The travel and tourism industry is one of the largest in the world, with more than $7.6 trillion spent each year. For the various leisure and travel organizations that strive to tap into this market, direct mail can play an important role in attracting the attention of buyers and beginning a conversation with them. Here are five trends you want to try so you can take advantage of the potential found in the direct mail marketing campaign.
Experiential
To catch the attention of your audience, give them a little taste of the trips you offer. In the travel leisure industry, you might offer token gifts, such as pictures or pens, that remind them of your location. The idea of the experiential trend is to transport your prospects to your location to give them a taste of what they could experience if they took this trip.
Personalization– know audience and where they want to go
Personalization has begun to dominate the conversation in marketing across all sectors, and the travel and leisure industry will not be left behind. Eighty-five percent of Millennials say that customized itineraries are preferable to those mass-produced. Customers today want to know that the businesses they choose to purchase from understand their needs. In the travel and leisure industry, that means understanding the stresses and limitations that your target audience faces, and how you can help them overcome them.
Your direct mail personalization efforts should take into account things like whether your travelers want to relax on a beach or explore a city; if they travel on a budget or they can afford to splurge. Incorporate this insight into your mailing to demonstrate your understanding.
Tap into the imagination
Create direct mail postcards or envelopes that capture the imagination of the recipient. You want them to envision themselves laying out on the beach and feeling the warm breeze or perhaps seeing the famous sites and sounds of their destination. Crisp, inviting imagery can create that impact, enticing people to learn more.
Use videos to transport people to destination
When you have a very precise mailing list, you can take your use of images a step further by incorporating video into your direct mailing. Video has been booming across the marketing industry and has become a popular trend in direct mail as well. For the travel and leisure industry, it offers the opportunity to tempt people with an immersive experience, triggering their senses.
Integrate with the rest of the campaign
Planting the seeds to encourage people to take a vacation with your particular organization is just the first step. Generally, travelers want to do more research than just reviewing a mailing before they buy, such as researching prices and local activities.
To facilitate this conversation, and keep prospects engaged with your brand, include QR codes on your pamphlet to bring them to your website for further reading. You can also include contact numbers and discounts for those who book through your organization.
Taking your travel and leisure direct mail campaign to the next level
For those in the travel and leisure industry, direct mail offers some fantastic opportunities to take promotional campaigns to the next level. When done well, they can easily tempt people to want to visit the incredible places you have to offer. To accomplish this, take advantage of some of the direct mail trends that have been growing within the industry. We recommend:
- Personalizing your direct mailings so that you match prospects with desirable destinations
- Let people experience a few your destinations with small gifts that catch the eye
- Use images to tap into the imagination and transport people to your destination
- Try video with a strong mailing list to immerse people in the experience
- Integrate with the rest of the campaign for better returns.
Using direct mail can be an excellent way to reach travel and customers across the country and encourage them to learn more about your destinations and offerings. At Ballantine, we have produced campaigns to boost the sales of other travel industry clients and we can help you as well. Reach out to us today to see how our direct mail tips and guidance can charge your campaigns.
I'm the Director of Digital Services and Partner at Ballantine, a family-owned and operated direct mail & digital marketing company based in New Jersey. and started in 1966 by my great uncle!
