Tag Archives: social media marketing

Wine and crayfish to blame for Cape Tourism Crisis!

When the ‘Clown Prince’ of Labour opens his mouth, one is bound to have a good laugh at his absurd views.  Yesterday the Southern African Tourism Update reported on the latest absurdity to come from the Provincial Secretary of COSATU (The Congress of South African Trade Unions), Tony Ehrenreich, City of Cape Town councillor, and the city’s failed mayoral candidate for the ANC.

Mr Ehrenreich blames the ‘crisis in tourism’ on overcharging international tourists: “The exorbitant prices for wines and crayfish are contributing to visitors feeling ripped off.  And so the important word of mouth that underlies a tourist destination’s success is not assisting the South African industry.”

Mr Ehrenreich also attacks provincial Minister of Tourism, Alan Winde, in excluding workers from the recently elected board of Cape Town Routes Unlimited: “As Cosatu we will insist that the workers’ interests be directly represented by a labour representative, before the funding to support the industry is released. We will further call for an independent body to examine the crisis, as the industrial players have been colluding with government at a local level.  This collusion is demonstrated by the City Council giving the tourism industry R40 million to spend on themselves”!  Mr Ehrenreich seems to have lost the plot in what he is stating, in mixing up the roles of Cape Town Tourism and Cape Town Routes Unlimited:

*   Cape Town Tourism received R40 million from the City of Cape Town last month, for marketing Cape Town for the next twelve months.  We do share Mr Ehrenreich’s concern about how this money will be spent, given that Cape Town Tourism does not appear to understand that the city’s tourism industry is in crisis.  The organisation is also without a Marketing Manager at a time when marketing is needed most.  It has been criticised for choosing the positioning of ‘Inspirational’ for Cape Town, when it is not unique to the city, having been previously claimed by Edinburgh and Korea!  Mr Ehrenreich is a Councillor of the City of Cape Town, and he could have voiced his dissatisfaction with the Cape Town Tourism budget at the time it was debated in Council. 

   *   Minister Winde recently handpicked the Cape Town Routes Unlimited board, without advertising for nominations.  It appears that the Minister chose largely the same directors, with the exception of the FEDHASA Cape representative now being Rey Franco, the hotel association’s Deputy Chairman.  Mr Ehrenreich served on the Cape Town Routes Unlimited Board for two years until two years ago, and embarrassed the tourism industry as well as Cape Town Routes Unlimited when he made inappropriate and widely reported media statements, claiming that the Waterfront was charging rip-off prices, referring to the cost of crayfish at Panama Jack, which is not even located in the V&A Waterfront!  He had to be silenced during the remainder of his term as director, due to the damage he caused the tourism industry.  Minister Winde has no say over the City of Cape Town’s R40 million allocation to Cape Town Tourism.

*   Cape Town Tourism will have presented a budget to the City of Cape Town, and it will have included continuing the PR and trade marketing for Cape Town in the UK, Germany, Holland, and in the USA, despite the national Minister of Tourism, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, advising regional and local tourism bodies to leave international marketing to SA Tourism.  Social media marketing is part of the budget too. Unfortunately Cape Town Tourism has not shared its marketing plan and R40 million budget allocation with its members to date.

*   If the Tourism Crisis would be so easy to attribute to wine and crayfish pricing, one could do something about it.  Being’ ripped of’ for these delicacies is the least of the worries of potential tourists – rather it is being ‘ripped off’ by the airlines in terms of their fares that is their real concern. It shows that Mr Ehrenreich is completely out of touch with the reasons for the current crisis in the Tourism industry – high domestic and international airfares, the strong Rand, severe economic recession in the UK (Cape Town’s major international source market), future uncertainty about Greece’s ability to repay its debt and other European countries experiencing similar problem, the current financial crisis of the USA, the oversupply of accommodation, and crippling cost increases whilst rates have remained the same or are being slashed!

It will be interesting to see how Mr Ehrenreich will get shot down in flames by the tourism industry, for his ridiculous claims!  However, he is a determined man, and will not easily give up on his mission, to stay in the news!

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com  Twitter: @WhaleCottage

Social Media vital tourism communication and information source, also for Cape Town

Social Media marketing is one of the most important means of communication with potential tourists, in planning their trips, and these media are also used by them to share their holiday information experiences during and after their holidays.   This is one of the trends that Cape Town Tourism reported on its return from the “Future Day” Convention held in Berlin last week, running in conjunction with ITB (Internationale Tourismusbörse), the world’s largest travel trade fair.

