E X P L O R I G N EXPLORING New Horizons Results from the Williams Helde Active Explorer User Group
T T R AVE L EDITION
INSIGHTS FROM THE NEW FRONTIER
For years, Williams Helde has been developing expertise in the Active Explorer – the most affluent, loyal, knowledgeable and passionate customers you may not know you have. In the spring of 2016, we commissioned our first survey of Active Explorers to find out what, and how, they think. We formed an Active Explorer User Group, and we asked them about a topic we feel strongly about: travel. What we discovered surprised us, informed us and made us want to find out more. This is a sample of what we learned, crafted into a series of blog posts from the summer of 2016. We’re amazed that so many of the implications go far beyond the travel industry, and we’re looking for ways to apply them to clients current and new. We hope you enjoy reading them as much as we enjoyed writing them. And if you have a question for the User Group? Don’t hesitate to ask. Sincerely, Marc Williams
CONTENTS
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02 05 08 12 INSIGHTS FROM YOUR BEST CUSTOMERS
GOTTA GET AWAY: CAPITALIZE ON AN EMERGING NEED
STORIES THAT INSPIRE: THE TRAVEL BUG
ACTIVE EXPLORERS AND TRAVEL: UNSCRIPTED
You have questions? We have answers. A sneak peek into what your customers are thinking.
For Active Explorers, travel is essential. How does that change how we talk to them?
Inspiration can be found in books, movies, music – and some unexpected other places.
When we travel, we love to improvise – to a point. Here’s how we indulge our creature comforts.
ADVENTURES IN FAMILIARITY
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We love adventure, but we come back to what’s safe and true. Let’s find out why.
THE WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY
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When is the best time to reach the Active Explorer? When they’re coming off the travel rush.
INSIGHTS FROM YOUR BEST CUSTOMERS INTRODUCING THE ACTIVE EXPLORER USER GROUP
JUNE 03, 2016
INSIGHTS FROM YOUR BEST CUSTOMERS
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s marketers, we spend the bulk of our time finding and communicating with our most loyal, affluent and engaged customers. But what do our consumers really think? Now, you can ask them directly.
Within the Active Explorer segment, consumers are engaging with brands at a whole new level. Pioneered by Williams Helde Marketing Communications, the Active Explorer User Group is a consumer panel that marketers can use to explore, understand and monetize one of the most valuable and profitable consumer mindsets. Marc Williams, our President here at Williams Helde, tells the story behind our Active Explorer findings best: We discovered a segment of people searching for and aspiring to active, healthy lifestyles was growing like gangbusters. The closer we looked, the more interesting this segment became: they were powerfully brand-loyal, willing to spend more to yield better experiences, and more likely to influence friends. In short, these were the people marketers spend big money to talk to.”
“[AE’S ARE] POWERFULLY BRAND-LOYAL, WILLING TO SPEND MORE TO YIELD BETTER EXPERIENCES, AND MORE LIKELY TO INFLUENCE FRIENDS.” — MARC WILLIAMS
So, what’s the Active Explorer User Group all about? The sampling consists of U.S. households earning more than $75,000 annually, with some college education, who buy organic and fresh foods when possible and who work out at least a few times per week. Behaviorally, they are outdoor enthusiasts with pursuits ranging from swimming to hiking, and everything in between. In April 2016, we turned our Active Explorer research and travel industry observations into a reality. Williams Helde conducted an online survey with our Active Explorer [...]
INSIGHTS FROM YOUR BEST CUSTOMERS
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User Group to understand more deeply their motivations for travel, how they plan and book their trips, as well as preferred activities and styles of travel. It’s just one in a series of research studies planned with this consumer panel. The Active Explorer User Group and YOUR brand. The discoveries we unearthed were exciting, so we’re making the user group available at no charge to select marketers who want to explore, understand and monetize their brand’s relationship with the Active Explorer. If you’re thinking that Active Explorers aren’t relevant to your brand, we urge you to take a second look. Brands don’t have to be active healthy lifestyle companies. There’s a reason why McDonald’s is retooling menus to include healthy options, why Costco is the number one seller of organic goods in the world and why Gap continues to launch extensive active wear collections. Each of them is making a big push into this demographic – and reaping the rewards.
OUR AWARD-WINNING FIELD GUIDE TO THE ACTIVE EXPLORER HELPED GUIDE OUR RESEARCH
GOTTA GET AWAY CAPITALIZE ON AN EMERGING TRAVEL NEED
JUNE 10, 2016
GOTTA GET AWAY
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efore we dive in, let’s go over the essential human needs: Food. Shelter. Security. Travel. Wait. Travel?
