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Charlottesville’s Social Media Strategy Lures Fans, Visitors

Published December 17, 2013 | By Clark Norton

Monticello, Thomas Jefferson”s home, is just outside Charlottesville and one of its prime attractions. Photo by Clark Norton

Having recently spent a week in Charlottesville, Virginia, home to Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello and the Jefferson-designed University of Virginia among other terrific places for baby boomer travelers to visit, I was intrigued to learn that the Charlottesville Albemarle Convention & Visitors Bureau (CACVB) has been garnering all kinds of awards for its marketing efforts on social media.

Just a few days ago, the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) announced that the CACVB’s social media campaign had won a prestigious Adrian Gold Award, which honors outstanding achievements in advertising, public relations and digital marketing in the travel industry.

The CACVB has also taken home awards this year for “Best Public Relations Initiative” and “Best Online Marketing Campaign” from the Virginia Association of Convention & Visitors Bureaus, as well as a… Continue reading →

Posted in Baby boomer travel, Cities, Marketing | Tagged baby boomer marketing strategies, baby boomer travel, baby boomer travelers, baby boomers and tourism, Charlottesville Albemarle Convention & Visitors Bureau, Charlottesville Virginia, Facebook, marketing baby boomer travel, selling travel to baby boomers, social media maerketing, travel marketing, traveling baby boomers | 2 Comments

Can Virtual Travel Draw Real Visitors to Cape Town?

Published June 25, 2013 | By Clark Norton

Cape Town offers spectacular coastal scenery. Photo from Cape Town Travel

Cape Town Tourism, charged with enticing visitors to its beautiful city at the southern tip of Africa, is winning awards for creative use of social media and digital marketing in a recent advertising campaign that doubled as a Facebook game and contest.

Teaming with the ad agency Ogilvy & Mather, Cape Town Tourism invited Facebook users to send their virtual profiles on a “holiday” to Cape Town.

Based on users’ answers to various questions, their Facebook profiles could then experience customized itineraries in the South African city, with the players receiving regular illustrated updates on how their profiles were spending their virtual time seeing the sights and perhaps relaxing at the beach.

Those enrolled in the game — more than 8,000 players in all, who hailed from South Africa, the UK, the U.S., Canada, India, Germany and elsewhere —… Continue reading →

Posted in Baby boomer travel, Cities, Marketing | Tagged baby boomer tours, baby boomer travel, baby boomer travel trends, baby boomer travelers, baby boomers, baby boomers and tourism, boomers, branding, Cape Town, Facebook, marketing baby boomer travel, South Africa, travel, travel marketing, traveling baby boomers | Leave a comment

According to government and private surveys:

Leading-edge baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1955) and seniors account for four out of every five dollars spent on luxury travel today.
Roughly half the consumer spending money in the U.S.--more than $2 trillion--is in the hands of leading-edge baby boomers and seniors.
Baby boomers (born 1946-1964) travel more than any other age group.
When asked what they would most like to spend their money on, baby boomers answered “travel” more than any other category, including improving their health or finances.