As a big fan of the British humorist Stephen Fry, I’d be remiss to point out an interesting Sound Off that CNN has posted borrowing his witticism: “The e-mail of the species is deadlier than the mail.”
It notes that e-mail and other electronic communication has taken a bite out of the postcard mail stream and asks readers to share their own postcard experiences. Personally, I still enjoy getting the printed piece to hang up and envy from my peripatetic friends – however I get an equal number of blog updates or mass e-mails.
For marketers travel correspondence via the Web has made these consumers more accessible. In fact, Dianna Dilworth recently looked into trends around social networking and travel for a DMNews article, noting that before a trip marketers can use the travel plan chatter to target would-be vacationers.
We’ve yet to report on examples of the marketing that takes place while consumers are on a trip, but it’s not difficult to image receiving a targeted Gmail ad next to a friend’s trip update from Austria with a “Cheap flights to Vienna” link. How are you reaching buyers with wanderlust?
