I uploaded this sample video from Microsoft to help you understand rich media or media rich advertising: Any online ad that enables transactions (let's you buy), streaming media (that's when you watch a live concert on the 'net or the movie above), and interactive communication directly in the ad space without leaving the page where the ad is viewed. (text book definition)
Your assignment this week is to explore travel websites and identify rich media. Post the URL and tell us what the media does, and how you understand its role in the organization's marketing mix.
Please have your contribution posted by Friday at Noon, EDT - September 21.
38 comments:
The following companies goal is to sell services and products through visuals that can allow customers to see whether the product suits their preferences. Due to the vast amount of subjection to these virtual "tours", these sites provide a large market mix because of the connection it has with all easy access to users on the web.
http://www.vfmii.com/
This company provides rich media for the travel indsutry that allows hotels to attract viewers and guests to "experience" the location first. There are many hotel brands (Best Western, Choice, Crowne Plaza, Hilton, Holiday Inn, etc.) that are currently under this company that incorporates still images, virtual tours, videos, flash productions to sell their service and product to viewers and travellers.
http://us.lastminute.com/
In this particular website, the company offers TV advertisements, quizes, postcards, videos, maps, and images using flash programs.
References:
Travel website Roadtest – Content and Rich Media. (2007). Travolution. Retrieved September 17, 2007 from http://www.travolution.co.uk/Articles/2006/02/15/144/Travel+website+Roadtest+%E2%80%93+Content+and+Rich+Media.html
Galileo International To Add Still And Rich Media Image Content From VFM Interactive. (2005). Hospitality. Retrieved September 17, 2007 from Nethttp://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/4025305.print
There are many travel websites that allowed the user to purchase the hotel room or plane ticket online but does not have the streaming media and interactive communication. I have visited Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz, Worldweb, Tai-pan, and other sites that do not have a streaming media. I found that the website that had rich media drew my attention to stay and view the site longer. Some of the following websites I found below were fun and entertaining.
http://home.disney.go.com/travel/
Disney has enabled the customer to view the rich media on its website. However, in order to view the media it requires the user to have Flash Media or another form of Macromedia. There is a play list that the user can see as the media is playing, which allows them to choose which one they would like to see. The media catches your attention and excites the consumer by bringing the consumer into a moment where you wish you were there having the same exact excitement. It targets its audience in all ages, demographics, locations, and status. Customers can conveniently book or preview days they wish to visit Disneyland.
http://www.westernaustralia.com
Lonelyplant was an interesting website that leaded me to the Western Australia website. On the website there are maps, weather calendar, and information listings at the bottom of the page which allows you to learn about history, road safety and accommodations. There are videos you can see if you put your mouse on the right hand side of the page that says “See Western Australia on WAtv.” There was no interactive communication on the same page.
The small video clip helps advertise the Red Bull Air Race 2007 at Perth, Western Australia. It attracts people who are interested in watching air racing. At this event pilots faces other pilots in skill, speed, and techniques in the air and close to the land (Red bull air race, 2007). The organization’s market mix is for people who do not mind spending money on outdoor activities on the Swan River, botanic gardens, beaches, and enjoying local wine and food. People from all over the world travel to Australia, would the next person be you?
Reference:
Red bull air race. (2007). Retrieved on September 18, from http://www.redbullairrace.com/?race=16&lang=en.
http://www.hakonenavi.jp/english/
photogallery/index.html
Although this website didn't have video clips to introduce Hakone, Japan, a lot of amazing pictures are shown in the photo gallery. Those pictures can give a deep impression to those people who are planning or interested to go there.
We can tell this website has a larger market mix as it provides perfect transport instruction, it is a great advantage for travellers.
Reference:
Rich Media - Wikipedia. (2007) Retrieved September 18, 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/
index.php?title=Rich_media&redirect=no
The following site takes advantage of rich media with a collection of travel videos and ebrochures from around the world. This site is a good example of how e-marketing can be used by hospitality and tourism companies to display their product/service. Many customers like to see what they will be purchasing before a transaction occures. Videos are a great way for people to pre-test a destination before spending the money to go there. The Travel Video TV site helps make this happen.
http://www.travelvideo.tv/index.html
As competition in the hospitality industry continues to increases rich media is a tool that can set one hospitality company apart from its competitors. Incorporating rich media can help attract potential buyers to the company's site and by capturing their attention drawing them further into the page.
