Scott Ahlsmith, CTC's - Roads Less Traveled

The AA Experience

The power of the brand is diminishing.  Brands are being replaced by a company's or a product's performance.  The new power is found in the consumer's experience with the company and their products.

Click on the photo above and you will understand why so many airlines are unprofitable.  You will also understand why their brands alone no longer permit raising prices. 

Consumers' experiences with airline travel suck and paying higher fares delivers no added experiential value.  This is one reason why Eclipse Aviation stockholders hope legacy airline executives never realize they could inexpensively solve many of their problems by just improving their experience from curb to curb.

No Parking Standing Waiting

What part of September 11th have we forgotten?

The lower level (arrivals) of O'Hare airport was a parking lot tonight.  Cars were parked two and three abreast while their drivers searched for their arriving passengers in spite of the signs reading, "No Parking Standing Waiting Tow-Away Zone".  One O'Hare Special Police vehicle crept through the parked vehicles, but did nothing to motivate their drivers to move.

Not only did this create a massive traffic-jam (it took more than an hour to enter and exit the Arrivals Level), but it created a massive security breach and public safety risk.  I called 911 and was told O'Hare was not in their jurisdiction (ORD is a kingdom within Chicago's city limits) and I would be transferred to the O'Hare Special Police.  After six rings a rather disinterested voice said, "We'll take it under advisement."

Advisement?  Have we forgotten that prior to 9/11 we decided to place information we had about terrorists "under advisement?" 

NO!  O'Hare Special Police, do your job.  Enforce the posted restrictions that read, "No Parking Standing Waiting."  Do not wait for another terrorist incident to take advantage of your laziness and apathy.

Viral Marketing Teleconference

Remember when we had to "go somewhere" to "learn something?"  We had to "go to" school or "go to" a workshop.  Today, we can "stay somewhere" and "learn something." 

The really cool part about "staying somewhere" is that "somewhere" can be just about "anywhere."  Today, my "somewhere" was the AAdmiral's Club Business Center Annex at San Francisco.  Equipped with my cell phone, notebook computer, wireless Internet connection, digital recorder, microphone, and headphones, I presented a one-hour workshop entitled, "Viral Marketing -- Catch It!"

After the teleconference, I threw my gear in my backpack and boarded a plane to Chicago.  More than 30 travel professionals from "somewhere" and "anywhere" across Canada and the U.S. participated in the workshop.

I'm amazed how technology's  "mobility" permits us to "stop and stay."

Here are the Viral Marketing Teleconference notes from today's workshop.

The Carnival Experience

Bob Dickinson, CTC, president & CEO of Carnival Cruise Lines, will love this story.  It personifies everything (well, not exactly everything!) Bob has preached for nearly 34 years.  It's one of those "transformational" moments that experiential marketers savor.

Yesterday, Marty, owner of Just Magnificent Limo, drove me to Chicago's O'Hare airport and as soon as we pulled out of our driveway he announced, "We just returned from a cruise."  His voice contained that tone of eagerness telling me he really wanted to talk about his cruise.  I never know if that eager tone leads to a "good" travel conversation or a "bad" travel conversation, but I know we're going to have a conversation and either way I love to talk about travel.

So, I asked, "How was it?"

Lifting My Kimono

Anyone telling you they have this blog-thing figured out is trying to sell you something.  That is one reason why I maintain 6 different blogs and will create a 7th this weekend. 

I want to make sure whatever advice I give our "YOU! the Brand." clients and travel industry colleagues comes from firsthand trial-and-error experiences.  I believe in sharing failures as well as successes because we learn from both.

Speaking of learning, Darren Rowse's Problogger site is one of the best blogging classrooms on the Web today.  Every visit to Problogger always adds fuel to my blogging engine plus Darren adds new and innovative slants to how we can best use blogs to communicate our messages and improve our blogs' value propositions.

Tourism Spawns Peace

Tourism is one of the best ambassadors for global peace because while accenting cultural differences it highlights our individual similarities.  A respected travel industry colleague sent the following post-tsunami story that show how differences can generate attraction.

Promoting YOU! to Past & Potential Clients

I enjoyed speaking to more than 1,000 travel professionals during this morning's general session of Travel Trade's 24th Annual Cruise-A-Thon in Vancouver, BC.  The title of my remarks was, "Promoting YOU! to Past & Potential Clients."  My premise is that by promoting themselves first, travel professionals can help travelers understand the value of their knowledge, expertise, experience, convenience, recommendations, and personalization.

I'm passionate about this topic because I believe correcting consumers' views of travel professionals is not only a critical issue, but one that directly impacts the future of all travel professionals.  It also separates travel professionals from travel hobbyists.

Screens 3 through 12 of the above presentation are direct quotes taken within the past few days from a popular consumer travel Web site.

Please click on Comments below if you have questions or feedback.  I always welcome your feedback.

Selling YOURSELF! First

For those who attended today's workshop at Travel Trade's 24th Annual Cruise-A-Thon, thank you for your participation and interest. Click here to view a copy of the presentation.  This workshop was sponsored by Trisept Solutions, the maker of VAX,the leading electronic leisure travel booking tool for travel professionals.  I was honored to share the podium with John Ische, President of Trisept Solutions.

For those who did not attend, you missed a good time!  This workshop delivers practical and easy to implement steps that helps travel professionals improve their clients' travel experiences.

Please click on "Comments" below if you have questions or feedback.

It's All About the People You Meet

We travel to collect better stories, but the best stories involve the people we meet. 

Yesterday, I had the honor of meeting my "coach," Lisa Haneberg in Seattle.  We talked about time management, caffeine levels in Seattle's harbor, Webinars, breakthroughs, interviewing & hiring, time chunking, writing, hotel management, chili peppers, motorcycles, the rolling hills of Tuscany, Luigi, blogs, 5-sensing, podcasts, leadership, and a couple other topics.  It was a jam-packed hour.

I met Lisa when she presented her "Loveable Brand" Webinar for Cruise West. Lisa's support of marketing the travel experience versus the travel product and price was music to my ears.  I enjoyed and benefited from her common-sense approach that I attended her Webinar a second time.