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MARKETING RESPONSIBLE TRAVEL PACKAGE HOLIDAYS TO MILLENNIALS
MARKETING RESPONSIBLE TRAVEL PACKAGE HOLIDAYS TO MILLENNIALS
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Introduction
Tourism and Travel Industry
The onset of the global pandemic has set the UK tourism and travel industry back with an estimated £22 billion lost since 2020 (Roberts, 2021). However, the discovery of vaccines has reignited hope that a once vibrant industry could see an uptick and normalcy by 2022. Prior to the pandemic, the UK tourism and travel industry was estimated at £24 billion (Visit Britain, 2019). Also, according to (Gelfeld 2018), the millennial generation was travelling at a higher rate than the baby boomers and Generation Z. Moreover, in most cases, the travel destination choice of some millennials was inspired by how aesthetically pleasing the place would look in photos purposely taken for social media (Magill, 2017). Therefore, this report explains how marketing managers can use social media to ethically influence millennial consumer behaviour in buying responsible travel package holidays.
Market Segment
The tourism and travel industry has increasingly become millennial-centric because they are travelling at a higher rate compared to previous generations (Leonhardt, 2019). Leonhardt (2019) explains that millennials make five trips a year on average, with three of these being international trips. Baratti (2021) also explains that millennials are 50% more likely to travel in the wake of the global pandemic than generation X and baby boomers. Moreover, Leonhardt (2019) explains the millennials are responsible travel planners because they spend an average of £4,400 compared to £6,600 by baby boomers and £5,400 by Generation X. For marketing managers, there is a window of opportunity to appeal to the millennial generation to purchase responsible travel package holidays through social media.
Marketing Objective
The proposed marketing objective is to use social media to ethically influence millennials into buying responsible travel package holidays. Social media has increasingly become essential for millennials because they spend an average of 2 hours and 34 minutes on social media each day (Marketing Charts, 2021). Furthermore, millennials have increasingly adopted social media as a tool to determine their next holiday destination. (Constantoglou and Trihas, 2020). Some millennials scour highlight reels on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook for aesthetics, cost-efficiency and hospitality to make a decision on where they would like to travel next
Some millennials travel for leisure and escapism from their day to day lives. In other words, they are looking for emotional balance in a world where work-life balance is scarce (Ketter, 2020). (Chen and Petrick, 2013) argue that such a concept is an element of mental health. Research by Kroesen and De Vos (2020) has also shown that tourism and travel significantly improve a person’s mental health because they counter stress, depression and anxiety. In most cases, millennials will choose a travel package that benefits them both financially and emotionally.
Moreno et al. (2017) also explain that millennials will often prioritize trust while making purchases for goods and services. The reason for this is the millennial inclination towards feeling like they are part of something bigger. Also, (Grier 2017) explains that since travel is considered a luxury, people who buy travel packages associate an added level of trust to a company that offers them a generally positive experience. Sung et al. 2014) explains that customers who purchase goods and services deemed to be luxurious will carefully assess the brand’s image to enhance their own perceived personality. Chances of re-purchasing are high if the customer deems a brand personality as able to help a customer to “treat themselves”. Moreover, Carpentier, Van Hoye and Weijters (2019) explain that social media has coincided with the ability of brands to express their brand personalities.
Looking at travel as a luxury, Reed et al. (2012) offer a framework to look at the aspect of “treating yourself” in tourism. Reed et al. explain that the influence of positive connotations derived from the consumption of luxurious goods and services are directly linked to the principle of the ideal self. Critically, one can also discern the influence of positive connotations in the ethos, pathos and logos of marketing campaigns done for travel package holidays. In most cases, these ads are plastered all over social media and are auto-signalling in nature (Chu, Deng and Cheng, 2020). Therefore, one can argue that akin to the purchase of luxury goods and services, purchasing travel packages transcends individual feelings of success, achievement and pleasure.
