2013 Gold Travel

Client TUI UK & Ireland

Team Daniel Ridler – General Manager CRM, Steve Cathcart – Senior CRM Manager (Acquisition), Denise Cooper – Senior CRM Manager (Pre-departure), Mark Brennan – Managing Director, Davenia John – eCRM Account Director, Lucie Bell – Mobile Manager, Sandra Wright – CRM Manager (Pre-departure), Allan Tran – Technical Account Director, Dan Martin – Head of Development, Tracy Pickersgill – Senior CRM Manager (Retention), Natalie Mead – CRM Manager Retention

Other Contributors AKQA – Creative design, ADITI – Technical, Appcelerator – Technical

How did the campaign make a difference? Thomson's digital data strategy is about driving intelligent 1-2-1 engagement throughout the customer journey, feeding into customer experience, sales revenue and service to ensure a fantastic holiday experience. In 11 months the programme delivered a 651% ROI and millions of pounds in incremental revenue. Plus, 20% of engagers make a booking.

What details of the strategy make this a winning entry? The programme drove measureable sales by engaging the customer from when they started considering a holiday to when they returned home, with content driven by user engagement. It blended digital, mobile and physical media to provide a personalised customer journey that supports decision-making, drives conversion, built anticipation, and supported on-demand engagement with a new mobile app. Returning customers were asked for feedback to ensure Thomson was front of mind for the next holiday. An integrated personalised strategy for timely, personal and relevant reminders about the aspirational, anticipative, fun and necessary attributes relevant for each customer, helping to increase the incremental value of every customer.

How did creativity bring the strategy to life? Buying a holiday is a very personal experience. It's about what the customer wants, tailored specifically to them, when they want it. Initial engagement was generated by emails with broad appeal, quickly identifying those in the market, then follow-up offers were driven by engagement behaviour and strength of interest. All offers were anchored to relevant departure points, holiday durations and other factors. Tactical conversion helped promote available inventory and support customer preferences to drive final conversion. Pre-departure holiday countdown emails drove traffic to a personalised website and mobile app. The customer also received SMS, e-ticket and site login reminders, a digitally printed ticket book, information on relevant resorts, excursion guides, weather and reminders about holiday extras. While on holiday, the customer could use the mobile app to plan excursions.

Results The programme generates 75,000 dynamic interactions every day. This operational data strategy drives millions in gross revenues. Using data as a creative asset engages customers and delivers customer satisfaction and incremental value to Thomson's business.