DMO's chief marketing officer believes online travel companies with global growth and revenue strategies should target emerging markets and populations.
The online travel industry and multicultural marketing
PhoCusWright's "Online Travel Overview: Market Size and Forecasts 2004-2006" estimates that the travel industry will see greater growth in 2006 than in previous years. Online travel will see its share of this growing industry rise, as well. As a result, PhoCusWright predicts that 2006 will see one-third of all U.S. travel booked online, up from 20 percent in 2003 and 15 percent in 2002.
Within the travel market, we're seeing the level of interest, and money, being invested in U.S. ethnic markets exploding. The census data has been important in validating the size and potential (and high growth rates) of U.S. ethnic markets. Where before a major brand may have tactically implemented ethnic marketing on a local level, it will now target those markets on the national level and invest in longer-term brand marketing as well as tactical campaigns.
As travel marketers try to target ethnic and international markets, many turn to the internet. More traditional brand marketers are asking for the creation of websites to reach these audiences. On June 30, 2004, Southwest Airlines launched a Spanish-language booking site that targets the 39 million U.S. Hispanics.
Continental Airlines' Spanish website
Like Southwest, Continental Airlines has recently announced a partnership with Idiom Technologies -- a leading independent provider of scalable software solutions for accelerating and optimizing globalization initiatives -- to speed the launch of its Spanish language online reservations system.
According to Ken Penny, director of internet planning and general manager at continental.com, "Continental Airlines serves more destinations in Latin America than any other U.S. airline. Offering website services, like flight purchase and frequent flyer information, in Spanish facilitates the travel process for more of our customers in the United States and abroad. Recent surveys (such as the Roper Hispanic Cyberstudy released in early July 2005) indicate that U.S. Hispanics was the fastest growing online ethnic segment. Also, this ambition was consistent with Continental's Latinization program, now in its eighth year, which enhances customer service for Latin American and U.S. Spanish-speaking passengers not just through language but in respecting cultural differences.
With the internet helping to create a truly global market, more and more businesses are realizing they need software like WorldServer to tap into this market and to reach customers who want to access information and make purchases in their native languages.
Dave Rosenblund, spokesperson for Idiom Technologies, stated, "The plan to launch a Spanish-language website came directly from the CEO of Continental, who laid out an extremely aggressive launch schedule. The overall goal was to more effectively target consumer and business travelers in multiple languages and locales. To complete this project, Continental needed globalization software that could quickly, easily and cost-effectively automate many of the manual processes involved with translation and localization. After evaluating various alternatives, WorldServer proved to be the ideal solution. Using WorldServer, they were able to translate key components of their online reservation system -- including the flight booking and rewards system, along with billing, check-out and travel history features -- and successfully get these customer-facing sites up and running within the allotted time."
There is no uncertainty why Continental chose to pursue the U.S. Hispanic market.
The Direct Marketing Association recently released the 2005 Hispanic Market Report that highlighted three significant facts for marketers:
- U.S. Census projections indicate that the Hispanic population will triple to over 102 million by 2050.
- Hispanic-Americans are increasing in affluence and are among the most credit-worthy customers in the United States
- Hispanic-Americans have a purchasing power currently greater than 600 billion U.S. dollars and this is expected to grow to one trillion U.S. dollars by 2007.
According to Penny, " With the growing Hispanic population in the United States, we're seeing a real opportunity to reach more effectively the audience who prefers websites that provide Spanish-language content. The real challenge is to increase awareness of the Spanish language facilities of continental.com among Spanish speakers."
Aggressively expanding Spanish language outreach to the U.S. Hispanic market, as well as to the Latin American market, is what will make companies such as Continental key players in the online travel space.
It is evident that online travel and online marketing opportunities are starting to explode in the U.S. Hispanic and Spanish-speaking verticals. Continental's success can be attributed to its simple approach to website localization: mandate that all creative ideas be applicable across all communication channels and across different markets.
Elizabeth M. Lloyd is chief marketing officer of Dragon Media Online, Inc., a leading international marketing services company that has developed world-class, performance-driven online marketing solutions and best-of-breed email database management -- all designed to monetize international and multicultural markets. Lloyd's work on international online marketing has been highlighted in numerous publications as well as in academic curricula for MBA international marketing programs worldwide.
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