That’s right. Over the last several years, travel has gone from being a luxury to a basic human need. At least that’s what was revealed in an April 2016 travel study conducted by Williams Helde. Think of it: a well-educated, fitness loving, healthy-minded and affluent segment with a penchant for discovery and novelty considers travel an authentic need.
travel is not optional For Active Explorers, travel is not optional. Here’s why we know it to be true: 1. Active Explorers are traveling more than ever. We expected that most had taken two trips in the past year. We were surprised to learn that 49% of Active Explorers took 3-4 trips in the past 12 months. Another 29% had taken 5 or more trips in the past year. That’s a dramatic increase from years past. [...]
GOTTA GET AWAY
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2. They’ve caught the YOLO bug. They consistently expressed their need to see new places and cultures. “My own need to explore and see new places,” said one respondent, “eating new kinds of food, comes from the knowledge that I might not get the opportunity to do this when I get a desk job and I am stuck paying bills until the day that I die.” 3. They rank travel among their highest priorities. Consistently, this psychographic prioritizes new experiences over the tried and true. As one person remarked, “I like sampling new foods, visiting new places, relaxing… I want to step out of my life on vacation and try new things.” So what can all this mean for your brand? Knowing this, travel brands have an opportunity to tap into deeper emotional territory with their messaging, forging a stronger bond that can increase sales. 4. Travel isn’t a destination. It’s a state of mind. Even as they get off the plane, Active Explorers are constantly in search of the next great adventure. If your brand can help enable that dream, whether that means helping save, plan, pack, or inspire, you have a place on the travel spectrum. 5. Travel is the celebration of what’s possible. Many Active Explorers use a vacation to try out new versions of themselves: kayaker, salsa dancer, wine enthusiast. It’s not so much about where they go as it is who they can become. If your brand can help maintain Active Explorers live the lives they’ve imagined, through fitness, food, fashion, durable goods, and more, you’ve got a leg up on your competition. 6. Travel is the art of the new. What part does your brand play in bringing something new to these consumers? Recognizing the explorer aspect of Active Explorers means you may have an opportunity to emphasize “new” in your marketing communications and your brand’s role in the consumer travel experience.
STORIES THAT INSPIRE WHERE WE GET THE TRAVEL BUG
JUNE 17, 2016
STORIES THAT INSPIRE
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or Active Explorers, travel is a need right up there with food, clothing and shelter. Everyone wants to take vacations to get away, whether from the stress of work or the dreary weather of home, but what inspires Active Explorers to travel? What’s that moment of motivation – when the light bulb goes on in their heads and they start making their plans? More importantly, is there an insight here for marketers? In our recent travel study, conducted with a 258-member Active Explorer User Group, there were a few key findings concerning the travel consumer’s purchasing journey. The first was inspiration. Active Explorer travelers are motivated to travel based on specific inspirations, influencers from books to music, and more. Here’s a glimpse of the sparks that ignite an Active Explorer’s interest. These aren’t just apt observations, they’re actionable ways to communicate with potential travelers and Active Explorers. For Active Explorers, travel is often inspired by movies, books and music. Of the participants surveyed, 61% agree or strongly agree that movies, books and music influence their desire to travel. For Active Explorers, travel is often geared toward exploring new places and cultures, or recharging and getting away from the day-to-day grind. But even so, movies, books and music are significant sources of inspiration. Here are some verbatims from respondents:
“READING... SPARKS MY IMAGINATION FOR TRAVEL.”
“Reading books sparks my imagination for travel. Movies and TV shows also play a role. I like to be interested in the places I choose to go to.” “Pictures and offers, new things I haven’t seen... and things I’ve seen in movies.” “Seeing locations in movies or reading about them in books. Also, seeing where friends travel.” [...]
STORIES THAT INSPIRE
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It’s a simple truth that we’ve all likely experienced: movies often show viewers a vivid picture of amazing destinations and unforgettable sights. So it’s no surprise that films are frequently mentioned as sources of inspiration for travel among our respondents. One user group member credited the James Bond movies specifically. James Bond: travel agent. But Active Explorers are being inspired to travel on the small screen, too. Consider the Netflix original series Bloodline, which has increased tourism traffic and interest in the Florida Keys, especially at the Moorings Resort in Islamorada. Or the tourism industry that continues to thrive in the wake of off-the-air series like Sex in the City or Downton Abbey. The essence of a place, beautifully crafted by television, not only stokes the imagination, it’s the catalyst that impels travelers to seek first-hand experience. So join in, capture the essence of these places, and make it your business to get people there. Active Explorers are inspired to travel by, well, traveling. The more they travel, the more they want to find more corners of the world to explore. In fact, 64% of Active Explorer user group respondents agree or strongly agree that they begin planning their next trip right after taking a trip. [...]