The internet in general is the most important source of travel information, with 95 % of travellers searching for information on-line, and more than half booking on-line, up by 10 percentage points from 45 % in just two years.   In the USA just more than half of travellers use social media to research travel destinations and to make online bookings.  Travel tips from friends, interactive bookings and mobile travel guides are some of the social media travel applications that influence travel by travellers.  

Mobile phones play a vital part in this travel communication, because they are easily portable and accessible, unlike laptops, which are dependent on wifi access.   While on holiday or on a business trip, travellers can use their iPhones, Blackberries and other phones to find and share information about the destination.   With large increases in tourists coming from Asian countries, and China in particular (46 million travellers in 2010, and 155 million mobile Internet subscribers), and another 127 million in India, it is vital that tourism destinations such as Cape Town reach tourists via mobile phones, and smart phones in particular.   The World Travel Monitor has found that 40 % of international travellers travel with a smart  phone with internet, e-mail and other functions, with the balance holding a conventional mobile phone.   Of the smart phone users, 40 % use them to obtain destination information, and 26 % of leisure travellers and 34% of business travellers use them to change bookings while travelling.   Just more than a third of international travellers use their smart phones to access mobile social networks.   This leads to tourists posting content to their Facebook pages or Blogs, or photographs on Twitter or Flickr, whilst they are still at the destination.   In future it is likely to see that photographs and information posted will have GPS information, with screens providing travel information.

The travel and tourism trends which Cape Town Tourism brought back from ITB are the following:

*   Globalisation, demographic change and climate change are the three most important trends affecting tourism.  Climate change has created a moral debate amongst travellers about the effect of a long haul flight to a city like Cape Town on the carbon footprint, a potential threat to tourism to our country, if the local tourism industry cannot find ways to communicate to these travellers how they can offset their long-haul travel whilst in the country.  The Convention predicted that “individual carbon budgets could be in the pipeline”.  

*   The largest tourism growth has come from Asia and South America.   This year international travel is expected to grow by 3 – 4 %.  Cape Town Tourism is confident about the benefit of the massive Asian travel market, and our suitable weather in the low season to accommodate these travellers.  

*   Tourism marketing is no longer about the destination, but about the customer.  The traveller can be segmented as follows:

    *   the “too busy to care” traveller, who can not be bothered to give destination or product feedback

    *   Travellers leading complex lives and whose finances are under pressure, working harder and their leisure time reducing.

    *   Travellers looking for simplicity and a return to basics.   Their mantra is : “Slow living, slow food and slow travel”

    *   Wealthy travellers are harder to please, and set higher demands from the destinations they visit. 

*   Sustainability is now vital, and no longer a ‘nice to have’.  All elements in the tourism cycle need to be environmentally sustainable.

*   Despite an improvement in the economic well-being of the world since the recession struck three years ago, tourists are still being careful with their money.  Tourism spend is expected to increase by 7 % this year.  

*   The tourism businesses that can understand what makes their “customers tick” will be the ones that will “lead the way to prosperity”.

*   Neuromarketing is the new ‘science’ of communication, and is a recognition that up to 95 % of all decisions are made subconsciously.   Marketing communication is moving toward imagery and language that can influence the subconscious decision-making of travellers.   Four types of customers are identified:

   *   The Economical Customer relates to data, facts and efficiency

   *   The Relationship Customer relates to harmony, partnership, trust and a personal approach

   *   The Trendsetter Customer relates to opportunities, gut feeling and creativity

   *   The Exclusive Customer relates to aesthetics, quality and vision.

*   Finally, the ability to communicate in an instant is the “most interesting innovation in tourism marketing”, writes Cape Town Tourism CEO Mariette du Toit-Helmbold.   Social Media is the communication tool which allows information to be personalised to travellers, and shared with them instantly.

To market a city brand such a Cape Town effectively, it must be authentic, it must appeal to locals first, it must have emotional pull, and must have real stories to tell, said Mrs Helmbold.   She also said that travellers spend the most time of their holiday experience in the “planning and memory phase of their holidays and sharing their experiences now takes place on Facebook and Twitter”, the holiday album becoming something of the past.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio:  www.whalecottage.com   Twitter: @WhaleCottage

Restaurant Trends: Which USA trends apply to South Africa?

Local restaurant consultant Michael Said has evaluated the potential impact of eleven international restaurant trends on restaurants in our country, writing for www.bizcommunity.com.  The trends were documented by Technomic Inc, an American market research company.

