The Offer: Australia’s Design Royale and MTV Travel Co. launched a campaign promising to give young adults “unheard of” access to “the coolest hotels, cheapest flights and the best insider information on the top festivals, clubs, shops and hotspots” in four major international cities. ?
The Data: The campaign is targeted specifically to the “Generation Y” audience and focuses on four markets: New York, Los Angeles, London and Berlin. Entering the contest requires that the consumer provide his or her email address or log in via Facebook. A related Facebook page had 425 “likes” as of mid-September. ?
The Channel: Design Royale used mostly digital channels for the promotion, which includes a dedicated website, Facebook page, Flickr page and Vimeo video-sharing page. ?
The Creative: The campaign emphasizes that consumers can “travel like a local” with MTV Travel, as it provides access to destinations deemed “the coolest.” Ads illustrate this visually, and users are encouraged to detail their own experiences by uploading videos and photos of their experiences in the four cities. ?
Verdict:
Jason Kulpa is CEO of Underground Elephant, a San Diego-based marketing company he founded in 2008. Kulpa last year was named “Most Admired CEO” by the San Diego Business Journal. He is a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization, a global association of young CEOs.
This is a hard website to use, and really a bad idea. There is already a great deal of competition when it comes to travel, and easier interfaces to use. While it’s interesting to get VIP treatment, travel is now a commodity rather than experience. Teenagers now look at how many places they have been versus the quality. I also don’t like being put in the Gen Y box, which is what being Gen Y is all about: not being labeled. MTV fails to empathize with the user and alienates the demographic they are trying to reach. ?
