When looking at the travel industry, what can we learn from the brands of the past? In our session “Reinventing a brand for the next generation: Time and time again” we discussed how Contiki Tours has evolved, shifting with each new wave of young travellers while staying true to its core.
It can be hard to keep a young brand youthful, but Contiki have continuously reimagined their approach to reflect the mindset of today’s generation — without compromising the legacy that made them iconic.
Maria Parisi is the marketing director of The Travel Corporation’s touring division, leading five iconic brands: Contiki, Trafalgar, Insight Vacations, Luxury Gold, and Costsaver across Australia and New Zealand. Alongside her on stage was Jayesh Kesry, head of Marketing at Contiki, where he is leading the company’s marketing strategies targeting Gen-Z and Millennial audiences.
The pair discussed what media headlines can tell us about our target audiences, and whether those insights are accurate. “Can we understand who our customer is these days from the media?” Kesry asked. “What can we learn?”
Kesry and Parisi pulled up real headlines focussing on Gen Z which portrayed them as activists, socialists, non-drinkers and environmentalists. And while many Gen Z’s do fit one or more of these categories, they don’t all fit all of them. Parisi warned that often sensational salacious stereotypes depicted by the media don’t fit the real people and stories they know. Often the media creates more of a caricature of a generation than a generation itself.
“Stay true to the customer,” Kesry advised. “Understand who the customer is, not just a caricature or stereotype.”
As well as ensuring they know their customer base, Contiki has used innovation to evolve with the times.
“Innovation has always been at the core of Contiki,” Parisi said. For example, in the 1990s and 2000s sustainability became a key part of what they do.
Contiki also adopted the use of brand ambassadors to stay relevant and develop their brand. Kesry explained that Contiki uses “ambassadors and content creators to represent our brand through the lens of other people”. It’s about making people see what’s on offer, and consider experiences and destinations that they hadn’t previously considered.
The most important thing to Contiki in their evolution is staying true to their core, and they understand the power of going back to basics.
“When we returned to our core, results went up,” Kesry said. Awareness rose five per cent, consideration went up 40 per cent, and preference increased 19 per cent.
“Stay true to your core,” Kesry concluded, which for Contiki is travelling and experiences. “That’s what we represent through everything we do.”
