Lonely Planet brand story - Travel and Social Media

1. Travel and Social Media
The Lonely Planet Story

3. About Lonely Planet.

4. Founders
Tony & Maureen
•
Tony and Maureen meet in London
and travel overland through Asia.
• Published first book in 1973 –
Across Asia on the Cheap
• The Wheeler’s built their company
on the commitment to provide
travellers with the most useful and
relevant travel information in a
convenient format.

5. 35 years later
93 million guidebooks sold
500 titles
Translated across 8 languages
6m unique visitors per month
6 foreign language websites
10+ television series screening in
over 150 countries

6. 2009 & beyond
In October 2007, BBC
Worldwide acquired a 75% stake
in Lonely Planet.
Lonely Planet aims to significantly
increase its reach and recognise
its mission in delivering content
across different platforms relevant
to today’s travellers.

8. Our brand.

9. Our Characteristics
Unique
Unexpected and sometimes brave or surprising.
Inspiring
Sense of place and experience, creates a curiosity,
visualising the dream.
Irreverent/Spirited
Quirky or unexpected interpretation, cheeky
or humorous angle, loads of personality.
Opinionated
Show it like it is, sometimes challenging.
Respectful
An awareness and sensitivity to cultures,
people and the environment.
Authoritative
Knowledgable, not staged, real.

10. Demographics.

11. Source: Comscore
Source: Comscore
Source: Omniture

12. Our Audience
Education
Household Income USA/USD
Highly educated - with over 70% with a degree of professional qualification
(Source: Forrester Research 2008 and Lonely Planet Travellers Pulse 2008)
Well Travelled
60% of LP.com users have been to more than 10 countries
(Source: Lonely Planet Travellers Pulse 2008)
Technically Savvy
- 95% of LonelyPlanet.com visitors use the website everyday
- lonelyplanet.com visitors are more likely to create and publish content
- 22% more likely to interact with social networking sites
(Source: Forrester Research 2008)
Household Income UK
£53.4K which is substantially above average internet user (£45,866)
(Source: Forrester Research 2008)
Source: Comscore

13. The History of Travel Social Communities
1300
1850
The Grand
Tour/
Religious
Expeditions Baedekers
1955
Post
WWII
Exposure/
Frommers
1970
The Hippie
Trail/
Lonely
Planet
1990
TV
Society/
Rick Steves
2000
Technology
Community/
TripAdvisor
Hoof and Foot
Ships & Trains
Jet Travel
Enviro
Concern

14. Lonely Planet - travel social
networking for over 35 years…

15. San Francisco
Chronicle

16. Time
12/10/02
“The bombs in
Mombasa and
Bali threaten
the best
example of
global
community.”

17. Work done for BBCW by the Henley Centre has identified 8 global trends

18. Consumer Trends Most Applicable to the Travel Segment
Stop-Go Lives: People are taking shorter breaks more often, in the US 7%
more workers took partial weeks off in 2006 than 2005
Experiential Society: People have less time and are seeking value and
experiences out of the ordinary.
Community Connections: An April 2007 Nielsen study found User
Generated Content was the most trusted form of advertising, with 78% of
consumers said they trust recommendations from other consumers

19. The Travel Cycle: What Travelers Use
•Podcasts
•Television
•Newsletters
•AV
•Travel Feature Stories
•Podcasts and Videos
•Thorn Tree
•Groups
•Rate and Review
•Talk to Us
•Maps
•Mobile Devices
•Guidebooks
•Phrasebooks
•Blogs
•Thorntree
•Worldguide
•Maps
•Trip Planner
•Pick & Mix
•Guidebooks
•Hotels & Hostels
•Shop (print & digital)
•Traveler Services

20. Today’s Social Communities
• Creators (Authors):
Publish own blog, publish own web pages, upload
music/audio you created, write articles or stories and post them
• Critics (Back of the Book/Talk 2 Us):
Post ratings/review of product or
services, comment on someone else’s blog, contribute to online forums
• Collectors (Bluelist):
Use RSS fields, vote for web sites, add tags
• Joiners (Thorntree): Maintain profile on social networking site, visit
social networking sites
• Spectators (YouTube; LPTV): Read blogs, listen to podcasts, watch
videos, read online forums, read customer ratings
• Inactives (non-travelers/passport initiatives):
None of the above
Source:Yahoo/Forrester/Compete, Inc. Workshop