STORIES THAT INSPIRE
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One Active Explorer respondent expressed it this way:
“Going on vacation makes me want to go somewhere new the next time.”
It’s not simply that Active Explorers are avid travelers, they’re in insatiable pursuit of the new, from destinations and cultures to sights and tastes. All of this means that marketers can no longer rely on simple benefit messages to create an emotional connection between their product and their best customers. The most successful brands are creating experiences – through storytelling, music and video – that engage and inspire their customers to see their brand as a call to adventure. Look at the way Jeep uses storytelling and music to convince their customers to find their own inspiration. Watch how Corona tells their customers to “Find Your Beach,” using nothing but sea, sun and the ambient sound of waves. They’re creating personal entertainment experiences that evoke our yearn to travel and associate themselves with wanderlust. Stories. Images. Music. These are your tools. Now, inspire your customers to move.
ACTIVE EXPLORERS & TRAVEL UNSCRIPTED ADVENTURE
JUNE 30, 2016
ACTIVE EXPLORERS & TRAVEL
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e know that travel is a basic need for Active Explorers right up there with food, water and shelter. We also know that travel is often inspired by books, music, movies and more.
But once consumers get the travel bug, what happens next? What’s going through their minds as they explore their options? What is their ultimate objective? And as marketers, how can we leverage their desires and push the right buttons through targeted communications? The results from our user group point to a few key insights regarding purchase considerations for Active Explorers. 85% of Active Explorer respondents search for new experiences when they travel. 85% of Active explorer User group respondents strongly respondents search for agreed or agreed that when traveling, they prefer new new experiences when activities they can’t do at home. they travel Active Explorers are, by nature, always in pursuit of the “new,” whether it’s a once-in-a-lifetime view or unique regional meal. In place of the sanitized bus tour or curated restaurant checklist, Active Explorers would rather go on a winding back-road trip to a country winery they saw in a film once, or learn how to make pasta from a legendary local chef. Here’s how one respondent described the perfect travel experience: “Taking art classes – learning from new artists. Trying new food – experiencing the difference. Visiting museums – understanding old cultures. Speaking with new people – learning about living in different places. Snorkeling, sightseeing, eating; because there’s always something new to discover.”
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ACTIVE EXPLORERS & TRAVEL
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For Active Explorers, “new” doesn’t have to involve exercise. We asked our Active Explorer User Group what they like to do most, even when they’re not traveling. While more physical activities such as hiking, swimming, biking and going to the gym were high on the list, respondents most frequently responded that they enjoy trying new restaurants. The findings also suggest that intellectually enriching activities such as theater, cooking classes and live music also rate very highly. More than anything, Active Explorers love to be immersed in everything they do, at home or in their travels, experiencing the world first-hand and never letting opportunities pass by. The art of the new. We know that travel is the art of the new. Brands that help Active Explorers plan, activate and enjoy their travel, and all of the new experience it offers, are fast becoming industry tastemakers. Airbnb tapped into this trend with their recent “Live like a Local” campaign. It was a compelling appeal to Active Explorers, urging travelers to live in their destinations, rather than simply touring them. To experience a new city as if it were home, and in the process, discover the truly new, exciting facets of a place. Active Explorers, as many brands have noticed, are demanding anything but the typical from their travel. So what does it all mean? Basically, that marketers have to train themselves to look into every single touchpoint of their brand, from customer service to mobile experiences to word-of-mouth, to identify moments of the new and unexpected. It could be as simple as a tongue-in-cheek mobile alert, or a surprise discount at the register as a spontaneous loyalty reward. But those moments will be far more impactful than a native advertisement or a video.
