Digital Benchmarks Destination | Business | Intelligence

Nicholas Hall CEO & Founder !

SE1 Media Digital Tourism Think Tank !

Monday 13th October DST 2014

ARE YOU BENCHMARKING YET?

Performance Measuring performance of your

competitors against your destination

Opportunities Measuring opportunities and trends for insights and learnings

SOCIALDESIGN

MOBILECONTENT

Methodology

1. Exhaustive evaluation with 200+ Points

2. Fully qualitative expert analysis

3. Advanced scoring system with auditing

SOCIAL INTEGRATION

@think_tourism

What we found ‣ Most destinations ‘ignore’ social media as

an integration opportunity

‣ Whilst share buttons are no longer sufficient, most are limited to that

‣ Social must be an integral part of destination websites

SpainSO

CIAL

INTE

GRAT

ION ‣ Full integration of user

generated content within main destination site

‣ Advanced social sharing encouraged between users and spain.info

‣ Comprehensive integration adds authenticity to their brand message

What  should  Des-na-ons  watch  out  for?  

CONTENT

@think_tourism#KX2014

What we found ‣ Visitors seek effective an inspiring content which

builds stories around your brand

‣ Rich ‘long-format’ media drives powerful brand engagement

‣ A variety of content types and perspectives is important

‣ Show your destination from a range of perspectives: Yours; your visitors; their influencers

SwitzerlandCO

NTEN

T‣ Excellent targeting of

content to interest groups

‣ Functional needs perfectly integrated; navigation, maps, practical, related content

‣ Huge variety of content perspectives from rich media, 360 panoramas and street view

Are  you  thinking  mobile  first?MOBILE

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What we found !

‣ Many DMOs don’t think ‘mobile first’ yet !

‣ Most don’t follow mobile best practices !

‣ Iterative user centred design approach is widely overlooked

Ireland‣ Excellent mix of simplicity &

powerful rich media content ‣ Fast loading and efficient

despite high in visuals ‣ Well structured and logical

navigation for mobile interface

MOBILE

Switzerland‣ Excellent mix of

functional and interactive features

‣ Use of memorable icons works brilliantly

‣ Excellent maps and tap friendly controls

MOBILE

Understanding the impact of Mobile on Youth Travellers

TODAY’S DIGITAL NATIVES

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Digital Natives Love SnapChat!70% US College Students 18-24

Use Snapchat Daily!

Facebook Who?Compared to 11%

Posting to Facebook Every DaySource: E-Marketer

socialInstagram and Snapchat are the social media most used by Digital Natives“Social networks are an absolute priority as a source of information for 18-30’s”, NH Hotels

mobile27% of Digital Natives book their trip on a smartphone“Around half of 18-34’s use apps for their travel planning activity”, PhoCusWright

Age: 35 or under

Blended offline & online words

Have smartphone & tablet

Book via online travel websites

60% consider smartphone a travel companion

Digital Natives Driving The Future of Travel

“Digital Natives”

“Millennials”

“Generation X, Y & Z”

So… Digital NativesWhat’s the idea?

“We wanted a concrete understanding of young travellers and their attachment to mobile”

Digital Nativesa pilot study with WYSE

‣ is our hypothesis correct? ‣ initial sample of 30 participants ‣ in-trip research in London ‣ focused on these ‘digital natives’

two groupstwo evaluations

A Place to VisitQueen Elizabeth Olympic Park

A Famous AttractionVictoria & Albert Museum

Awareness of Key Landmarks and AttractionsWHAT DID THE RESULTS SHOW?

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1. Knowledge of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and V&A: “What do you expect to see?”

2. Reactions after browsing both full and mobile optimised sites?

3. How do both mobile and full websites impact the visitor perception of the attraction or place?

Perceptions. Reactions.

"I’ve never heard about the museum. It’s somewhere here, I’ve seen that in the underground station, but I don’t know it" (Miguel, Portugal, 25) More than 3,000,000 visitors in 20146th Most Popular Attraction in the UK

“ Every time I take the train I see some part of the park. But I don’t really know what is in there.” (Lela, 25, Malta) Captured the imagination of 100’s of Millions in 20121,000,000 + Visitors since reopening in 2013

“I suppose it is a park with fountains and statues of the queen” (Ilona ,17, Czech Republic)”

“I guess, in this museum, I can see paintings about the royal family, weapons and some stuff about history” (Paco, 18, Spain)

Perceptions. Reactions.

Poor Brand Awareness

Requires the Mobile Brand to Deliver a Seamless Brand Experience

How  Do  Digital  Na-ves  React  to  Non-­‐Op-mised  and  Op-mised  Websites?

REACTIONS: FULL VS MOBILE

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“I don’t think it’s for mobile, the interface is quite small.” !

Peter, 18, UK

“I don’t like this website, it is not suitable for smartphones” !

Ignacio, 19, Spain

“The website is easy to understand and it looks great! !!!!!!

Ella, 24, Italy

“The website is very colourful. I like it!” !

Ashley, 22, USA

Creative

Interesting

Easy

Pleasant

Clear

Attractive

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Mobile Optimised Full Website

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Creative

Interesting

Easy

Pleasant

Clear

Attractive

Mobile Optimised Full Website

How  a  Posi-ve  Mobile  User  Experience  Changes  Everything

MOBILE: SHIFTING PERCEPTIONS

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Shifting

Perceptions

Websites have an impact on the perception of what they promote

Design Impacts Reputation

Non-optimised sites resulted in a loss of interest

Optimised sites actually increased interest in a place

Choice of photos and layouts have an instant impact

Visual content leads natives to immediate assumptions

Too much text hinders curiosity

Content influences the motivation to visit

Participants complained about the prominence of text

Lots of text = Abandonment

Natives find a site disappointing when it lacks strong visual content

Visual content increases motivation to visit

Poor consistency fails to support visitors needs

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Exciting

InterestingEnjoyable

Unique

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Exciting

InterestingEnjoyable

Unique

How does a non-optimised site change initial perceptions? Initial perception Post-browsing

Perception

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Exciting

InterestingEnjoyable

Unique

How does a mobile optimised site change initial perceptions? Initial perception Post-browsing

Perception

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Exciting

InterestingEnjoyable

Unique

Maps  and  Loca-on  AwarenessIMPORTANCE OF CONTEXT

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“I don’t want to spend too much time on a website with my mobile, especially if I’m out!”

Lela, 25, Malta

“The pictures are really, really nice. It seems really interesting.”

Anna, 22, Germany

"I want small text, attractive pictures and a map.”

Simon, 22, France

1. Immediacy is key 2. Instant overview is necessary 3. Provide concrete information visitors need

Importance Contextthree important observations

What  To  Consider  when  Engaging  Digital  Na-ves  in  Travel

KEY TAKEAWAYS

What have they taught us?

Speak “experience” in your digital rhetoric

It must be immediately clear for tourists what they can do and experience !

An authentic image can communicate the actual experience

What have they taught us?

Get your visual content spot on

Visual content should shape and enhance your brand image. !

Consider fonts, images and colours carefully

What have they taught us?

Don’t forget location, location, locationLocation and directions should be easy to find on the website. !

Location plays a key role in shaping spontaneous decisions

What have they taught us?

Always exceed expectations

A brand has a limited amount of time to match tourists expectations or change them for the better !

Visitor perceptions are based on complex environmental factors. You have an opportunity to shape these.

Thank You ;-)

Nicholas Hall CEO & Founder !

SE1 Media Digital Tourism Think Tank !

!

Monday 13th October DST 2014

@think_tourism