brew stories you might have missed.

• What we saw on Mother’s Day
• Why Twitter and Snapchat focused on original content at the NewFronts
• What’s next for Peloton’s brand story?