The company that I discovered to take advantage of online media is a Mexican vacation website called Cabo Villas. They offer brochures, virtual tours and many other kinks to help customers have a better feel for these vacation resorts.
Cabo Villas
I can't see the rich media at this site, because I have a pop up blocker.
Kristen made a very important observation. The choice of software or design can limit the effectiveness of rich media.
I found two good websites that used rich media in their marketing. I find that they are using this approach to lure a customer in and further convince them that they are indeed, the right choice to make. People have mentioned on here that customers use this as a way to see if they want the product or service the website is marketing. I think that aspect is only a minor part of it. Chances are if the person is on the website, they have a good idea of what they are looking for. At this point, the rich media is being used to further entice the customer specifically to their product or service.
The first website is Deerhurst Resort. They use a slideshow banner at the top which uses tempting descriptive words and gorgeous pictures depending on the season you click on. You are not able to stop, pause or play this slideshow. It plays on it its own and reruns itself automatically. This enables them to market their beautiful property and amenities without making people have to search and click on a picture board.
Deerhurst Resort
The second website I found with another good example of rich media was the official travel planning site of tourism in British Columbia. If you scroll to the bottom of the page they have included a full, almost four minute video of scenery and activities you can be involved in when you make a trip to BC. Again, I believe this is used to further attract a customer. I also believe it would be a good tool to sell "add ons" to a customer. If a customer is already sure they want to go to B.C., they might watch this video and decide to add a mountain hiking excursion or a helicopter ride and so on, to their trip.
Hello BC
whistlerblackcomb.com
Is a great Rich Media site, it contains video clips, live web cam feed images of what's going on at Whistler, Blackcomb, Whistler Peak and the Village. It displays live temperature and snow reports. Patrons can buy their lift tickets on-line and also make reservations for accommodations.
While the idea of Whistler sells itself, this website makes it accessible by anyone. It entices and encourages people from many different marketing angles; family travel, adventure travel, leisure travel, etc. All in all it is a very thorough, user friendly site, which is ideal for attracting a broad audience.
The 21st century has thrown the travel and hospitality industry a new curve ball, the death of the travel agents. Hard working people like you and me have cut the middle man out and have started booking our own vacations by going directly to the service provider. This was an issue of concern for service providers who often relied on travel agents to “sell” their services to travelers by providing brochure, pictures and testimonies about travel experience. Service providers rushed at the opportunity to make “interactive” web sites for patrons to book on, but those initial attempts created generic websites that did not do the vacation or service any justice and were lacking the “personal” touch.
With the arrival of Web 2.0 and other web based innovations we have seen the evolution of the travel and hospitality websites; nowadays upon entering a travel website we are greeted with videos, restaurants, chef or even citizen of the day, podcasts, RSS and many other things I still have no idea what they do and mean. It’s a matter of time before the internet truly becomes our eyes, ears and nose and lets us experience the world!
a la Montreal
As soon as one opens up the webpage, their eyes are drawn to interactive header showcasing local activities and attractions. The website is well laid out and easy on the eyes, all the information for travelers to the city in organized and one doesn’t feel overwhelmed with data and information. The website also boasts weekly a la Montreal podcast and a la Montreal Blog about the city. The tabs above the header let visitors to the website select and browse specific information regarding the city.
This website does its best to present Montreal’s rich history with a modern flare. Visitors to the site are treated to an interactive e-brochure listing promotions in the city and price for accommodations and most importantly places a lasting image of the hospitality and people of the city.
Some sites other than travel websites that caught my eyes:
Retailers have been the pioneers in using interactive and rich media to showcase products. Nokia for example allows browsers to their website the ability “play” with their latest phones before the product even enter a certain market. Nokia E61; one can move the product around as if it was in your hand. This allows the buyers to create a bond with the product being showcased and hopefully a urge to buy the product.
As most of you’ll know; I LOVE the Toronto Raptors. But the Portland Trailblazer is a website that is revolutionizing how sport websites should be! It is a truly interactive website that allows the community and basketball fans to connect with the team. Fans are able to blog, receive daily podcasts and almost interact with their Favorite Player.
I will be de-constructing a website that I am now quite familiar with. Past sous chefs that I have worked with had at one point in time either completed stagieres (apprentices) here or had worked along side Michael Caines, the executive chef. I am also particularly fond of this establishment because of its 2 Michelin-Star status. I had always thought it was a well laid out website but now after learning about Rich Media it makes this site that more enjoyable.