1.   More ordering of “retro cocktails and high-end spirits” and craft beers, away from mass-produced alternatives, at fine-dining restaurants, as restaurant patrons want to celebrate their increasing confidence in the year.   Said’s reaction is that the stricter ‘drink/driving’ legislation may counter this trend locally, and predicts a greater focus on non-alcoholic cocktails in general, and cocktails for designated drivers in particular.

2.   Restaurants are becoming mobile, moving location, without a fixed abode.  Said says that rent-free location is attractive, but is still too large a leap for South African restaurants.

3.   A move away from a celebrity chef to the celebrity farmer, who supplied the ingredients, in marketing communication.  Said is sceptical of seeing “Farmer Brown” style advertising in South Africa.

4.   Technology in restaurants, to gain a competitive edge, including iPads with menus and winelists, and hand-held devices for payment at the table, will grow.  Said says that social media marketing, location-based advertising and online reputation management will certainly be replicated in South Africa.   He is however sceptical about the widespread use of iPads, with the danger of them disappearing with the cutlery and condiments!

5.   The ‘Korean Influence’ is forecast for the USA, resulting from immigration, but is discounted by Said for South Africa.

6.   The trend of ‘Tired of being poor’ could see restaurant patrons spoiling themselves with indulgences on higher-priced menu items.  Said says this could apply locally, given that interest rate decreases have put more Rands into customers’ pockets.

7.  Contradicting the previous trend, but not mutually exclusive, is that customers are demanding even greater value for money, and restaurants will have permanent value offers on their menus, a trend Said agrees will apply locally too.   I would like to add that Cape restaurants have recognised the value of value-offerings, and 37 Cape Town restaurants are offering summer specials, a commendable business policy.

8.  Restaurant chains will reinvent themselves with new branding and looks, as customers look for “new and exciting places to celebrate the new found financial freedom”.   Said recommends that restaurants reinvest their greater income back into their businesses.

9.   Comfort food will remain in demand, as will traditional dishes, either as they are, or with a modern interpretation.   Said questions this trend forecast, as he doubts that patrons want to eat more of the same ‘home food’ at restaurants.  He recommends that they be enticed back to restaurants with ‘old favourites, new experiences and plenty of “love”‘.

10.  Supermarkets are increasingly competing against restaurants, offering their customers family value-for-money eat-in ideas and products.   Locally, Pick ‘n Pay and Woolworths “are taking customers out of restaurants and into the aisle”.  Said recommends that ‘warmth and hospitality’ cannot be bought in a supermarket, and are points of difference for restaurants.

11.   Restaurant menus will see a balance of healthy (starters) and indulgent (desserts) items.  Said sees challenges for restaurants caused by menu-labelling requirements, and the Consumer Protection Act, said to be effective from April.   I would like to add my own note to this trend, and call on restaurants to specify the fat content per 100g portion, and the carbohydrate content per serving for diabetics, as it is done on all Woolworths packaging – diabetes is a ‘price’ that is paid by restaurant lovers, and diabetics should be encouraged to eat out healthily without feeling that they are losing out.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.comj   Twitter: @WhaleCottage

Bloggers’ Code of Conduct called for by wine blogger Emile Joubert

The current social media “wars” taking place both in the food and wine arena should be a reason for bloggers to get together, and to write a Code of Conduct for blogging.  This serious call came from Emile Joubert, a PR consultant to the wine industry, and writer of the Wine Goggle Blog, when he addressed the final and best attended meeting for this year of the Food & Wine Bloggers’ Club at the Grand Daddy Hotel in the Cape Town city centre.

Emile was a most entertaining speaker, and challenged wine bloggers in improving their ‘game’.  He had brought along two De Wetshof wines from Robertson-based winemaker Danie de Wet, the Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay, as well as Kanonkop Pinotage, the only South African wine in a recent list of “100 most exciting wines in the world”, and a magnum of Glen Carlou Pinot Noir, which were tasted by the bloggers.   Emile praised the initiative of the Food & Wine Bloggers’ Club, which was established in May this year.  He has seen the benefit that his wine clients have enjoyed through the increasing number of bloggers, all wine lovers with an opinion, he said.   Social media is a perfect platform for wine promotion.   Every wine has a story, he said, making it eminently ‘blogable”, unlike spirits or beer, which are more generic beverage categories.   Wines have a brand name, a culture and a personality, and these characteristics can be used to good advantage by wine bloggers.   Emile acknowledged the leadership of Mike Ratcliffe in being the first wine blogger ever, for Vilafonte, about six years ago.  

