Building on the company’s strong brand heritage, and as part of its ongoing transformation, Thomas Cook Group plc this week ushered in a new era of marketing activity that not only advertises ‘to’ its customers, but also enables them to play their part in the initiative through social sharing.
The One campaign is set to bring the Group’s strategy of placing the customer at the heart of everything it does to life by incorporating real people. Holidaymakers will be invited to share their photos on social media platforms, with these inspiring images set to be incorporated into future marketing and product collaterals across all channels and markets.
The Group-wide, fully integrated and multi-channel brand communication campaign debuts this winter, coinciding with the peak booking season for summer 2015. It launched in Germany on Monday, 17 November 2014, with other markets including Thomas Cook UK and Spies, Ving and Tjäreborg in Scandinavia set to follow over the coming weeks. The campaign approach, messaging and look-and-feel will be incorporated into marketing activities across all markets, although each will be responsible for their own straplines and commercial messages.
Harriet Green, Chief Executive Officer, Thomas Cook Group, said: “For the first time in our history as a unified business, we have developed a game-changing communication concept across all our markets that truly differentiates the Thomas Cook Group by using all channels to interact with our customers.”
“Using the same creative across all markets will allow us to work more efficiently together and achieve better results. It will also make it easier for our customers to understand the full strength and end-to-end value that travelling with one of our brands brings, coupled with our full innovative offering of services and products.”
Remo Masala, Chief Marketing Officer, Thomas Cook Group, explained: “The One campaign offers us a fantastic opportunity to fully engage and involve our customers as we look to inspire and excite them with a new visual style and identity based on ‘togetherness’. Our aim is to engage with our customers on an emotional level with inspirational content that brings our holidays to life. We wanted to create stand out with a brand-building message that simply reiterates the great times our customers will have when on holiday with our brands.”
The new campaign was designed by Forsman & Bodenfors, a Swedish agency founded in 1986 that is ranked as one of the top agencies in the world working with many global companies.
The One campaign launches in Germany with a nationwide marketing initiative that includes TV advertising. It is set to be extended across all territories over the next few weeks, with the Netherlands, Belgium and the Nordics to follow shortly, and UK implementation anticipated around Christmas time. It will run across all communication channels (TV and print media, E-CRM and Social), and will be integral to the company’s Omni-channel offering in store and online, as well as internal and external communications.
Thomas Cook Group plc is one of the world’s leading leisure travel groups with sales of over £9 billion and more than 20 million customers in the year ended 30 September 2013. Thomas Cook is supported by 27,000 employees and operates from 17 countries; it is number one or two in all its core markets. Its shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange.
Thomas Cook was a recent winner at the World Branding Awards, being awarded “Brand of the Year” in the Travel & Leisure category for the United Kingdom.