21. Today’s Competitive Landscape
Sites I use to share travel
stories and recommendations
and connect with other
travelers (community)
WAYN
Travel content
and
commerce
sites are lower
ranked and
are losing
rank, but
communities
are gaining
Boots n All
Travelpod
Trip Up
Socialight*
*
Wikitravel
Hostel World
Virtual Tourist
Yelp**
Flickr
TripAdvisor
Real Travel
Trip Connect
Borders
Gridskipper
Sites I
use to
Roughguide
Wikipedia
access
DK
Frommers
travel
information
World66
and/or review
opinions of others
(content)
Lonely Planet
STA
Yahoo Travel
Kayak
Fodors
Travelocity*
*
NY Times
Travel
Guardian Travel
Sites I use to
browse, book and
buy travel or related
products online
(commerce)
Expedia
Ranked
<100
Ranked
100-4000
Ranked
>4000
Alexa global average ranking, Nov 07: The rank of a site is the geometric mean of the
number of Alexa toolbar users who visit that site and the number of pages on the site viewed
by those users.
* Ranking is for whole domain, not just travel

22. Little overlap between content and social networking sites
Content sites currently provide:
Community sites currently provide:
•
•
Guidebook content
• User generated travel content only
(WAYN, BootsnAll, Yelp), in which some
Articles and information on travel
destinations are weak on content
destinations (Guardian Travel)
• Ability to share photos, videos and
• Ability to customize travel guides (DK
stories with fellow travelers
Encounter)
• Facebook’s applications are generally
• User generated content through blogs
(Frommers), podcasts and review and
Existing content sites provide limited socialcontent free
or community tools, while social
rate, or in players don’t (Wikitravel)
networkingguidebook form provide differentiated, quality, reliable content, but this is
• Limited community opportunities
already beginning to change
Key players are expanding their offerings . .
Trip Advisor has user generated content, social networking
functionality, as well as links to quality content providers for
guidebook information. Travelpod and Facebook.
Hostelworld upgraded their site to provide additional community
functionality

23. Strategic Options
Do Nothing:
“Wait and See”
Measured approach
“Engage with market”
Heavy commitment
“Grow the market”
The Decision Framework
• Short term savings
• Large opportunity cost (entry into new markets)
• Delay will mean a loss of competitive advantage
• Approach is to self funding through business
partners
• Small incremental spending
• Seizes opportunity to edge ahead of competitors
• Provides option to accelerate when basics are in
place, or reduce spending if revenue is not realized
• Investment in Fundamentals
• May require acquisition to ramp up
• Requires larger scale investment to win a
position

24. Where Did We Come From?
11 years of Thorn Tree

25. 11 years of Thorn Tree
Split into categories, which cover destination-specific and specialistinterest branches with over 100,000 active threads.
Deep and rich travel
Travelers can form strong bonds on the road that become life-long friendships. In a
Q&A
similar way, the Thorn Tree has brought together travelers both on and off the road
from around the globe. It’s this unique blend of community, which mixes hard travel
Can I get my visa
information with more informal discussion, that has seen the Thorn Tree become one
upon arrival to
of the most popular and authoritative travel forums on theEthiopia? Or do I need
web.
to get and advance?
The Tree is split into categories which cover destination-specific it in specialistinterest branches with over 100,000 active threads.
Do I need malaria
medication for my trip
to Vietnam?
Cycling in Cuba next 2
weeks, anyone else
there?

26. Where Did We Come From?
Talk2Us Feedback Center
A dedicated
Travelers can 5
on the
become
friendships. In a
team of form strong bondsbrought road that travelers life-long and off the road
similar way, the Thorn Tree has
together
both on
from around the globe. It’s this unique blend of community, which mixes hard travel
people, who
information with more informal discussion, that has seen the Thorn Tree become one
spend their
of the most popular and authoritative travel forums on the web.
time reading,
The Tree is split into categories which cover destination-specific and specialistinterest branches with over 100,000 active threads.
processing and
replying to
traveler
feedback

27. Feedback: A virtuous circle
New
Guidebook
Published

28. Feedback: A virtuous circle
New
Guidebook
Published
Travellers
Feedback

29. Feedback: A virtuous circle
New
Guidebook
Published
Travellers
Feedback
Talk2Us
Process
& Reply

30. Feedback: A virtuous circle
New
Guidebook
Published
Travellers
Feedback
Talk2Us
Process
& Reply
Editors
Brief for
New Edition