ADVENTURES IN FAMILIARITY WHEN TRAVELING, ACTIVE EXPLORERS WON’T RISK COMFORT
JULY 11, 2016
ADVENTURES IN FAMILIARITY
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ook at a dozen of your friends’ Instagram feeds and you’ll see a series of spontaneous moments taken from some of the world’s most exotic locations. Here’s what you won’t see: the planning, consideration and research that went into it. It turns out that those moments of seemingly spontaneous adventure are often meticulously planned. That’s one of the many insights from our latest survey into the Active Explorer, one of the fastest-growing segments in the travel industry. We were surprised to discover that this highly experiential group always kept an eye on the safe and familiar. Basecamp: Trusted Hotel Chains. Surprisingly, nearly a third of Active Explorers prefer hotel chains for their accommodations. In addition, nearly half believed that staying in one place is the best way to relax. Names like Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott and Kimpton offer more than shelter — they offer a taste of the familiar. It seems that no matter where you go, you need a place to call home — the more familiar, the better. Come Aboard, We’re Expecting You. Despite the value they place in traveling with freedom and independence, about half of Active Explorers express interest in cruises — even if they’ve never taken one. On the surface, a cruise seems very un-Active — playing shuffleboard on the Lido deck clashes with the extreme lifestyles we see on their social feeds. While it seems counterintuitive, it makes sense when you realize they’re craving a familiar base. Recent campaigns from Norwegian Cruise Lines emphasize the point that a cruise ship can serve as a mobile basecamp for many exotic destinations. Risk vs. Reward. Although there are extremes at both ends, traveling Active Explorers are in a constant game of balance. Some love to ping-pong from one spontaneous adventure after another, [...]
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while others have their itinerary, reservations and all, planned to the half-hour. But most of them are seeking that balance of spontaneity and reassurance that keeps our senses awakened and our spirit nourished.
SO WHAT?
It’s not a surprise that Active Explorers are looking for comfort to sustain their sense of adventure on the road. What’s interesting is how they’re doing it. There’s an opportunity for well-known, “safe” brands to provide familiarity and reassurance even when their customers are exploring their wild side.
THE WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY TRAVELING ACTIVE EXPLORERS + YOUR BRAND
JULY 20, 2016
THE WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY
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s we’ve learned from our Active Explorer User Group, opportunities for brands to communicate with travelers are plentiful, but without understanding the motivations and expectations of Active Explorers, these efforts might miss the mark. As marketers, we’re often in pursuit of the key takeaway, the high-level message that can be the catalyst for fresh approaches to our communications. Here are our essential takeaways: Active Explorers relax on vacation by being active. Relaxation and active adventure are a natural combination for Active Explorers. Our user group results revealed that the top three motivations for travel were relaxing/ recharging, exploring new places and experiencing different activities. Nearly a third of Active Explorers said discovering new places was their top reason for a vacation, while another third said it’s getting away from day-to-day routines. There’s not one preferred type of vacation, just like there’s not one type of consumer. Active Explorers are defined by their appetites for adventure, their loyalty to brands that help them reach their destinations and their thirst for authentic travel experiences. But like any demographic, they’re a diverse bunch. AEs can be constant thrill-seekers, but they also love the creature comforts of a cruise or a hotel room. Over half of user group respondents said that staying in the same place for more than a week is the best way to relax, with 41% saying that 5-7 days is an ideal vacation trip length. So meet them in the middle, tell a story about your brand that’s relatable and compelling. Marriott got it right with their “Travel Brilliantly” campaign, juxtaposing the ease and comfort of their hotels with the unlimited possibilities of travel they make possible. It’s a not-so-subtle nod to Active Explorers, but it also casts the net wide, inspiring a broad audience to activate not only their travel, but their adventure, through Marriott. [...]
THE WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY
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Timing is everything. Make no mistake, Active Explorers have a clear picture of their ideal vacation, whatever it may be. In fact, they typically plan that ideal trip a few months in advance. And over a third plan their trip more between three and six months ahead. With booking windows this wide open, travel brands need to remain relevant throughout the consumer purchasing journey, constantly in the sights of Active Explorers in the thick of planning.
69%
of AE’s plan their next trip right after their current one.
What’s more, 69% of AEs plan their next trip right after their current one. Here, the window of opportunity narrows, but it’s still important that brands reach consumers while they’re still coming off their travel high. It might be as simple as a free gift when they arrive home or an email blast with an exclusive offer and a survey. The statistics can only get you so far. The numbers tell us a lot about how Active Explorers interact with travel, from planning to purchase and execution. But they don’t explicitly tell brands and marketers how to leverage consumer behaviors. That’s where research, brand-building and targeted communications come in. Data is great. Insights are better. Saying something that resonates with the Active Explorer will go miles toward inspiring them to hear more of what you have to say. Don’t over-invest in a campaign that hasn’t been tested thoroughly — try multiple approaches. Always push the envelope, don’t be afraid to say something surprising. And never miss a window of opportunity to make communications timely, nimble and impactful. Follow those rules, and you’ll find your brand’s window of opportunity larger than ever before.
206.285.1940 | INFO@WILLIAMS-HELDE.COM
T T R AVE L EDITION