Constantoglou and Trihas (2020) explain that some millennials travel because of the band-wagon effect. In other words, they travel because their friends and relatives are travelling. Research by Ubank (2018) also explains that over 47% of millennials derive a level of satisfaction from impressing their friends through purchasing goods and services deemed to be luxurious. A further 27% of millennials are said to derive great pleasure from using social media to impress their friends. Therefore, such criteria justify the use of social media to ethically influence the millennials into buying responsible travel package holidays.
Furthermore, the tendency of millennials to dabble in social signalling justifies the use of social media for the current campaign. The concept is rooted in conspicuous consumption, which centres on extrinsically motivated customers (Todorova, 2013). In this case, the external motivation for the target market millennials is their social media friends. These social media friends motivate millennial customers to purchase a good or service only to reward them with likes and comments on a post. Charness and Chen (2020) also explain that phenomena like priming in men compel them to spend on travel packages to highlight success and show off to potential suitors.
The correlation between the snob effect in millennial travellers and conspicuous consumption also justifies the use of social media as a marketing tool. For instance, when an individual purchases a travel package that is deemed to be financially out of reach for others, the snob effect comes into play (Uzgoren and Guney, 2012). The snob effect is especially characteristic of UK millennials and their social media use. For marketing managers, this snobbish behaviour can be leveraged because the millennial market has accurately portrayed signs that can be successfully turned into successful marketing campaigns. Moreover, most travel agencies have increasingly developed authentic and custom marketing techniques such as blogs and influence marketing (Chu, Deng and Cheng, 2020). The influencer marketing phenomenon also bodes well for the source credibility theory, as explained by Umeogu (2012), because most social media influencers are believed to be credible. This somewhat explains the success of travel agencies in marketing their travel packages using social media influencers.
Also, based on the source credibility theory, travelling is a visible cue that millennials use to present themselves to friends as well as strangers. The interrelationship between social media use and millennial travel tendencies helps some create an online identity and achieve a form of self-actualization (Magill, 2017). One can also look at such self-presentation through the Looking Glass Self theory (Anderson, 2012). Herein, perception is reality, and most millennials take into account the reaction to their travel photos on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter from friends as well as strangers. For marketing managers, such a scenario can be leveraged to market responsible travel package holidays to millennials. To do this, the marketing managers can position the travel package as a need to a pertinent need of the typical millennial traveller. Such a campaign can be curated by adhering to the fundamentals of the marketing concept.
Alternatively, millennials are just like any other travellers. In this case, however, the millennial traveller is motivated by push and pull factors proposed by the Push and Pull theory (Su, Johnson and O’Mahony, 2018). For most travellers, the push factors are intrinsic and include the desire for escapism, relaxation, rest, health, fitness, prestige, social interaction and adventure. On the other hand, pull factors include the aesthetics of the destination, including cultural attractions, recreation facilities, beaches and weather (Su, Johnson and O’Mahony, 2018). For the marketing managers, the success of a marketing campaign to convince millennials to buy responsible travel package holidays hinges on appealing to their push factors while leaving room for the negotiation of their push factors.
Ultimately, it is deducible that the marketing managers can market the responsible travel packages using social media because of the susceptibility of millennials to peer influence and influencers. Likewise, the travel packages can be marketed as a solution to a need already held by the millennials because of the millennial need to “treat themselves”. However, the managers ought to ensure that they leave some room to manoeuvre and market to the millennial travellers who are influenced by push and pull factors just like the average traveller.
Recommendations for Marketing Managers
Using the SOSTAC Framework, the recommendations to managers are made based on situation, objectives, strategy and tactics (Reed, 2014). The situation aspect covers the current situation for the marketing managers. The objectives appraise where the managers should aim to be. Finally, the tactics section delves into how the managers can reach the desired goals and objectives.
Situation AnalysisThe outbreak of the global pandemic has devastated the tourism and travel industry in the United Kingdom. However, the discovery of vaccines has provided hope that the social distancing stipulations and lockdown orders will gradually ease up tourism, and travel will fully reopen (Choudhury, 2021). Social media has also been a vital cog in the marketing and promotional efforts of tourism and travel companies before and after the onset of the global pandemic. Certainly, the time is right for marketing managers to offer responsible travel package holidays to the millennial generation.