Gidleigh Park
This particular website goes above and beyond including Rich Media into their website. By first showing visitors on the opening page breathtaking pictures of Gidleigh Park is how the webmaster accomplishes including Rich Media and keeps users from clicking “back” or “X”. The first picture slowly transforms into other pictures showcasing the country house, the different rooms and the breathtaking view one could expect to see out of their window. The best part of the website is that if you navigate throughout the website they keep to the same theme of showcasing pictures of the different services and amenities offered on the top of the webpage. What really grabbed my intention and really made this website stand out amongst the rest is the simplicity. My motto is “plain and simple”, very cliché I know but as a frequent internet user I do not waste my time on websites that are overly busy, hard to navigate through and have annoying repetitive music playing in the background that is really hard to turn off! KUDOS for that!
Being quite familiar with the website and the operation as a whole I know that Gidleigh Park directly caters to people of wealth, status and have an appreciation for fine dining and stunning wine lists. A visitor can expect to pay $480 GBP a night for room stay and a three course dinner is about $85 GBP which just goes to show the amount of money people have that are staying here and how the website is a direct reflection of the actually property while staying true to its marketing mix. This information is useful to know because if the establishment has a high ranking of 2 Michelin-Stars the website will definitely be a reflection of this. The website is designed in such a way that is EASY for the visitor to navigate through and be able to look up room prices, browse current menus and answer any and all questions relating to the property all while being appealing to the visitor. If users were not able to easily book a room or look anything up they are not just limited to this website they can easily google search another property and if it is easy to book they will not hesitate. It would not make sense to have a website that did not showcase the beauty of the property as well as this one is which is created by Lionheart is able to.
ryszard.b
Is a slide show of the top 5 featured stories/articles on a travel website considered Rich Media?
Given the recent talk about Gay and Lesbian travel in the media/our online adventures at George Brown College, and the nieghborhood in which I work, I decided to check out
https://www.gay.com/travel/
Right in the middle of the page there is a slide show showing the top 5 Gay Travel stories/articles. I found that this was consistant throughout each link on the site. Everyting from the top 5 Gay Travel cities to the top 5 cruise destinations.
This use of Rich Media makes the site and it's links much easier for the viewer to "surf" what is going on in Gay Travel without even needing to press a key. I for one can be rather impatient, so the use of this style of Rich Media is great for me.
The following websites below has successfully utilize rich media as one of its marketing and selling tool (aside from the website itself) to attract customers. Both websites have done amazing jobs at informing potential consumers of what products/services are available. Take Vacation.com for instance, a continuous clip of beautiful attractions and destinations are being played. This allows the customers to have glimpses of their vacations. These glimpses are then considered as ‘tangible product’ in the minds of consumers. It can be also referred to as ‘security blankets.’
Both companies clearly understand that “Time is Money” and they only have few seconds to impress customers. Within the first five seconds, company must sell its products and services to the customer since there are many competitors in the hospitality industry. In many cases, companies have been using effective technology, such as, streaming videos which gives a quick tour of what they have to offer. Also, if companies make customers click another link to download video and make customers wait again for completion, chances are, customers will go elsewhere.
Before creating videos, it is crucial to understand your customers. In order to do so, companies must consider the following:
1. Who are you customers (students, family, honeymooners)?
2. What is the purpose of their trip (romantic getaway, business, leisure)?
3. Where would they want to go based on Who and What
Based on these 3 factors, companies should then go ahead and put the images accordingly.
Another great travel website that exploits rich media would be Experience Halifax this websites advertises special events and activities for the year.
Larissa, I visited us.lastminute.com and couldn't find any of the rich mediay you mentioned. Would you please direct me to the page where I could find the postcards.
One thing a good e-marketer keeps in mind is that you shouldn't bury your rich media. You need to make it easy to find.
Heather I visited http://www.travelvideo.tv/index.html
The site took too long to load its video of Auckland. When I arrived on the homepage I was ready to leap in and explore. I was prepared to invest some of my personal time watching the video. I left the page after having had to wait 20 seconds for the video to load. Your choice was an excellent example of a rich media site, and the problems that accompany the integration of rich media.
http://disney.go.com/index
Rich media or interactive media are great ways to capture someone’s attention. It allows the viewer to let the product come to life. One may envision themselves with the experience that is displayed by the rich media such as streaming media and interactive communication. Therefore, a producer can have a competitive advantage over their competition if the website presents rich media, which overall attracts clients.
