Experiencing Phocuswright in Hollywood, CA

Experiencing Phocuswright in Hollywood, CA | By Frances Kiradjian

Monday 4 December 2006 | Attending the Phocuswright Conference this year, with the subject of ‘Web 2.0 Confronts the Establishment’ was an experience in and of itself. They termed it ‘Conference 2.0’, allowing guests to experience the Conference in a variety of ways, all up to the attendees choice.

These choices included sitting in the audience in the Conference area watching speakers up on stage, mingling in the exhibitors area which also included bar-like seating, and last but certainly not least, sitting comfortably outside with headsets. All areas included large screen viewing with the absolute best audio video (A-V) presentations in the industry and wi-fi access.

A-V is such a huge part of any Conference which can make or break an event and Phocuswright takes it all to the next level. Outstanding visuals, music and instant blogging make it a paradise for viewers; not to mention knowing exactly what was happening when and of all things – on time! Audience interaction was optimal, no matter where you were in the Conference area.

The Phocuswright crew also did a great job at arming attendees with all the necessary items including pocket agendas, attendee list (opt-in emails would be nice for the next event), and complete information on speakers and companies presenting.

While there are always an array of people who are unsatisfied or dissatisfied, whatever the case may be, with this or that (as Captain Bill always said, “You can’t please all the people all the time.”), all in all the general consensus from people I spoke with thoroughly enjoyed their experience. The California sunshine and perfect blue skies didn’t hurt, as well as the excellent catering.

I say BRAVO to Philip Wolf and his enormous entourage of conference associates who made us all feel welcome and that our very valuable time was well spent attending Phocuswright.

Now on to some of the highlights of the Conference. Day one offered several Workshops on Travel 2.0 subjects. Suppliers ran the Workshops and obviously spent some time on highlights of their companies. One such Workshop on Travel Marketing and Loyalty Trends by Exmplar shared recent surveys and key findings including take-aways. Companies that are customer-centric vs. product-centric are more likely to be successful. I think it all goes back to Marketing 101 and being focused on the customer. The next step is to add Travel 2.0 to the mix and this begins with knowing your best customers by surveying them and then sending relevant marketing, especially emails.

Day two was chock-full of presenters and specialists in the online travel world, including start-ups who had Five Minutes of Fame. What is clear is that the innovation happening within the travel industry today is changing the way suppliers interact with travelers. Getting and having an emotional connection is key to it all.

These connections will be experienced real-time and in ways that the customer chooses. Blogs will help customers sort through options while Vlogs will let them see and experience the destination or supplier first-hand. Driving community based relationships will be hotter than dynamic packaging while rich media content will no longer have a home, as it can be anywhere.

Travel 2.0 can be summed up as:

A new lens into content which gets redistributed by users
Community based relationships and social networking
New buying metaphors
Flexible tools
Customization

Companies focusing on technology must realize that building interfaces is a cost of doing business. Disparate travel products need to be combined to give consumers what they want. Educating consumers on using this technology must be part of the plan.. Starwoodhotels.com is a good example of combining options where you can now book groups.

In conclusion, the future of information in travel is in the hands of the user. In simple terms, we as travel marketers, are responsible for helping the user sort through the mess by assisting them in organizing the data and deciphering who is credible.

Contact
Frances Kiradjian
representing Hsyndicate
Phone: 818-883-4363
Mobile: 818-974-4363
Fax: 818-716-1522
Email: [email protected]