AMN 423 – STRATEGIES FOR CREATIVE ADVERTISING – ASSIGNMENT 3
CREATIVE STRATEGY
MATTHEW SANTOSA – N8409307
ASSIGNMENT 3 – CREATIVE STRATEGY MATTHEW SANTOSA
1. THE BRIEF
1.1 THE CLIENT
Wotif.com
1.2 THE PRODUCT
Wotif.com (Wotif) is an online leader in accommodation services. It is also involved with
flight booking.
2. RESEARCH
2.1 CURRENT CHANGES IN BRAND PERCEPTION
The ‘Home of Holidays’, not just accommodation
Wotif’s parent company Expedia has recently changed its strapline to “The Home of
Holidays” to change perception of it being a more of a travel generalist rather than just an
accommodation website (Jones, 2015). The company wants to be perceived as a full service
online agency with international packages, flights car hire and attraction tickets (Jones, 2015).
Wotif appeals to domestic travellers
The Wotif brand currently appeals more to domestic travellers than outbound travellers. The
Expedia brand is more recognised for these international travellers. (Johnson, 2015)
India and China are key growth markets
Inbound travellers are increasing due to the low Australian dollar. The burgeoning middle
classes from China and India are now making more trips to our shores following a concerted
effort from tourism authorities in Australia (Freed, 2015)
2.2 PRIMARY RESEARCH
SEM
Search of the keyword ‘holidays’ reveals that Wotif has no presence. Their parent company
Expedia ranks 2nd however.
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Questionnaire
The author has also carried out a questionnaire (please refer to Appendix ‘A’)
2.3 CUSTOMER PSYCHOLOGY
Travel agents vs. booking online
According to research, travel purchases online are growing faster than the overall market. In
addition, more people are buying on their mobile device then ever before (Phocuswright,
2015).
Last minute bookings
Research also suggests that last-minute bookings are significant, with more than 25% of all
hotel searches occurring within 24 hours of check-in (Phocuswright, 2015).
Millennials like to travel, but are last minute
Millennials are big travellers with ~70% of U.S adults travelling in 2013. They are likely to take
longer trips (over 14 days) then older traveller, but spend slightly less than their older
counterparts by ~ $170 annually. They are less motivated by rewards programs, and around
25% book within one week of departure.
Domestic vs. overseas travel
Australian holiday makers are considering domestic travel a more viable option than
international travel because of the Australian dollar.
When travelling overseas, Australians are looking to choose cheaper hotels and reduce the
length of their stays to reduce their budgets on overseas holidays (Johnson, 2015).
Inbound travellers think that Australia is an attractive destination that is marketed well online.
When combined with increased air capacity and the lower dollar, the current level of interest
in Australia is peaking (Johnson, 2015).
Why do people travel?
Top reasons
According to Verma (2015), people are motivated to travel for a wide variety of reasons such
as:
● To get a new perspective
● Learning
● Meet new people
● Health
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● Adventure
● Bucket list
● Family time
● Rejuvenate
● Romance and love
● Work
Current trends
● The wellness vacation: Similar to the rejuvenate motivation, this typically involves a
holiday that could include tropical, luxury retreats supplanted with Hindu doctors and
masseurs trained in esoteric treatments that involve chanting.
● Authentic holidays: Moving away from tours that focus on seeing the sights, tour
operators are expanding into programs that offer something different, like a
home-cooked family meal.
● Cycling, not golf: Middle-aged men are leaving their golf bags at home and taking
week-long cycle tours through Europe, with some even tackling a stage of the Tour de
France.
What do people consider when they organise their holiday?
Flights and accommodation
According to primary research (please refer to Appendix ‘A’), people most often book their
flights and accommodation prior their trip. This is a key insight and works well into Wotif
corporate strategy.
Some people will always need to change their travel plans
According to Ryan, there are a wide range of excuses for cancelling or changing travel plans
at the last minute. The top excuses are sickness and injury. Wotif has removed their fees for
cancellation and itinerary changes for hotel and package bookings (Ryan, 2015.)
