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MarketFlash

	March 23, 2009

	: ACCOUNTS ON THE MOVE : CAMPAIGNS - VIRGIN AMERICA : STRATEGIES - AMERICAN EXPRESS : ONLINE - PRICELINE.COM :
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	Upcoming Events: ATME NEWS  & EVENTS Check out latest issue of Travel Marketing Decisions (TMD) at www.atme.org 2009 Renewals -- It's EASY to RENEW ONLINE! Renew Your 2009 Membership Now. Please process your 2009 membership renewal.  Make sure we have your correct contact information.  Renew by clicking on the Renew link above. ATME Events - All ATME Events to date in 2009 have been Sold Out! The reason? ATME is focusing on helping travel marketers deal with smaller budgets, find potential new markets, retain old customers, find new ways to track marketing dollars and ROI -- and marketers are taking notice.   February 12-13, 2009 - ATME Executive Think Tank,  Inbound Chinese Market The PowerPoint Presentations are now available at www.atme.org. ATME Annual Conference May 27-28, 2009, Theme: A Focus on Basics, An Eye on Opportunity, Green Valley Ranch Resort, Casino & Spa, Las Vegas Registration Now Open. Early Bird Rates thru April 16th. www.atme.org

	ACCOUNTS ON THE MOVE THE TURKISH TOURIST BOARD awarded Global Advertising Strategies and Turkish-based agency OYKU its North American Tourism campaign. (Mediapost) DELTA AIR LINES is reviewing creative duties on its advertising account, with five shops meeting with company executives this week, sources said. Contenders include Omnicom Group's BBDO, Publicis Groupe's Saatchi & Saatchi, WPP Group's Ogilvy & Mather, Interpublic Group's Deutsch and independent Wieden + Kennedy. Saatchi is said to be partnering with sister shop Digitas, Delta's lead creative agency globally. The carrier consolidated its global creative duties at Digitas early last year, after working in the U.S. with SS+K. Delta last year spent $20 million in major measured U.S. media on its namesake brand, down 44 percent from 2007's total of $36 million, according to Nielsen Monitor Plus. This does not include online spend. (Brandweek) HOTELS.COM is shifting creative duties on its account to the Chicago office of Young & Rubicam from TBWA\Chiat\Day here, according to an article in Adweek. The move comes after client executives asked both Omnicom Group's TBWA\C\D and WPP Group's Y&R for ideas on the brand's next campaign, said sources. Last year, the online hotel-booking site spent about $42 million in major measured media -- down 32 percent from 2007's total of $62 million, according to Nielsen Monitor-Plus. Those figures do not include online spending. The creative shift does not affect Hotels.com's media account, which remains at independent TargetCast in New York, said sources.  (Adweek) CAMPAIGNS - VIRGIN AMERICA VIRGIN AMERICA Under its new "Flydealism" campaign, Virgin America aims to remind travelers that flying can be a great experience. The airline is creating a faux movement “to reinvent the domestic airline experience and ban mediocrity from the skies.” Ads tout the heroes and heroines of air travel in print, outdoor and online executions. The Virgin America flag is central to each. For example, one ad called “For the people,” shows a swarm of potential customers following a wildly attractive flag carrier. Eleven Inc. is the agency. Virgin America, of which Richard Branson's Virgin Group is a minority share investor, launched in 2007. It currently flies to eight major U.S. cities. It will be the first to offer WiFi fleetwide by Q2 and also offers the “Red” touchscreen system that includes an interactive food menu and 25 in-demand films. The airline claims 88 percent of its fliers said they would recommend Virgin Americas to a friend. “This campaign puts a stake in the ground; it’s a thank you to our fans and a commitment that we’ll continue to fight for a better experience in the industry,” said Porter Gale, vp, marketing at Virgin America in a statement. Virgin America spent $700,000 on U.S. media in 2008 (not including online), per Nielsen Monitor-Plus. The company said it spent up to $10 million on marketing last year. (Adweek)

	STRATEGIES - AMERICAN EXPRESS AmEx Launching Travel Guide for Cash-Strapped Consumers American Express Publishing is bringing back a multiplatform travel guide program that it launched last year with Time Inc. and CNN. But while last year’s initiative covered nine U.S. cities, including New York, Boston and Los Angeles, this year’s will focus on short hauls, reflecting the economy’s dampening effect on consumer travel.  This year’s initiative will be called Weekend Getaways, with a focus on trips accessible from major cities in the Northeast, Southwest and West.   Last year’s City Guides represented the most extensive cross-sales collaboration by the three media companies. Like the 2008 effort, this year’s will live in print and on TV and online and have luxury car maker Infiniti as the sole sponsor.   A new element this year is a sweepstakes that will give people the chance to win a trip to one of the nine featured destinations. The contest will be promoted on-air, in print and online and also be Infiniti-sponsored.     Similar to last year’s program, pullout booklets will run this year in copies of AmEx’s Travel + Leisure, Food & Wine and Departures and Time Inc. titles Fortune, Money and Time Style & Design.   CNN will air related segments on its networks starting March 21. The network also will provide tips, news, information and video on its Web site and mobile site. (Mediaweek)

	ONLINE - PRICELINE.COM William Shatner, Priceline.com Take on the Economy A far cry from his days as Captain Kirk taking on space aliens, William Shatner returns this week to battle the economy in a new Priceline.com TV campaign. In his longest running role, Shatner enters year 11 as the discount travel site’s celebrity spokesperson. The first new spot shows a middle-aged couple about to enter a hotel when they are captured and thrown into a van by two female agents. There they find Shatner who chastises them by saying: “I could have found a better deal in my sleep, if I slept.” In his third year as the “Negotiator,” he will be promoting the fact that Priceline.com’s “Name your own price” travel products can help consumers save half off of hotels. Tag: “No one deals like we do.” Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners, Sausalito, Calif., handles. “These are unsettling times, and people need to know that it’s OK, even good for them, to take time off and take a vacation,” said Shatner in a statement. “The Negotiator reassures them that an affordable getaway is still within their reach.” Priceline.com spent $36 million on U.S. media for the first 10 months of last year (excluding online), per Nielsen Monitor-Plus. In 2007, it spent $35 million. Print and online ads support the new effort.

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	MarketFlash is published in email web & print versions for the Association of Travel Marketing Executives, Inc. (ATME) and is copyright protected. Written & Edited by Brook Zern & Kristin Zern of Zern Associates, Inc. The Association of Travel Marketing Executives PO Box 3176, West Tisbury, MA 02575

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