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Thomson trial to welcome holiday makers via Google+
By Loulla-Mae Eleftheriou-Smith, marketingmagazine.co.uk, Wednesday, 22 August 2012 09:36AM
Thomson is integrating Google+ and Twitter into its hospitality strategy and creating live "hangouts" and hashtags for its resorts, as it seeks to modernise the holiday experience for its consumers.
Thomson: uses Google+ and Twitter to better communicate with customers
The TUI Travel-owned holiday brand plans to welcome its customers pre-departure using Google+ video "hangouts", and will provide a dedicated hashtag on Twitter for holidaymakers staying at their resorts to better communicate with dedicated Thomson staff, called iAdvisors.
iAdvisors will all be provided with a tablet computer to make sure they are contactable at all times.
The move follows research that found holidaymakers are using social networks prior to their trip, in order to meet other travellers and share information.
The trial will be launched at one of Thomson's Sensatori resorts in Crete this month.
Consumers travelling to the resort will be able to take part in a holiday hangout before they travel, with the opportunity to question their iAdvisor about the hotel, local area, and the weather.
While at the resort, consumers will be able to use the hashtag #sensatoricrete to further communicate with the iAdvisors.
The social media strategy will roll out across the rest of Thomson's Sensatori retreats later this year, depending on the success of the trial.
Ian Chapman, director of holiday experiences at Thomson, said: "Using Google+ Hangouts and Twitter hashtags is the perfect way to share our team's outstanding local knowledge and experience, but in a way that appeals to our more tech-savvy customers."
The move comes nearly a year after Thomson broke from its traditional strategy of a post-Christmas marketing campaign by running its biggest push of the year in October, in a bid to increase market share and brand visibility.
This article was first published on marketingmagazine.co.uk
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