The website below (flying kiwi) is a great example of how the producer exhibits the product by showing real interactive pictures, videos, and connective communication of New Zealand adventure. In the travel industry, many people are indecisive on what destination to choose. By revealing rich media on the products website, this can increase the vision and excitement of the viewer. Rich media stimulates the idea of the product, thus is pertinent to e-marketers in the hospitality and tourism industry.
flyingkiwi:
VFM Interactive:
Rich media or media rich advertising is a great marketing tool and a great source of communication. It is astonishing how fast technology has grown and developed. Rich media is a great source of communication, because with it, messages can be conveyed more easily; people can capture moments or events the way they viewed it. Overall it is a medium that attracts the user and the audience.
The purpose of rich media advertising, especially in VFM Interactive’s marketing mix is to make viewers aware and to entice them to purchase the products/services that the audience observes on the VFM Interactive site, which would then benefit the suppliers who are placing video clips, and practically advertising the products/services they intend to sell. Furthermore, rich media advertising is used to attract consumers who use the Internet (FAQ, 2006).
In terms of the marketing mix, the media helps control these marketing factors for the following reasons. Society is constantly exposed to media through illustrations, animations, and videos (FAQ, 2006). Visitors to websites such as VFM Interactive can clearly view before hand what kind of services/products they can expect to receive or purchase at reasonable prices through the Internet. By viewing the hotels level of cleanliness, the service, the quality, the amenities, its locations, and more, it convinces patrons to decide which hotel/s they want to stay at (FAQ, 2006). Moreover, since suppliers can be found also in other sites, it provides for more credibility and if hotels allow for images of the destination to be viewed, it creates a certain level of reputation and quality of service that hotels need to maintain if they want to succeed in this very competitive industry (FAQ, 2006).
Work Cited
FAQ. (2006). Retrieved September 17, 2007, from VFMinteractive Web site: http://www.vfmii.com/knowledge.html
Please excuse the previous “anonymous” post. I was trying to figure out how to create a live thread.
Rich text media is a great way to create a focus for your product. By placing streaming media on the home page it attracts the customer’s attention immediately to special promotions, new attractions or even creates hype for an existing product. Rich media is also a great way to inform the guest quickly about important information without them having to read through a large amount of text. It can create opportunity to indirectly sell a product or up sell.
Disney, has used an great deal of streaming media on each of their main pages to promote their new products. When visiting each of the different main pages the streaming media is targeted to that specific category of product. I believe that this is a great way of creating excitement for the guest and potential customer. They get to experience a bit of their adventure prior to the purchase!
Disney
There are many famous sightseeing countries. South Korea and Turkey try to be one of them because tourism revenue will be a good source of income; therefore, the government tries to attract as many international visitors as possible. As a result, the ministry of culture and tourism do their best to advertise the package catered to a foreign tourist. Running website for a tourist is part of it. The website is really something. All you need to do is a click. Everything is at your finger tip. It uses many different tools to introduce the country. It has video clips, commercials, flash video, flash animation, wallpaper, poster, and photo galley. I think it is enough to make people visit the country. It is informative and dynamic. That is what rich media is for. I am sure these two website is really good example of rich media. Once again, rich media is a really effective way of conveying travel information.
Tour 2 Korea
Turkey welcomes you
The link below is a good example of rich media. I found this website very easy to use, and with lots of information for its viewers.
http://www.ontariotravel.net
When you click on the desired sections (Travel Experiences, Destinations, Video Ideas, etc.) You will find the rich media located at the top of the page. It uses expressions such as "The Smell of Summer", "Explore, Experience, Enjoy" and "Listen to the Night". The home page has an interactive media, and with one click it takes you to a new rich media webpage where more information is provided.
I found this website gave a lot of good information, and was very easy to use. This makes it more appealing for someone wishing to have more information about Ontario, and to help them decide when and where they should travel within this province.
The follow link is for NovaScotia.com. Here one will find all types of travel/tourism information about the Atlantic province.
Specifically, the link I've provided has rich media ads that detail the many sites and attractions found within Nova Scotia.
