There is a joy in travel that can’t be replicated. Between experiencing a change of scenery and taking a break from our normal day-to-day routine, travel creates precious memories that last a lifetime. With all the anticipation surrounding booking a vacation, travelers place a huge importance in the planning process to ensure they select the best destination, accommodations, restaurants, activities and everything else that will make their trip as exceptional as possible. Travel brands looking to capture the attention of potential customers during this critical consideration period can harness the power of public relations to showcase a positive image and grow their reach beyond traditional sales messages.
Let’s dive deeper into four valuable ways public relations can help travel brands stand out amongst the competitive landscape:
Tell Your Unique Story
At our core, public relations professionals are storytellers. We are experts at strategically developing appealing and engaging stories to promote our clients in a way that will resonate not only with media, but with our clients’ end-user. By utilizing public relations, brands are able to have a voice to better communicate their distinctive narrative and leave a lasting impression on their target audience. We do this by crafting thoughtful pitches, developing comprehensive press kits, organizing interviews and providing media with opportunities to experience your brand first-hand, among a variety of other tactics. Tied together, all of these components lead to positively shaping public perception and highlighting the best aspects of your brand.
Build Credibility
Aside from helping brands communicate their narrative, a primary goal of our public relations strategies is to build credibility. Trust in brands is more important than ever, and with that, thought leadership and third-party endorsements are critical. Unlike advertising, public relations creates a favorable image for brands through earned, non-paid media opportunities, which carries more credibility with consumers. For instance, if seeing a positive news article about a property listed as one of ‘The Top Resorts in Florida’ in a national consumer travel publication, travelers are more likely to trust the vetted recommendation of the publication and pay more attention to your brand during their vacation planning process.
Create Brand Awareness
To make an impact in the media, our team works to identify a consistent stream of newsworthy and eye-catching stories that will maintain momentum for our clients on an ongoing basis. The key success factor here is ‘newsworthy,’ as we must be able to communicate to journalists why they should care about the announcement right now and why it’s of value to share with their audiences. When working with our clients, we map out a line-up of planned and anticipated topics within our action plan to ensure we never miss a beat. Whether strategizing to launch the new menu at your oceanfront restaurant ahead of National Seafood Month, or to announce the renovation of your hotel tied to a big anniversary, public relations is a key factor in building awareness and informing the public about your latest brand news.
Connect with Your Target Audience
It’s not a one size fits all when it comes to media publications, and it’s our job to distribute our clients’ news to the right media sources that will reach their specific target markets. At Hemsworth, we know the media inside and out. Through our experiences working with various brands in the travel industry, we maintain extensive media relationships across the spectrum including writers specializing in romance travel, family travel, luxury travel, budget travel – and everything in between. Therefore, we know how to get your story in the right hands.
With the travel industry continuing to recover from the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, we are passionate in doing everything we can to support brands during this integral period. If you’re interested in having the support of a professional public relations partner for either short- or long-term needs, contact [email protected] for more details.