Targeting the winter getaway market
Alice Dunn, marketing executive at Kantar Media, reveals key insights about the spending power of the winter holiday crowd…
One of the best ways to beat the January blues is to book a winter getaway. Latest insight from Kantar Media’s TGI survey reveals that 1.4 million adults take a holiday of at least five days in January.
Given the time of year they are most likely to go on a skiing holiday or partake in other winter sports. They are also after some winter sun, being over twice as likely as the average holiday maker to embark on a sea cruise and three times as likely to holiday outside of Europe at this time of year.
But what makes them particularly valuable to marketers is that when it comes to spend, they are almost three times as likely as the average holidaymaker to spend at least £2,500 on their holiday.
Winter holidaymakers are particularly likely to have limited family ties enabling them to holiday during school term time. Insight from TGI reveals those in TGI Lifestages ‘Flown the Nest’ (aged 15-34, not married or living as couple, do not live with relations) and ‘Unconstrained Couples’ (aged 35-54 married or living as a couple but no son or daughter) to be the most likely to holiday at this time of year. They are, therefore, significantly more likely to holiday with their partner, their friends or on their own.
These early-holidaymakers are a particularly financially-astute bunch, almost three times as likely as the average holidaymaker to own investment trusts. They are also 74% more likely to own shares in the company for which they work, 61% more likely to own an ISA as well as being more likely hold at least four credit cards. This indicates their potential for having big spending power.
This is a flashy group who like to stand out from the crowd, being 73% more likely than the average holidaymaker to say their car should catch people’s attention. They are also significantly more likely to say they would consider plastic surgery as well as wearing designer clothes.
A desire for the finer things in life also characterises this group and they are not afraid to pay for them. TGI reveals they are 40% more likely to pay extra to personalise products to suit their taste. They are also significantly more likely to go for premium services over standard ones and are prepared to pay more for good quality wine and beer.
In terms of reaching this group, insight from TGI reveals that these early-holidaymakers are 54% more likely to be amongst the heaviest fifth of consumers of internet. In terms of what they do online, they are over twice as likely as the average holidaymaker to regularly visit sites on business information. They are also particularly likely to visit sites on share prices, magazines and price comparison websites. Again this indicates how financially-astute and potentially lucrative this group are.
They can also be reached effectively in other ways given that they are 76% more likely than the average British holidaymaker to be willing to pay to access content on newspaper sites. They are also significantly more likely to claim relevant direct mail can change their opinion of a brand, but are more likely to pay attention if it is about something advertised on TV. This hints that they could be an easily-influenced group to tap into, which along with their potential spending power will be welcome news for marketers.