Platform launched for travel brands to gather user generated content

A storytelling platform has been launched to help agents use first personal customer stories to help drive sales and reach new clients. Continue reading →

A storytelling platform has been launched to help travel brands find first-person personal customer stories to help drive sales and reach new clients.

The user generated content on DISCVR will be able to be used on websites, social media channels, via email and offline.

Used by airline Qantas and train ticket platform Voyages SNCF, the platform is piggybacking the rise in the use of personal stories in marketing.

Managing director Eddie Bent came up with the idea to help his travel clients put the best of their online customer feedback across the whole spectrum of digital and offline marketing channels.

The new tool offers encouragement and incentives to customers to share their holiday stories onto the DISCVR Campaign Builder. With permission from each customer, the resulting content can be used to create themed story walls, publish stories to Facebook and website landing pages and can be exported offline for e-shots etc.

Qantas used it to focus on Australians living in the UK. Customers were asked to share what they missed most about home with a prize of flights to Australia for a family of four for the winning entry.

It generated more than 900 authentic customer stories with more than 55% opting in to receive future communication from Qantas. Of the entrants, 58% visited the campaign website more than three times and a post-campaign survey suggested 44% had booked, intended to book or had recommended Qantas to a family or friend.

Bent said: “We aren’t expecting all users to incentivise their customers in such a major way, but experience shows that even with smaller prizes, the engagement with campaigns is significant. Unlike the current trend for scraping social media sites for hashtagged stories, it comes without the challenge of dealing with customers who may not have given permission for their content to be repurposed”.

DISCVR is available on a free trial with monthly costs starting from £125 and can be tailored to suit the individual requirements of travel brands and tour operators.