Day 1, October 23

Session 1: 9.10am - 10.45am

Cultural Marketing - Managing your mix to suit your country

The Brits love the Mediterranean. The Dutch love the mountains and camping. Scandinavians love South East Asia. Germans love Majorca... Europeans love to travel. They do so in a huge variety of ways, using many different resources to recommend, research, book and pay for each of their travel components.

How do they search? Where do they go? How do they book? What attracts them? When do they travel? What social factors are at work?

Each European travel market has its own set of distinct characteristics that makes it unique from the rest. Understanding each will help to ensure you're spending your marketing budget on the most effective channels that country can offer, and increase your sales potential.

Hear from leading travel companies across 4 of continental Europe's most savvy travel nations (Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Netherlands). Learn what differentiates one country from the next, and develop the perfect marketing mix for each.

Session 2: 11.30am - 1pm

Travel 2.0 as a sales tool

Turning comments, reviews, pictures and opinions into hard cash.

• How can embracing UGC increase your sales capacity?
• boo.com research discovered that only 13% of people trust travel agents and brochures over online reviews. What could this new statistic mean for your sales model?
• Hear why the 'Trust' element is becoming increasingly important in the travel purchasing process.
• How do you ensure that trust is maintained across your many user views and reviews?
• Which types of User Generated Content (UGC) will be beneficial, and what will be detrimental, to your ability to sell your product?
• Combating fraudulent content - how do you manage this and what negative impacts can it have if left unattended to?
• What impacts will negative feedback have on your sales and how can this be managed effectively?
• How much should you invest in UGC, and what returns can you then expect to see?
• Monetizing Travel 2.0 - is this possible, if so then how?

Session 3: 2.10pm - 3.40pm

Travel 2.0 as a marketing tool

• Thinking about taking the plunge into the uncertain world of UGC? What factors should you be aware of before doing so?
• The Travel Trust Index found that one in six travellers now post a review following a holiday. How can this impact your marketing message?
• Why is UGC becoming so highly regarded, and so widely embraced as a marketing tool?
• How can UGC be used to perfect your marketing message?
• Understand the use of UGC in both the marketing mix, and the consumers purchasing process.
• The sharing of information - Changing your marketing mix to a consumer centric focus.
• Do away with optimization expenses - How can the addition of a blog be used to organically optimize your search engine?
• Using UGC to segment your marketing, and increase your ROI

Case Study

In 1963 Avis launched a bold and daring advertising campaign. With refreshing honesty Avis told its customers that they were only no. 2. Their resolution: We Try Harder.

34 years later consumer-generated media is providing Avis with a new platform to engage openly and honestly with their customers. Some might call it We Try Harder 2.0.

Avis has embraced consumer-generated media using it to monitor online consumer discourse and engage with consumers in forums and review sites. They say it helps them stay close to the customer and keep them on their toes. And nothing has helped Avis achieve this objective more than the We Try Harder blog.

Session 4: 4.10pm - 5.40pm

Marketing the 'Green' factor

Carbon footprints and carbon offsetting. The global buzz that is capable of completely incriminating one company, while raising others onto the podium of environmentally friendliness.

All eyes are on the travel industry, seen as the major contributor to this spiralling global issue. Environmental consciousness has to now become a basic business consideration.

Hear how marketing the 'Green' message can raise your company's profile, and springboard you into the consumers psyche as a travel supplier with a global conscience.

• How big is the green market, and how do you communicate and sell your product to this growing customer base.
• Energy efficient fuels and new travel solutions - how to ensure consumers know what contribution you are making
• Okay, so you think you're 'Green'. But are you really? - What negative backlash can you expect from deceiving consumers, by marketing an unqualified green product?
• How do you ensure your green campaigns are engaging, interesting and 'new'?
• You're a travel company producing huge amounts of carbon annually. Is there really a way of convincing people you care? Will they buy into it?
• Is the whole green marketing buzz just a phase? What (if any) benefits to your bottom line can you expect to see?
• Is carbon auditing a good way to prove your green credentials, or opening you up to being chastised in the media?

Day 2, October 24

Session 5: 9.30am - 11am

The global momentum of Social Networks

Over 70% of travel companies have identified social networks as a new consideration for their 2007 marketing budgets. What are the opportunities and threats that this emerging force brings to the table?

• How can you capitalise on the targeted demographics that social networks provide?
• Aside from trust and brand loyalty, how can social networks be used to strengthen your travel product?
• Social networks are uncontrolled content. What new threats can this pose to your marketing message, and is there any way of counteracting this?
• The 'Trust' factor - how can this be built upon to strengthen or grow your brand?
• What new sales options does offering inventory to social networking sites present? Are social networks the new OTA's of the future?
• By offering user reviews and the social dimension, social networks can offer high travel booking conversion rates. Can you afford to ignore a possible partnership?

Session 6: 11.40am - 1.10pm

Search Marketing

A channel dictated by a handful of major players, where understanding the intricacies is key to getting the most bang for your buck.

• The recent Google acquisitions of DoubleClick and FeedBurner have further solidified their position. Will search marketing now become even more expensive for travel suppliers and intermediaries?
• As Googles dominance of this industry continues, what does the future hold for those competing using search marketing?
• Why not add a blog? Is this the modern, constructive alternative to battling with search engine optimisation?
• What benefits does allocating more marketing spend to search engine optimization have, over CPC and CPA campaigns
• Are CPC campaigns a thing of the past, with the apparent ROI from these aging campaigns diminishing?
• The popularity of CPA (Cost Per Acquisition) is growing. How will this force publishers to become more targeted with their services?
• How can you convert CPC or CPM campaigns, to a functional CPA model? What makes this a good idea?

Session 7: 2.30pm - 4pm

Integrating content that sells into your site

• The longer you keep someone on your site, the more likely you are to close a sale. What new forms of content should you be looking to invest in for your site?
• Podcasts, video, multiple languages, mobile technologies... With so many content options available, how much is too much?
• What can investment in new content technologies cost, and what can you expect your ROI to be?
• What role does content play in the purchasing process?
• RSS feeds are quickly becoming the norm. What types of real time information should you be looking to integrate within your site?
• How will RSS feeds enhance your user experience? Can the financial benefits of this be quantified?
• What are the advantages, disadvantages and costs of outsourcing your content management?