Objectives
The chief aim of the marketing managers should be to increase their social media engagement numbers with the millennials. The marketing managers should aim at gaining 15 to 20% more comments, interactions and impressions on their Twitter, Facebook and Instagram posts.
Strategy
The marketing managers should adhere to theories discussed in the critical analysis section, including the marketing theory, the pull and push theory and the hierarchy of needs theory. The marketing managers should also adhere to psychographic segmentation because it allows for the millennial generation to be broken down further. Psychographic segmentation can offer more insight into buying behaviours, values, beliefs, social status, lifestyles, activities and opinions of different millennials.
Tactics
The marketing managers should use celebrity social endorsements, social media influencer endorsement and the vast google advertising network. The marketing managers should look at digital nomads like Richard Quest, who possesses a huge following and has established connections with reputable networks like CNN. Furthermore, the marketing managers should look at travel influencers on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to promote the responsible travel package holidays to potential clients. However, emphasis should be put on Instagram mostly because of its graphic richness compared to Facebook and Twitter. @Travelbabbo On Instagram is a possible candidate as a social media influencer.
Performance Measurement
The performance should be measured using a Management by Objectives basis (MOB). In other words, the success of the respective tactics should be measure based on pre-determined goals and objectives (Synnott, 2017). It has been established that the goal is to achieve 15-20% more engagement on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram posts. Therefore, when the engagement numbers exceed or range between 15 to 20%, then the campaign can be deemed to be successful. However, if the engagement numbers fall below the range, then the campaign would be unsuccessful, and a change of strategy would be necessary.
Conclusion
The trends and themes in the tourism and travel industry all point to a resurgence after the discovery of vaccines. This resurgence can be leveraged by marketing managers to sell responsible travel package holidays to millennials. Using the marketing concept as a basic theory, the marketing managers should aim to boost social media engagement levels by 15 to 20% to appeal to a tech-savvy millennial generation. The success of each respective campaign can be gauged based on a management by objectives basis.
Reference list
Anderson, J. (2012). Through the Looking Glass of Theory. Administrative Theory & Praxis, [online] 34(3), pp.483–488. Available at: 10.2753/atp1084-1806340312 [Accessed 2 Apr. 2020].
Baratti, L. (2021). Millennials Are the Generation Most Likely To Travel in 2021. [online] TravelPulse. Available at: https://www.travelpulse.com/news/features/millennials-are-the-generation-most-likely-to-travel-in-2021.html.
Carpentier, M., Van Hoye, G. and Weijters, B. (2019). Attracting applicants through the organization’s social media page: Signaling employer brand personality. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 115, p.103326.
Charness, G. and Chen, Y. (2020). Social Identity, Group Behavior, and Teams. Annual Review of Economics, 12(1), pp.691–713.
Chen, C.-C. and Petrick, J.F. (2013). Health and Wellness Benefits of Travel Experiences. Journal of Travel Research, 52(6), pp.709–719.
Choudhury, S.R. (2021). Vaccination is key to bringing tourism back from the brink, industry leaders say. [online] CNBC. Available at: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/17/tripcom-airasia-and-oyo-on-global-travel-recovery-from-covid-vaccines.html.
Chu, S.-C., Deng, T. and Cheng, H. (2020). The role of social media advertising in hospitality, tourism and travel: a literature review and research agenda. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, ahead-of-print(ahead-of-print).
Constantoglou, M. and Trihas, N. (2020). The Influence of Social Media on the Travel Behavior of Greek Millennials (Gen Y). Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Management, 8(2).
Gelfeld, V. (2018). 2019 Boomer Travel Trends. [online] AARP. Available at: https://www.aarp.org/research/topics/life/info-2018/2019-travel-trends.html.
Grier, L. (2017). How Travel is Redefining Luxury. [online] HuffPost. Available at: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/how-travel-is-redefining-luxury_b_5a13ab12e4b010527d677ff1.
Ketter, E. (2020). Millennial travel: tourism micro-trends of European Generation Y. Journal of Tourism Futures, ahead-of-print(ahead-of-print).