Emile was critical of wineries embracing social media by opening a Facebook page, and paying lip service to social media through poor writing on their blogs and in their Tweets, which give the wine industry a poor image, he said. He said that many wine bloggers “are more enthusiastic than talented in writing” about wine, wasting the time and space for serious wine lovers.  They are boring, he said, and if they contain spelling errors, they are an embarrassment.  He said that many bloggers are too obsessed with readership numbers, using links non-stop, no use he says if their blogs are lousy!    He encouraged bloggers to develop their “own voice”, and to create their own ‘blog brand’.   “Speak your own voice clearly, succinctly and passionately”, he urged.

Most social media programs of wineries lack a strategy, in his opinion.  He recommended that a 1/3 each of one’s action should be focused on SOCIAL, MEDIA and MARKETING.  He described the wine industry as ‘ego-sodden’ terrain, with over-intellectualisation of wines, for example, referring to wine tasting of “tar” and “figpaste”, having run out of new adjectives to describe the taste of wine!   Emile feels that bloggers will make traditional mainstream media wine writers obsolete, and that is why Neil Pendock too has taken to blogging.   He mentioned that the recent ‘Swartland Revolution’, a marketing activity by a number of Swartland wine producers in Riebeeck Kasteel to make their wine region “sexy” via social media marketing, had made TIME magazine.  

In developing a Bloggers’ Code of Conduct, Emile called firstly for anonymous comments to be disallowed, saying that this would never be allowed on a letters’ page in a newspaper.  He also called for a boycott of restaurants that ban writers!   When asked, he explained the split in the wine industry, based on wine writers being pro- or anti-Platter.   The anti-Platter writers are unhappy with sighted tastings to judge the stars awarded to each wine, as they can influence the livelihoods of those affected by lower star ratings.  He called Platter “the best phone book” for the wine industry.  It would appear that this group of writers is also critical of Wines of South Africa (WOSA), in that they feel that the monies spent on marketing South African wines is not effectively spent.  Accepting ‘freebies’, including airline tickets and more, is frowned upon, and leads the anti-Platter faction to expose their ‘colleagues’ guilty of this practice without disclosure.  This leads to backstabbing, infantile behaviour, and persons dishing out insults without being able to take them in turn. 

The Food Blogger Marisa Hendricks from The Creative Pot blog praised her Twitter and blogging friends for their friendly support and ‘chattiness’, which makes Social Media enjoyable to her. She was honest in saying that she is a ‘messy’ cook, that her family does not eat fancy food every night, and that there are irregular meal times in her household.   She focused on three aspects of a blog, in making it more successful. The design of the blog is paramount, as it expresses one’s personality. 

Secondly, food photography needs attention.  In her household photography is mainly done at night, which is complicated as far as lighting is concerned, making dishes look too yellow.  She says that cellphones are not made to give good photograph quality, and that one should choose the right camera (she uses a Cannon), read the manual that comes with the camera, and experiment with the camera settings.  Natural light is best, and it can be softened by gauze, she said.  Food should also be lit from the side, and not directly from above.   Food styling is equally important for successful photography, creating a desire of “I want to lick my screen”, she said!   Styling can be enhanced through the use of cutlery, glasses, doilies, napkins, etc.   White plates are classic in food styling, but bright plates offer a contrast for a one-colour food dish.   The styling should be natural, in how one would eat the dish.  This helps one when one submits one’s food photographs to what she called ‘foodporn” sites such as Foodgawker!  Thirdly Marisa spoke about advertising, and she only allows text-based ads.  She does not want her blog to look like a “billboard”.   She knows that advertising could be off-putting to her readers.  She also discussed affiliate links, to cookery books sold by Amazon, for example, which can work well if used properly.

In discussion it was mentioned that bloggers’ “user-generated content” is becoming more trusted for recipes and information than are recipe books and magazines.  Marisa called for better hardware to read blogs.   Disclosure of receiving free products is paramount, it was said, and PR companies should not expect bloggers to write about the products they have handed out, much like a print journalist will not guarantee that he/she will accept a media release. It was felt that one should not write about something one did not like.  

A competition amongst attendees to find the most frequent Tweeter during the two-hour Bloggers’ Club meeting led to a flood of Tweets.  Hila Jonker (who Tweets as @LadyRaven) won the prize of a bundle of fresh greens from the gardens of the wonderful new restaurant Babel at Babylonstoren.

The 2011 programme for the Food & Wine Bloggers’ Club will be announced closer to the start of the new year.  The first meeting of the year will be hosted by Pigalle on 26 January.   More information is available from info@whalecottage.com.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com   Twitter: @WhaleCottage