Fresh marketing blitz planned by AAT Kings
AAT Kings is poised for a direct mail blitz in the second phase of a campaign to re-introduce the brand to the Australian public and to reignite the domestic and NZ short break market.
The coach operator, which relaunched in October following a number of tough years, will distribute a “taster” brochure to hundreds of thousands of households across the country featuring product from its newly-released 52 Brilliant Breaks program.
Radio will feature heavily in the fresh promotional drive, with its own staff again used in the adverts.
The first wave of marketing kicked off late last year to coincide with the brand relaunch, with the operator claiming early signs of a rejuvenated business were encouraging. Sales for 2014 are 25% ahead of the same time last year, managing director Anthony Hayes said.
“That is off the back of some pretty ordinary years, and it is not back to where we want it to be, but we are heading in the right direction,” he told Travel Today.
The direct mail blitz, timed to coincide with people’s return to work – a time when we typically want to book another holiday – is designed to “get consumers excited” about the idea of a domestic short break, he said.
The tours, from two to nine days in duration, are based around experiences, rather than being destination-led, with six product categories drawn up; food and wine, nature and wildlife, culture, family, active adventures and winter escapes.
Fifteen tours are new, 12 in Australia and three in New Zealand.
Hayes said the brochure launch, and associated consumer campaigns, will help rebuild brand equity in the market. While AAT Kings has remained well known in the trade, knowledge among consumers had been “drifting away”, he admitted.
Hayes declined to share the results of research conducted last year but admitted awareness of the brand and what it offered had been disappointing.
“But that screamed opportunity and looking at the sales performance shows us that the message is beginning to resonate,” he said.
But reigniting the domestic market is only part of the battle for AAT Kings. Half its guided holiday sales originate from overseas while international markets make up 90% of its day tours business.
Hayes admitted international sales had become “pretty dire” in recent years but stressed significant progress was being made. The UK was rebounding and New Zealand was strong, while efforts were being made to rebuild trade relationships in the US.
“I think we dropped the ball in North America. We walked away from that market in terms of sales representation and marketing and in the US it’s very much about relationships,” he said. “We are now re-engaging with the trade and believe we have the right product.”
Asia also remains a major focus with the operator close to finalising a strategy to tap into the sought-after Chinese market.
While the turnaround of AAT Kings was progressing, Hayes acknowledged there remained much to be done and described the next 12 months as getting "back to basics".
Improving the bottom line – it turned a small profit last year – remained the end-game after a number of lean years, he said.
"Brett Tollman (The Travel Corporation chief executive) has showed a lot of faith in this business and I need to pay that back," Hayes said.
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