Kroesen, M. and De Vos, J. (2020). Does active travel make people healthier, or are healthy people more inclined to travel actively? Journal of Transport & Health, 16(3), p.100844.
Leonhardt, M. (2019). Millennials are making travel a priority more than previous generations—that’s not a bad thing. [online] CNBC. Available at: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/30/millennials-making-travel-a-priority-more-than-previous-generations.html.
Magill, D. (2017). The influence of social media on the overseas travel choices of Generation Y. Cardiff Metropolitan University, [online] 5(1). Available at: https://repository.cardiffmet.ac.uk/handle/10369/8739.
Marketing Charts (2021). Here’s Why Millennials Use Social Media. [online] Marketing Charts. Available at: https://www.marketingcharts.com/digital/social-media-116290.
Moreno, F.M., Lafuente, J.G., Carreón, F.Á. and Moreno, S.M. (2017). The Characterization of the Millennials and Their Buying Behavior. International Journal of Marketing Studies, 9(5), p.135.
Reed, A., Forehand, M.R., Puntoni, S. and Warlop, L. (2012). Identity-Based Consumer Behavior. SSRN Electronic Journal.
Reed, D. (2014). SOSTAC: The guide to the perfect digital marketing plan. Journal of Direct, Data and Digital Marketing Practice, [online] 16(2), pp.146–147. Available at: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/dddmp.2014.79.
Roberts, D. (2021). Coronavirus and the impact on the UK travel and tourism industry – Office for National Statistics. [online] www.ons.gov.uk. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/tourismindustry/articles/coronavirusandtheimpactontheuktravelandtourismindustry/2021-02-15.
Su, D.N., Johnson, L.W. and O’Mahony, B. (2018). Analysis of push and pull factors in food travel motivation. Current Issues in Tourism, [online] pp.1–15. Available at: 10.1080/13683500.2018.1553152.
Sung, Y., Choi, S.M., Ahn, H. and Song, Y.-A. (2014). Dimensions of Luxury Brand Personality: Scale Development and Validation. Psychology & Marketing, 32(1), pp.121–132.
Synnott, K. (2017). Management by Objectives: An Overview. SSRN Electronic Journal. [online] Available at: 10.2139/ssrn.3053038.
Todorova, Z. (2013). Conspicuous Consumption as Routine Expenditure and its Place in the Social Provisioning Process. American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 72(5), pp.1183–1204.
Ubank (2018). Social media “likes” before long-term savings goals. [online] www.ubank.com.au. Available at: https://www.ubank.com.au/newsfeed/articles/2018/06/social-media-envy-driving-spending-among-millennials.
Umeogu, B. (2012). Source Credibility: A Philosophical Analysis. Open Journal of Philosophy, [online] 02(02), pp.112–115. Available at: https://file.scirp.org/pdf/OJPP20120200015_60107254.pdf.
Uzgoren, E. and Guney, T. (2012). The Snob Effect in the Consumption of Luxury Goods. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, [online] 62, pp.628–637. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S187704281203546X.
Visit Britain (2019). 2019 snapshot. [online] VisitBritain. Available at: https://www.visitbritain.org/2019-snapshot.
Marketing Research Proposal guideline
Marketing Research Proposal guideline
This is a written document that outlines the basic process and plan of your marketing research by using quantitative data general. By applying what you learned in this class, you should exhibit a logical progression of ideas and show the support for your marketing research. Please refer to Chapter 1 and 3 for proposal references. Also, guidelines and a separate sample are posted on blackboard. Minimum 8 pages double space. Maximum 15 pages double space excluding references and citations.
Format of marketing research proposal
Typically, this individual Marketing Research proposal will include the following:
1. Executive Summary (0.5-1 page): a brief overview of the main points in your marketing research; give the reader a good understanding of the whole research.