Travellers have idiosyncrasies
Travellers feel strongly about some parts of their flights, such as choosing their favourite
plane seats or things that must have with them when they fly. According to Wotif, these are:
Favourite plane seats:
● It must be a window seat (35%)
● I like to sit in an aisle seat (30%)
● In the emergency exit row (21%)
● Anywhere in the front row (8%)
● Somewhere in the middle, but not the emergency exit row (4%)
● Anywhere in the back row (3%)
Top things to take on a flight:
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● Chewing gum
● Headphones (one person always taking two pairs)
● Eye mask
● Ipod
● Lollies
● Hand sanitisers
2.4 CUSTOMER INSIGHT
Customer insight statement
Customers travel for many reasons, but mostly to escape the routine of their everyday lives.
What motivates travellers is wide a varied and is unique to each person or demographic
segment, such as the Gen Y’s tendency toward longer, but cheaper holidays.
What does stay similar are some of the idiosyncrasies of travellers, which transcends each
person’s motivation for travel, whether it be for work or personal reasons, or for domestic or
international travel.
The need to cancel and amend to booking are also themes that are consistent across
different segments.
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ASSIGNMENT 3 – CREATIVE STRATEGY MATTHEW SANTOSA
3. CREATIVE STRATEGY
3.1 ADVERTISING PROBLEM
Wotif is only good at accommodation, not airfares or holidays
The target market is not aware of Wotif’s change in strategic direction, being the extension of
their proposition from accommodation booking to holiday packages. This proposition has
been around for sometime, however customer perception indicates that this part of the
business is not well known.
Only domestic holiday makers use Wotif
Wotif has good brand awareness domestically, however international travellers are not
aware of their offering.
3.2 ADVERTISING OBJECTIVE
Create awareness and inform audience of their flight booking service
To inform target market of Wotif’s expanded service proposition which will includes holiday
packages and flight bookings.
3.3 TARGET COMPETITION
Primary competition
Digital competition
● Airbnb
● Priceline (Booking.com and Agoda)
● Webjet
Secondary competition
Travel agents with a physical footprint
● Flight Centre (including Escape Travel, Student Flight)
● Helloworld Limited (including Jetset, Harvey World Travel)
● STA Travel
Indirect competition
Holiday destinations that don’t require air travel or accommodation
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ASSIGNMENT 3 – CREATIVE STRATEGY MATTHEW SANTOSA
● Caravan parks
3.4 LIST OF PRODUCT BENEFITS
1. It’s all online
2. You can book your whole holiday (travel and accommodation)
3. You have a wide range of hotels and flights to choose from
4. You book when you want
5. It’s online so it’s cheap, and package discounts make it even cheaper.
6. You can cancel or make itinerary changes for hotel and package bookings at no cost
7. You can organise your whole holiday before your leave to give you peace of mind and
get you excited.
3.5 UNIQUE SELLING PROPOSITION
● You can cancel at any time at no cost, so there is no risk in booking straight away.
● Wotif is your own personal travel agent.
3.6 POSITIONING OF PRODUCT
Wotif is a market leader in online accommodation services and last minute booking and also
offers flight booking services. The perception of the product however is focused on
accommodation and needs to be moved to a more generalist travel booking service.
3.7 SINGLE-MINDED PROPOSITION
Escape your everyday life.
3.8 TARGET MARKET
Who are they?
● Males and females
● 18-45 years old
● They travel for work or holiday
● They want to make the most of their holiday
● They travel at least once a year
● They fly as their principal means of travel
● They are looking to travel to major Australian destinations (capital cities, beach areas)
● They are busy and do not always have access to a travel agent
● They are prudent and looking for the best deal
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● They book when they are discussing their holidays at home, after business hours
Where are we in the mind of this person?
They are aware of Wotif’s online accommodation service only.
Where is the competition in the mind of this person?
● Airbnb has less awareness but is a ‘disrupter’ and are tempting people to try
something new.
● Flight Centre has huge awareness, is known for providing value for money, and has
many stores around metropolitan areas.
Where would we like to be?
We would like to be top of mind for this target market, where they think of Wotif as a more
convenient, online version of Flight Centre – flights andaccommodation services.
3.9 CREATIVE STRATEGY STATEMENT
Objective statement
Wotif understands how travellers think. They know that sometimes you’re organised, and
sometimes you’re not. They know that when you have time to organise your flights and
accommodation online you will, but also understand that plans change.
