TCS & Starquest Expeditions had been in business for 20 years and their primary sales channel was mailing millions of direct mail brochures a year to past travelers (even deceased) and purchased lists. They had no brand identity or recognition because they had been marketing their ultra-luxury private jet expeditions under the brands of partners like National Geographic, Smithsonian, the Four Seasons, and major universities in the United States. Their primary customer base had an average age of 80 and had traveled frequently in the past, but was traveling significantly less. The list was stale and sales were declining. There was no website, no content marketing, and no email or digital marketing. 

The Challenge
When I arrived in 2011, marketing brochures and the marketing approach had not changed for more than 20 years. The copy was very tactical and covered the logistics of the trip, but was dated (gold palette to connote 80s luxury), contained no storytelling, and did not convey the magic of the ultra-luxury products, which ranged in price from $60,000 to $120,000 per person for a two week trip. There was also no email or digital marketing program, no lead generation program, a lack of continuity in the lists purchased, no established editorial process, and the brochure production schedule was months behind.  

When I arrived in 2011, the company had: 

• No brand advertising strategy 
• A marketing strategy centered on millions of print brochures sent to purchased lists 
• A customer list on an Excel spreadsheet
• No brand recognition even in the local market and a confusing name that was two previous companies stuck together 
• Brochures that had not been redesigned in more than 20 years 
• No history of lead generation efforts and no prospecting collateral; they were mailing expensive 24 page brochures to people who were not income qualified and had never heard of the company  
• An amateurish static website that detracted from the brand, did not function on mobile platforms, and contained archaic HTML, duplicate title tags and even a secondary hidden Web site structure that thwarted SEO efforts 
• No social media presence 
• No email marketing program or loyalty communications • An aging database with no segmentation , no CRM, and no data on best customers 
• An outdated “spray and pray” print brochure mailing strategy with a reliance on purchased lists for expensive brochure mailings 
• More than 400 different versions of brochures per year in small print runs for 60 affinity sales partners 
• Declining sales to the affinity channel  
• No direct sales channel or customer loyalty communications 
• A total lack of brand recognition; the travel writer for the local newspaper had never heard of the company, even though it had been in existence for 20 years  
• A budget that was primarily weighted on print brochure mailings (80%)  
• A chaotic editorial and production process that often took 10 rounds of proofs to create one brochure  
• No designated roles on the team and a lack of project management expertise  

Mission

My mandate was to reduce the number of print brochures in the mail stream (budgeted at more than $3 million), get the brochure production back on schedule, establish a pipeline of new customers and a lead generation system, track the impact of the brochures, and launch a digital marketing program.   

Accomplishments

It was a busy three years. I rebuilt the team, the marketing strategy and process, and all marketing collateral.  

Staffing 

• Built a new team of 12 with digital and content expertise
• Hired a project manager and traffic coordinator 
• Defined discrete editorial roles  
• Reduced the proofing cycles from 10 to three 
• Hired an editor, social media coordinator, and campaign manager

Brand 

• Launched a new brand name and color palette 
• Wrote brand guidelines 
• Developed a logo  

Creative operations 

• Optimized creative processes 
• Got the brochures back on schedule 
• Initiated a lifecycle marketing program and a best customer model
• Incorporated content marketing strategy and best practices  
• Configured and launched a print-on-demand publishing system where the brochure design and copy base was templated. Affinity sales partners could produce their own customized version with their logo and a promotional message on the back mail panel. They could self-print anywhere from 5 to 5,000 brochures, upload their list, and mail directly from the printer. 

Marketing collateral 

• Launched a beautiful website that reinforced the ultra-luxury brand identify
• Developed a content-based email newsletter, a blog, and destination content that drove demand for off-the-beaten path itineraries
• Initiated a lead generation process including an email subscription form and campaign landing pages  
• Produced a documentary film showing what it was like to travel on a private jet (used as a lead generation tool) and launched a YouTube channel 
• Developed a three step nurture email campaign that introduced prospects to the brand, products, and sales team 

In three years, I made major changes to the program:

1. Managed the first redesign of marketing collateral in 20 years including: 
2. Modernized and updated brochure content and design 
3. Personalization for affinity brochures 
4.  Completed A/B  and usability testing on the new website  
5. Launched an informative travel blog with 3-5 updates a week that significantly increased organic traffic and SEO and kept visitors on the site 
6. Initiated the first social media presence  
7. Established first digital metrics and KPIs 
8. Started search engine marketing 
9. Developed a drip email series that that gently introduced new prospects to the brand, products, and sales team and encouraged them to explore more on the Web site 
10. Produced interactive content for an iPad app with 14 folio updates per year 
11. Executed a new email design 
12. Started a lead generation program 
13. Developed lower cost lead generation collateral including emails, mini brochures, and postcards 
14. Purchased  third party data to append to database and develop best customer model and characteristics 
15. Developed the first prospecting brochure in a smaller, less expensive teaser format. Rather than mailing the full brochure, the teaser flyer was sent to purchased mailing lists and the call to action was to visit a dedicated landing page to provide your mailing address and receive the full version 
16. Launched a Facebook advertising program that drove lead generation and built a new digital customer base with daily exposure to the brand 

17. Secured a brand partnership with The Robb Report that drove lead generation of the first income qualified prospects  

18. Tested lead generation campaigns on TravelZoo and Rue La La