2. Theory part (4.5-7pages): This part includes:
Selection of an organization or brand
the background and introduction of a company,
SWOT of the selected company,
customer analysis of this company,
SWOT of at least 3 competitors of this company (must be in detailed description), compare this company/brand with its 3 or more competitors
industry analysis and industrial trend of this company.
formulation of a research problem
List research question(s)
Objective(s)
Hypothesis(ses)
3. Methodology (around 1.5-3 pages):
study design
selection of data collection sample
data collection method in detail
predicted results based on the assumption of your data analysis
4. Possible findings/recommendations (1-2 pages): what you find from this research and your recommendations to solve stated problems.
5. Other parts:(0.5-2)
personnel involved
specifications/assumptions
timelines
budget
6. References: minimum 5 references.
The evaluation criteria for the proposal are as follows:
Is this proposal done professionally?
Is the paper consistent with the structure and the format of the marketing research proposal report provided above?
Has the paper considered applying data analysis techniques in this course?
Is this proposal of Marketing Research interesting, meaningful, and of practical useful?
You are to apply concepts covered in readings and lectures; a terminology-laden description is insufficient. You should cite at least 5 references from journal articles or books to support your marketing research proposal.
Lifespan Development and Personality of Princess Diana
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Lifespan Development and Personality of Princess Diana
Development is a life long process that describes the sequence of changes, transition and transformation that an individual goes through in the various stages of their lives. Human development and personalities are bound to be influenced by various factors such as heredity, environment and life experiences. What makes a person who s/he is depends on how one perceives the positive and negative influences of their lives and how they take them emotionally and morally. This paper shall critically analyze the life of a famous individual who I feel has undergone many adversities which have had both negative and positive impact in her life. Her environment and emotional upbringing have been influential to the decisions that she made in her lifetime. Her life is viewed by many as one filled with conflicts as she portrayed selflessness and generosity to those in need even though she came from a royal affluent background. This famous individual is Princess Diana. In order to understand a person’s personality, we must critically look back from where that person has come from.
Early Life
Princess Diana was born Diana Frances Spencer George in July 1, 1961 to her rich and affluent parents, the eighth Earl Spencer and Lady Frances Althorp. Unfortunately, they separated in 1967 and finally divorced in 1969. Diana was sent to a boarding school at a tender age and therefore she was also separated from her brother and sisters. However, this does not mean that Diana lived a lonely life. On the contrary, she was very social with a large circle of friends. These social activities were meant to bring her up in royal status and environment.
At the tender age of twenty, Diana Spencer married Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales and the prospective heir of the throne in Britain. The marriage to the Prince of Wales who was thirteen years her elder changed her status to Princess Diana. She bore him two sons, Princes William and Harry in the period between first and fourth year of their marriage. Their marriage lasted until 1992 when they separated and finally divorced in 1996. Princess Diana’s life ended tragically when she was involved in a fatal car accident in August, 1997.
Major Impacts in Diana’s Life
Childhood is a life development stage in the period between infancy and adolescence. Diana was privileged in terms of being born in a royal family where money and riches was in abundance. Her life seemed to be a quiet and reserved one as she was attended home school up to the age of nine. She loved swimming and dancing activities that matched well with her great sense of humor (Weiten, 2007). Her parents’ divorce when she was barely eight impact her negatively as she became a depressed and lonely child. Shyness became a big challenge in her entire life.
The adolescence stage is an individual’s phase of transition and development where physiological, cognitive and behavioral changes are seen to be in action. The generalized age for this period is usually the age from twelve to eighteen a stage that marks the transition from puberty to maturity. At this stage, the adolescent seeks to interact socially, and always has an urge to be independent away from the family’s protective nest. In other words, s/he seeks an identity. It is at this stage in Diana’s life that she became Lady Spencer after her grandfather’s death. As she struggled to cope with her parents’ divorce, she was even more isolated from the rest of the family when she was enrolled in a boarding school. This impacted her negatively as she underwent psychological changes evidenced in a lonely and homesick self.