Support statement
Wotif has been around for a long time and is a trusted online accommodation services
provider. Through their expertise in this area, they have also spent time understanding what
people want in their whole holiday experience. They have added flight bookings to
compliment their accommodation business. They also let you cancel your bookings for free.
Tone statement
The advertising needs to be personal, that they’ve lived through everything that the audience
has lived through, and therefore they know what you want when booking a holiday.
Brand character statement
The Wotif brand character will seen as for the everyday person, and lighthearted.
Creative strategy statement
Advertising will convince male and females aged 18-45 that Wotif lives in the world of the
consumer, and so they have removed cancellation fees. It will also inform the target
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ASSIGNMENT 3 – CREATIVE STRATEGY MATTHEW SANTOSA
audience that Wotif has expanded their service proposition from accommodation to holiday
packages, including flights.
Support will be their stance on no cancellation fees.
Tone will be humourous. Character of the product is funny and friendly.
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ASSIGNMENT 3 – CREATIVE STRATEGY MATTHEW SANTOSA
4. THE BIG IDEA
4.1 CONCEPT
● 30 second TVC will be used as advertising medium.
● The idea will be to communicate Wotif’s unique selling proposition – being able to
cancel your booking for any reason, at no cost.
● The dialogue will focus on the funny, real life excuses for cancelling trips that Wotif
has released recently (refer to research above).
● The dialogue “what if” will be prominent, to encourage recall.
● The focus will be on cancelling a flight booking (rather than an accommodation
booking) to bring awareness to this part of the business.
● The logo and tagline will reinforce the corporate direction of the brand, which is a
more generalist travel booking business.
4.2 TVC SCRIPT
Vision
Audio
1
Husband and wife have just decided to
cancel their flight. They are at home,
with the man sitting down at the
kitchen table, casually playing with his
iPad, and the woman has a mobile
phone in her hand, around the kitchen.
One scene, just in the house. House is
of “average” quality. Nothing
extravagant. It’s an everyday type
house. It’s quite organised.
Opens with shot of woman, calling her
mobile phone. She has just dialled
Wotif.
Cut’s back and forth to man or woman,
depending on who is delivering the
dialogue.
Woman: Hey Brad…
Man: Yyyyup? [distracted with his iPad]
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ASSIGNMENT 3 – CREATIVE STRATEGY MATTHEW SANTOSA
Cut to man thinking of excuse. Then
cut back to woman.
Woman: Do travel agencies charge fees to
cancel flights?
Man: Yeah I think so….. [gives dubious look].
Man: … well maybe they won’t if we give
them a believable excuse!
Woman: Well what do I say??…[whispering,
whilst putting hand over the microphone on
the phone, with a hurry up gesture because
the phone is connecting]
Woman: What if… [pronunciation clear with
short pause for thinking] we say we’ve come
down with cold?
Man: Well our flight doesn’t leave for 3
months, so…
Woman: Yeeah…ok… what if…. we say the
dog ate our passports?
Man: We’re going to Tasmania! [gives
quizzical look]
Woman: Dang!!!
Man: What if… you say you haven’t lost
enough weight yet to fit into your bikini?
Woman: [Death stare, silence]
Man: Ahhh… yeah [awkward reaction and
backs out of the room, hands up in the air]
2
Cut to Wotif call centre. The call
connects. Clean, organised office. Mid
twenties, attractive woman with a
handsfree headset on. Shot of her
sitting at her desk.
Cut back to woman.
Call centre: Hello, welcome to Wotif. How
can I help you today?
Woman: Ummm…
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ASSIGNMENT 3 – CREATIVE STRATEGY MATTHEW SANTOSA
3
The woman and the call centre woman
talk, but we can’t really hear what
they’re saying to each other.
Split screen with both talking at the
same time.
Background music: Lighthearted.
Voiceover: At Wotif, we don’t charge for
cancellations…. regardless of the reason
4
After several seconds, the woman
seems to be less stressed after talking
with the call centre woman.
Voiceover: So now you can get on with
booking your dream holiday, and just give us
real excuses later.
5
Cut to woman hanging up.
