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The TravelWise slogan will be on show across SSP’s airport network |
INTERNATIONAL. Food travel services group SSP has launched a new concept called TravelWise across its network in a bid to promote the message that there is great value in airport food & beverage shopping.
The campaign will feature at 55 airports, 49 rail stations and 26 motorway service stations across 21 countries. It is running across a spectrum of brands from grab-and-go concepts to high-end restaurants. SSP said this is the “first ever global promotion in the food travel sector, covering a range of brands and a range of territories”.
SSP Chief Marketing Officer Noel Toolan told The Moodie Report: “Every company is concerned at the impact of the recession and about how to get through it. Today there are fewer people travelling and all of them are looking for value. At the same time, there is still a widespread perception that the airport is expensive, and offering value in food & beverage is vital in changing that perception.
“That’s why we are doing something this summer that is different to anything out there in airport retail today. TravelWise is a consumer branded food & beverage value campaign, the first of its kind.”
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Noel Toolan: “TravelWise is a consumer branded food & beverage value campaign, the first of its kind.” |
Strong signage in yellow with block style typography makes the promotion easy to see, recognise and understand, noted SSP. The TravelWise slogan is in English in most international sites, but it is also translated in other locations such as regional airports and train stations. For example, TravelWise is known as “˜Viaje Redondo’ in Spain, “˜God Reise’ in Norway, “˜Clever Reisen’ in Germany and appears in Chinese characters across Asian markets.
Toolan said: “It involves very clear and simple signage and merchandising around the idea of value, with similar messages across our travel network. The message comes at consumers online, in-store and on-shelf. It means having a compelling offer, the right, well-trained staff to sell to consumers, menu and price engineering and habit-changing promotions, plus there is a key element of loyalty and reward on top.”
The concept is already in place in more than 26 European airports, beginning with Geneva and Oslo in June, and rolled out across the SSP network in July.
Toolan said this was not just a tool for driving sales at lower-priced value outlets, but works across the price spectrum.
He said: “TravelWise doesn’t mean “˜selling cheap’. And this is not like slashing the price of an expensive hand-bag that customers may only buy once a year. It’s offering value every day, on purchases customers make every time they visit an airport. It’s an intelligent and long-term strategy for driving sales in a difficult climate for all of us.”
He added: “This isn’t just about price, though that is a key factor. It’s about loyalty, it’s about bundling great offers together, and it works in our high-end restaurants too. Take Altitude at Geneva Airport, where the menu is prepared by a Michelin-starred chef. We flag up value there too using the same branding.”
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At Geneva’s Altitude outlet, SSP is running a TravelWise CHF55 lunch offer, and at La Cuisine there is a hot meal and salad offer. At SSP’s Swiss sandwich bar, there is a half price meal deal. SSP is also operating at Upper Crust, Le Bar, and the Montreux Jazz Café at the airport, with the TravelWise campaign prominent.
Role of staff
The role of staff in driving awareness of the concept is vital, Toolan added, which has led to the development of an internal SalesWise training scheme. “It’s really a new concept around that idea of Service That Sells,” said Toolan. “It sets the scene internally for TravelWise, where staff are trained to approach the customer with the right attitude, to listen and to learn, and to entice the sale.”
And SSP aims to develop the concept further for future campaigns. “TravelWise is not simply a summer 2009 drive – we will continue the value message afterwards,” said Toolan. “Then for next year we want to add a new layer of loyalty to the programme, including both airport staff and travellers, to create an affinity across airports. You already see the kinds of loyalty cards that coffee retailers use to bring customers back time and again. We also have a loyalty discount card for rail travellers we serve. We’ll look to develop and improve on those kinds of schemes.”
Toolan said that there had been an overwhelming reaction from airports introduced to the programme. “Almost all of our partner airports have adopted it and many have taken it further than we expected with the level of signage across the airport. They see the importance of driving the value message to consumers today, and consumers are certainly looking for value. It’s not just about -50% off or about large-scale discounting, it’s a rounded, educational process.
“We’ve been working exceptionally closely with our partners on this and we’re taking a real partnership approach – airport and rail operators can see that the more they get behind TravelWise, the more they have to gain.”
TravelWise: the core elements
*High-visibility way-finding signage across sites flagging the TravelWise promotion and directing the travelling consumer to the best value.
*In each location unit the TravelWise logo and merchandising identify the relevant compelling offers to consumers.
*All SSP front-of-house staff have been trained in supporting the TravelWise programme in a bespoke sales and service training programme called SalesWise.
*Other TravelWise promotional activities – all featuring the TravelWise branding – complement the programme to build loyalty with regular travellers and airport staff.
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