The adulthood stage of development was marked with tremendous growth and twists in Diana’s life. She dropped out of high school and got married to Princes Charles. Her status at this point changed again this time as Princess of Wales. Diana became a media limelight during her marriage. Shortly after the birth of their second son, her marriage started to fall apart. She became even more depressed and lonely and at one point was diagnosed with bulimia. Bulimia is an eating disorder that is as a result of one psychologically perceiving themselves as not physically perfect and thereby inducing vomiting after meals (Schimelpfening, 2007). The divorce was a blow in her life and she faced her tragic death a year after the divorce.
The psychological development of Princess Diana’s must have definitely been influenced by the fact that she came from a royal and noble family. Her moral development was positively influenced in that as a child and an adolescent, she was trained and made to engage in social activities with the royal and noble individuals and therefore bred to fit in the royal status. It is therefore true to state that her heredity played a major role in enhancing her moral development. Her expectations from the society were of great help in shaping her moral development as she got the various titles of Lady and Princess. In contrast, her emotional development was severed from a tender age when her parents divorced and also when she herself got divorced. She is supposedly thought to have begged her father,” If you love me, please don’t leave me here” (Weiten, 2007). Diana therefore grew up as a lonely and insecure child who experienced had eating disorders as an adult due to depression. She grew up a shy child which proved to be a great challenge in her adult life as she was always on the public limelight. However, she was seen to overcome this in her involvement in charity work. It is evident that she sought her own happiness by helping others in need.
Erickson’s personality theory states that development is a sequence of changes that are bound to take place throughout one’s life. Each stage of development is marked by conflict a determiner whether the resultant influence is either positive or negative. A successful resolution in a specific stage results in a favorable outcome (Franz & White, 2006). According to this theory, stage five of development is the adolescent stage that is between the ages twelve and eighteen. He describes the ego identity as a major driver of development. It is that sense of knowing who we are as at now, where are heading and knowing our place in society. This stage for Diana was characterized by conflict between identity and confusion. The end result for this was loneliness, insecurity and depression. The fact that her newly acquired title brought with it new expectations and the engagement into marriage at such a tender age proved exhausting to a girl who wanted to be independent and seek her own identity.
Her young marriage was a period where Diana’s life experienced conflict between intimacy and isolation. Erickson’s theory states that achievement of an identity is likely to influence positivity on intimacy. The lack of an identity during her adolescence can be seen as the factor preceding her failed marriage. She was rumored to have also engaged in several love relationships which were also a failure. This caused her more depression and psychological disorders such as bulimia.
The second personality and development theory is the humanistic psychology theory. Although there is no aggregate definition of this theory, there are major statements that are always there in its discussion. The emphasis it presents on personal responsibility, the “here and now” perspective and the critical analysis of personal growth. The theory basically states that one is personally responsible for the events in their own lives, s/he should focus on the events that are happening in their lives now and not the past or the present and finally, looking at life from the perspective that there is more to life than just the urge to make your immediate needs catered for. Diana is the perfect example of this personality theory in that she did not try to blame anybody for the events of her life. She focused on her present life and finally sought to make herself happy by helping others. She presents an individual who believes that life is not about meeting our own immediate needs but finding happiness in the activities that engage in, in the present.
Erickson’s theory in my view best explains the individual behavior and achievements of Princess Diana. This does not mean that it fully explains her personality but the fact that it presents the identity crisis which seem to be the cause of conflict in her overall life is proof of it being the best theoretical approach to describing her personality. Diana did not have a chance to create a personal identity in her adolescence stage due to the various titles that came with different expectations. The depression evidenced in her childhood was with her throughout her life and therefore she was unable to hold on to intimate relationships. Instead, in search of personal happiness, she ended up in charity work where millions of desperate cases benefited.
References
Franz, C.E & White, K.M (2006) Individuation and Attachment in Personality Development: Extending Erickson’s Theory. Journal of Personality Vol. 53(2) pp. 224-256Nieboer, S. (2007) Diana, Princess of Wales: Learning To Give Retrieved April 28, 2010 from http://www.learningtogive.org
Weiten, W. (2007). Psychology: Themes and Variations. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth
Schimelpfening, N. (2007). Depression Retrieved April, 29, 2010 from HYPERLINK “http://depression.about.com/mbiopage.htm” http://depression.about.com/mbiopage.htm