Marketing

🍔 Bojangles is fostering long-term loyalty by amplifying word-of-mouth and analyzing customer data to understand consumption patterns and preferences. Using its mobile app, third-party delivery services, and ezCater, the chain studies variations in weekday vs. weekend behavior and identifies popular "menu hacks." The company also values insights from employees and franchisees for new product development. Personalized offers, tested regularly, help segment audiences based on loyalty to products, offers, or meal times, informing targeted marketing strategies for new, lapsed, and current guests.

✈ Ryanair partners with Paxport, its first approved OTA aggregator, enabling flight offerings to Paxport's OTA network with full price transparency. This deal grants customers access to their myRyanair account and flight updates without Ryanair's customer verification. Paxport joins approved OTAs like Expedia, Etraveli, and TUI. Dara Brady, Ryanair's CMO, and Simon Taylor, Paxport's head of commercial, express enthusiasm for the partnership, foreseeing mutual benefits and support for the travel industry.

🏨 Wowcher partners with SiteMinder to offer more deals to travellers, targeting Wowcher's 20-million-plus subscribers. UK and Irish hotels using SiteMinder can now market a wider range of rooms, tapping into Wowcher's base where up to 80% are first-time guests at featured hotels. SiteMinder's Changing Traveller Report 2023 found nearly 50% of UK travellers opt for package deals or shorter stays due to increasing prices. This integration seeks to provide exceptional value and drive incremental bookings amidst rising living costs.

📌 A majority of travelers, 57%, use social media for trip planning and sharing, with 75% under 35 and 35% aged 55+ engaging in this behavior. Travelers aged 35-54 show a significant usage rate at 63%. Content sharing is popular, with 62% of social users posting about their trips. Travel content on social media influences 62% of users in their trip decisions. Cruise travelers exhibit the highest social media usage for planning, while lodging content is less viewed despite two-thirds of users researching it.

🍸 Restaurant experts Pat Cobe and Bret Thorn recognize national food holidays as potent marketing tools amid rising costs and lowering guest counts. La Palapa, a decades-old Mexican restaurant in New York City’s East Village, received praise from Pat for its Margaritas and churros. Bret explores Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, highlighting Wheeler’s for its longstanding service and good food. New York Restaurant Week extends to a month this year, with advice to restaurants to showcase their best. Trevin Hutchins, beverage director at Aphotic in San Francisco, distinguishes the seafood restaurant with a unique beverage program featuring house-distilled gin with seaweed and in-house non-alcoholic pairings for tasting menus.

📍 Ryanair has formed a new partnership with Expedia Group, allowing Expedia to offer Ryanair flights within holiday packages or as standalone options. This follows other 2023 partnerships with lastminute.com, On the Beach, Tui, Loveholidays, Kiwi.com, and Etraveli. The collaboration, announced by Ryanair CMO Dara Brady and Expedia Group's SVP Susan Spinney, ensures customer access to myRyanair accounts and updates. Travelers can book these flights on Expedia in the upcoming months.

🏡 Sea Crest Beach Resort in North Falmouth, Massachusetts, introduces Streetscape, featuring five culinary outlets. The Lantern Room offers New England dishes and cocktails, The Hatch provides fried seafood, Buzzards Bay Pizza Co. serves traditional pizzas, Captain Scoops sells poolside ice cream, and Old Silver Provisions has a variety of offerings including coffees and pastries. The resort enhances its family-friendly appeal with a new pool and beach bar, and a 'town square' aesthetic. Streetscape is available year-round. General Manager Jay Sheldon emphasizes the resort's commitment to creating memorable experiences with these dining options.