News for the Hospitality Executive |
Sir Martin Sorrell�s Forecast for 2010,
Is Your Hotel Looking Ahead?
November
10, 2009 - Sir Martin Sorrell finally appeared at Ad Tech NY this year,
after turning down the invitations of the last three years. He opened Ad
Tech with his keynote presentation on �What�s coming in 2010.� He focused
on New Markets, New Media, and Consumer Insights.
Sir Martin Sorrell is the founder of WPP, one of the world�s leading communications services groups and a member of the FTSE-100, FTSE-Eurotop 300, the MSCI and BusinessWeek�s Global 1000 companies. GroupM, JWT, Ogilvy and Mather, Young & Rubicam and Grey are all part of the WPP Group. Sir Martin holds an MBA from Harvard University Graduate School of Business Administration and an Honorary Doctorate from London Guildhall University. He is on the Board of Dean�s Advisers of Harvard Business School, and on the Board of the Indian School of Business. He is a governor of London Business School, a member of the advisory board of IESE in Spain, and also on the Dean�s Advisory Council for Boston University School of Management, and Deputy Chairman, London Business School. Sir Martin was under the impression that he would be speaking to a small intimate group ad Ad Tech but that was not the case as the large room was completely filled. He chose not to have a formal presentation on stage, and instead he walked through the crowd as spoke about the future of advertising in today�s changing landscape and how to work with these changes. We have compiled Sir Martin�s thoughts on the topics below and how they are relevant to your hotel. Sir Martin�s Forecast Mobile Phones
He stated that China and India have the largest growth rate in mobile and that the corporation China Mobile rated number 5 in the top most powerful valuable brands in the world. He said that growth in mobile in the more traditional markets of Western Europe are led by the following five countries; The U.K., France, Germany, Italy and Spain. As far as WWP is concerned, he stated that mobile advertisements have not been as successful as quickly as they would like to see. Change from Traditional Agencies
�People who run agencies tend to be resistant to change. If you spend 10 to 20 years trying to get to the top, you don�t want to change. You want to spend the last 3 years of your time to go around the world and enjoy yourself with some stability. The last thing you want to do, as I do, is get up and deal with massive change every day,� said Sir Martin. Recession
However he encouraged companies to invest in brands in times like these and said they will come out stronger when the recession is over. He stated that corporations are more open to digital media now because it gives them quantitative opportunities to evaluate spending in ways they never have before. Growth and L-U-V
In regards to economic recovery Sir Martin stated that the world is operating at different speeds and he referred to the idea of L-U-V, first coined on a blog entry by Stella Dawson, Treasury correspondent of Reuters. L-U-V is meant to represent economic recovery in the following way: � The L-shape represents the recovery in Western Europe where there is slow recovery after a long drop.New Markets, New Media & Consumer Insights Sorrell said if he had to sum up WWP strategy in one sentence it would be: New Markets, New Media, and Consumer Insight. � New Markets
Sorrell said that every single client they deal with is focusing on those parts of the world for growth. He said that 26% of WPP business was in these countries and he predicts that will increase. � New Media
� Consumer Insights
He referred to a market research project his company will be doing with Google on validating the importance of web-based marketing. Sorrell stated that he believed that Google has become even more important in the last 6 months as they have focused more on core products of Search and Mobile Search. Sorrell also brought up product overcapacity and stated that most industries, such as the auto industry, is working with an overcapacity of products. He also stated that there is an under capacity of talented workers and he expects that this will worsen as a huge part of the population begins to retire. Growth in Retail
Doing Good is Doing Good Business
Governments Have Become Major Clients
Branding
Internal Communication & Structural Change
He said it was true that companies are becoming more global, it is true that we are seeing consolidations, but as companies become larger and become more complicated, at a country level there is still an intriguing role for country managers. We are not going to go back where we were 10, 15, or 20 years ago, but we are going to see country managers almost as ambassadors, or stronger, dealing with governments, dealing with technological change, dealing with CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility), dealing with education, and dealing with research & development at a company level. See video at end of this article of Sir Martin Sorrell discussing this topic. What�s the Role of the Agency in the Changing Landscape?
What Does This Mean for the Hotel Industry? Much of what Sir Martin discussed is very relevant to the hotel industry. Although he didn�t discuss specific industries let�s look at what his forecasts for the future can mean to your hotel. Incorporate Mobile Phones in Your Marketing Budget
Expand to New Markets and The BRIC Countries
At the Global Travel & Tourism Summit last May, Luiz Barretto, Brazil�s Minister of Tourism stated the following about the travel industry in Brazil: The flow of international tourism also rose in 2008. More than 5 million foreigners visited Brazil last year, leaving here almost US$6 billion, or 16.8% more than in 2007 � an historic record.Brazil is also preparing for the 2014 FIFA World Cup and it is estimated that it will bring in 500,000 overseas tourists. Then of course there is the 2016 Summer Olympics. According to CNN the games will be held in four zones with varying socioeconomic characteristics; Barra, Copacabana, Maracana, and Deodoro. Market Your Hotel With New Media
Consumer Insights
Interact with your guests in social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Read their reviews of your hotel on review sites such as Trip Advisor and respond. Find out who they are, what they like, where they spend their time. When you know who your guests are you can target your message to them in the places where they go, online and offline. Go Green � Go Global
Branding
Watch Video
Below is a clip from Ad Tech of Sir Martin Sorrell�s presentation.
If you would like to learn more about Internet Marketing for the Hospitality Industry please call at 978-465-5955 or send an e-mail to [email protected] O�Rourke Hospitality Marketing, 44 Merrimac Street, Newburyport, MA 01950. www.orourkehospitality.com. |
Contact:
O�Rourke Hospitality Marketing
|
.