NovaScotia.com
When researching the net for a Reggae production type event I came a cross a provider that enlisted flash media to promote a tribute to Bob Marley tour -'Roots Rock Reggae'.
http://www.knackimaging.com/roots/
In this link knack imaging, the company that is hosting the virtual sponsorship to the event, allows the user to feature a tangible sample of what various acts can be found on the tour such as Damien Marley, Julian Marley, Kamani Marley, Ziggy Marley, Stephen Marley, and the Maytels while accompanying audio and visuals from some of Bob Marley's greatest hits. Knack imaging also utilizes Internet Based Communication Tools, Rich Media, and Marketing/Communications Support. to gain further acknowledgment of it's web based products.
The following website is the best of travel websites that allow its users to interact with their sites easily and enjoyably. The sites offer an array of interactive medias from transactional to streamed. The importance of interactive rich media is to lure the user into using and/or playing with it. keeping them interested in what your company has to offer. I find that todays generations have a lower attention span then previous generations, so the new rich interactive medias are perfect in keeping the low attention spanned user at bay.
http://www.webaward.org/winners_detail.
asp?yr=all&award_level=best&category=Travel
Rich media provides two distinct challenges today. The first is deciding on a rich media strategy that will attract your webpage visitors rather than annoy them, while the second, in my opinion, is defining rich media itself.
As quickly as the internet develops, so do marketing strategies. Gone are the days when simple photos and a few links comprise a page; todays era marks a battle between fully immersed "web locales" such as this site, which leaves the visitor to try to figure out how to navigate it, and this page, which uses similar techniques to create a very simple and effective browsing experience.
Regardless of the method chosen, the real challenge lies in captivating the audience in a non-obtrusive and entertaining manner. More than anything, this relies on strong knowledge of your customer base, and a creative approach to your e-marketing.
Sandals Resorts has employed a strategy using unobtrusive hi-resolution images put forth in a gentle slide-show showcasing the beauty of their resorts. The guest is presented with one of these slideshows upon arriving at the Sandals Resorts homepage, after which the guest has the option of selecting particular properties ion the chain, and viewing the slide-show for that particular property, individual photos, videos, and/or maps, all pertaining to the property of interest. I feel that the Sandals website plays a major role in their marketing strategy, maybe only coming in second to word of mouth.
Another rich media implementation that I found particularly entertaining was this ad, which I hope that you find entertaining.
Kevin Leung suggested that we visit the web award site. Good on ya, mate. There is much to explore. The site even has a Travel category.
Kevin thanks for suggesting it, because this site provides me an opportunity to point out some credibiity issues:
1) Read what they write about themselves. No names, no addresses and no industry credentials that validate their awards.
2) When you visit the page that announces the winning travel site: Puerto Rico Tourism - there is no active hyperlink to the winning site. Very bad e-marketing, and another indication that Web Award is suspect.
3) Scroll down and read the fine print. You can "pay" to have an award made to hang on your wall. That is a form of "vanity" selling. A 'come on' that completely undermines the credibility of the site.
http://www.gapadventures.com/
This website displays a couple of rich media exmaples. On it's home page, GAP Adventures has a slideshow of pictures from all over the world. These images get viewers excited about travelling but do not appear credible or offer a credible image for the company.
Aside from the images on the home page the rest of site appears credible and full of rich media. There are many interactive components such as search tools, slideshows, testimonials and trips for sale.
This site also has information on how to be apart of the facebook group that GAP Adventures has created. With that being said, GAP Adventures obviosuly understands the importance of competitive advantage, benchmarking and accomodating its target market. Rich media is a growing and competitive form of marketing. It is important for those companies who choose to invest time and money into rich media to maintain their work with highly functioning and interactive components that will entice visitors to explore all areas of their site.
Since I'm very interested in my Italian Culture i decided to find a tourism website for the province I used to live in when i was in Italy. I used to live in "la provinca di frosinone" (also known as LA Ciociaria). This website allows viewers to experience "La Ciociaria" through the picture gallery, video gallery, events traditions, events, and much more. This tourism website provides great rich media because in the video gallery they post current and upcoming events with a great video. When i was in Italy this summer a town close to where I was staying hosted a Lyrical Event and i found a video on this event in the video gallery.
Here it is:
Casamari Lyrical Festival
It also lists the cities which are apart of La Ciociaria. I was so excited because it listed also my town (Veroli). Below is the link to this website. It is a user friendly wesite that provides great rich media that allows viewers to experience this part of Italy even before they decided to go. It is a great website that informs the viewer on what to do and see while they are there.
La Ciociaria
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