The Australian travel industry has had a rocky past few years, and we’re not just talking about covid. Australia has found itself struggling with floods, bushfires, storms, cyclones, and a variety of other weather events that have impacted people’s ability and capacity to travel. 

These crises will typically occur in one part of the country at a time, leaving the rest (and the region’s respective travel industries) available for travel to continue. However, the news and reality of the disasters still continue, making travel marketing particularly tricky.

The worst nightmare for a travel brand is an advertisement promoting a destination or product and the destination showing up next to news of a crisis in the same destination, or an advertisement appearing promoting a destination very similar to an area impacted by disaster. This can seem somewhat cruel and insensitive at a time when the locals and the region’s travel industry are not in a place where it can care for itself, let alone facilitate travellers.

And this problem is not limited to one time or place. As natural disasters, unfortunately, become more commonplace, it’s helpful for travel marketers to understand how to effectively market destinations without being insensitive to ongoing issues.

This is where we can help travel marketers advertise their product or destination while being conscious of current disasters. Audience360 understands how some destinations are highly prone to the impacts of severe weather events and therefore we aim to utilise data to target the right person, in the right region with advertising that’s geared towards an appropriate destination.

Through specific ad placements and avoiding a broad ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach, we target individuals in a manner that advertises for that person in mind. This approach avoids brand degradation and yields advertisers a higher return on investment.

Audience360 Traveller Profile

An instance where this problem was pertinent was during the summer bushfires of 2019/20 where we helped clients who were worried about how to sensitively and effectively advertise while much of NSW was struggling with the disaster. We utilised real-time activation to appropriately advertise to those who were capable of travel and then advertised destinations and products that weren’t impacted by the bushfire.

While remaining transparent with our data and connecting with potential customers in a way that is not intrusive, Audience360 allows travel marketers to appropriately advertise their products to the right people at the right time.

To find out more about how we can help businesses advertise effectively and appropriately amid natural disasters, get in touch.