31. Feedback: A virtuous circle
New
Guidebook
Published
Travellers
Feedback
Authors
Research
Add &
Correct
Talk2Us
Process
& Reply
Editors
Brief for
New Edition

32. Feedback Results
In 2007
• 13,500 travelers sent in feedback
• Their emails turned into 30,000+ useful
items of information
New
Guidebook
Published
Authors
Research
Add &
Correct
Travellers
Feedback
Talk2Us
Process
& Reply
Editors
Brief for
New Edition

33. Lonely Planet,
a part of social online communities…

34. Lonely Planet Channel on YouTube
• Launched on April 10, 2008
• Features a selection of the
best travel videos from Lonely
Planet’s own online videosharing website,
LonelyPlanet.tv and exclusive
content such as previews and
behind-the-scenes footage from
upcoming Lonely Planet
Television shows
•Current subscribers: 1,754
www.youtube.com/lonelyplanet
•Current channel Views: 22,557
•Some LP videos have had
500,000+ views

35. Lonely Planet group on Facebook
• 5,000 members
• A space where users can
engage with LP, connect
with friends they’ve met
while travelling and to
share travel stories
• Lonely Planet is also
working on a variety of
wireless applications for
Facebook users to add on
their profiles

36. Lonely Planet photo groups on Flickr
• 35,000 + images
•4,100 + members in
Lonely Planet Photo
Challenge group
•2,800+ members in
photo book group
• These groups are
designed to provide an
avenue for travelers to
showcase their
snapshots from their
journeys

37. Where We are Going Online?
Lonely Planet.com
VISION
To inspire and enable
travelers
to connect
with the world and each
other . . . every day
CHARACTERISTICS
• The whole travel cycle on
multiple platforms
• For LP travelers – curious, selfselecting, self-packaging explorers
• Topical, accurate, trusted, relevant, and
we have a distinct Lonely Planet voice
• Self-organized with the travel community
at the center
• Localization of products for key territories
• Big, profitable, diverse
revenue streams
• A rich-media storytelling
experience
• Interacting “where you like it”
• Beautiful DNA, and employee/
stakeholder pride
• Global production company

38. Inspiring and enabling
travellers to connect with the world
and each other
….every day
TV
Magazine
Digital
Digital
Wireless
I‘m back
Wireless
I dream
Print
I‘m there
I plan
Wireless
Digital
Print
Travel
Life
Cycle
I buy
& book
Digital
Wireless
Digital
Whilst maintaining leadership in travel publishing, Lonely Planet will further build out its
multiple media offering to increase its frequency of engagement and connect with its
consumers ‘everyday’.

39. More content
From our guidebooks, repurposed
for online
From our authors
on the road
By aggregating the best
content from the web
From like minded
travellers
Richer experience
And more tools to discover, create & share

40. The result is a powerful ‘triple play’ not available anywhere else.
People will come to the site for:
•
the single largest source of authored travel content on the web
•
combined with the insight of the Lonely Planet traveller
•
and the best of the web.
They will return to get up-to-date information, follow travellers
through group and community tools, and to take content and share it.

41. Where are we going?
Mobile Media
Global connectivity trends are important
• Increasing uptake of broadband internet in Asian markets
• Interactive TV is growing rapidly, the online market grew 179% in
the 12 months to June 2007 with 8 million users of IPTV services
worldwide
• The market for mobile internet services remains largely untapped,
according to the Yankee Group which claim that operators and
service providers could be raking in as much as $66bn per year,
instead of the $9.5bn they are taking at present
• The number of mobile navigation device (GPS) units shipped
reached 7.4 million worldwide in the second quarter of 2007, an
increase of 116% over the same quarter last year

42. Where are we going?
Mobile Actions
• Licensing our content to location based service
platforms
• Providing a compelling Mobile site
– Driving traffic to the M-site through operator deals,
owned sites and affiliates
– Selling advertising, offering sponsorship opportunities
and driving transactions to partners
• Selling downloadable applications and video
through retail channels

43. The Lonely Planet Mobile Solution

44. In conclusion
1/ New technologies are going faster: Web
2.0, Evolution and opportunities in etourism
2/ How do you use social media to reach
people?
3/ The future of e-tourism