Cut to man walking back into the
kitchen to talk with woman.
Cut to woman
Cut to man looking anxious.
Man: So what did you tell them?
Woman: I told them my husband was
grounded and I’d be booking a holiday on my
own instead!
6.
Cut to woman, playing with her mobile
phone on the couch.
Close up of mobile phone with
womans finger swiping between
holidays within Wotif phone
application. You see the logo, and
below that you see ‘Bali’ and a picture
of a beach, and ‘Broome’ and a picture
of sunset, next to each other. Below is a
big ‘Book Now’ button, which she
presses.
Cut to close up of woman, looking
satisfied.
Wotif logo and tagline appears on top
of screen.
Voiceover: So to book your perfect getaway.
start with Wotif…. because holidays…. start
here.
Music: Ends
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ASSIGNMENT 3 – CREATIVE STRATEGY MATTHEW SANTOSA
4.3 TAG LINE
“Holidays start here.”
The word “holidays” gets to the single minded proposition of the brand – escape your
everyday life with Wotif. The words “start here” provides awareness to the consumer that
whatever your requirements, be it booking flights or just accommodation, you can get it all at
Wotif.
4.4 LOGO
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ASSIGNMENT 3 – CREATIVE STRATEGY MATTHEW SANTOSA
5. REFERENCES
Freed, J. (2015). Big rise in Chinese arrivals propelled tourism industry in August. Retrieved
from
http://www.theage.com.au/business/the-economy/big-rise-in-chinese-arrivalspropelled-tourism-industry-in-august-20151006-gk1y3o.html?skin=text-only
Johnson, A. (2015) Expedia aims to bolster Wotif brand. Retreived from
http://www.afr.com/business/tourism/expedia-aims-to-bolster-wotif-brand-
20151006-gk2x49
Jones, S. (2015). Wotif axes Wotifia fantasy world as brand adopts a ‘test and learn’ approach
to TV. Retreived from
http://mumbrella.com.au/wotif-axes-wotifia-fantasy-world-as-brand-adopts-a-tes
t-and-learn-approach-to-tv-323332
IBISworld. Online Travel Bookings in Australia, 2015. Retreived from
http://clients1.ibisworld.com.au/reports/au/industry/default.aspx?entid=4163
IBISworld. Travel Agency and Tour Arrangement Services in Australia, 2015. Retrieved from
http://clients1.ibisworld.com.au/reports/au/industry/default.aspx?entid=4163
Phocuswright. Tourism Distribution Trends, 2013. Retrieved from
http://www.tourism.australia.com/documents/corporate/Grp_4_-_Tony_Dastolfo
_Tourism_Distribution_Trends.pdf
Ryan, R (2015). Wotif reveals the weirdest cancellation excuses it’s received. Retreived from
http://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-advice/wotif-reveals-the-weirdest-cancellat
ion-excuses-its-received/story-fn6yjmti-1227301683321
Verma, N (2015). Top 10 reasons people travel. Retrieved from
http://listcrux.com/top-10-reasons-people-travel/
Wotif website. (2015). Wotif Reveals Aussie Travellers’ Flying Habits. Retrieved from
http://www.wotif.com/vc/media/travel-trends/wotif-reveals-aussie-travellers-flyin
g-habits-270
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ASSIGNMENT 3 – CREATIVE STRATEGY MATTHEW SANTOSA
APPENDIX ‘A’
Questionnaire
1. Where are you most likely to holiday next?
International travel, domestic travel
2. How do you research for your holiday?
Travel agent, online, ask friends
3. How do you book your holidays?
Travel agent, online, a bit of both
4. What do you book before your holiday? Tick all relevant.
Flights, accommodation, car hire, visa, restaurants
5. What are the most important things to you when you book accommodation? Please
choose top four.
● Range
● Good reviews
● Value for money
● Photos
● Location
● Price
● Amenities
● Packaged with flights or vehicle
● Wi-fi
6. What are the most important things to you when you fly? Please choose top four.
● Value for money
● Time of departure
● Time of arrival
● Duration of flight
● Airline brand
● Packaged with accommodation or vehicle
7. What would make you book flights and accommodation at the same time?
[text box]
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