Travel Brand Storytelling Needs to Be More Local To Meet This Moment
Photo Credit: Hafrsfjord Stavanger, Norway as seen on August 10, 2015. The Covid-19 crisis forced travel brands traditionally focused on international visitors to rethink how to market to locals. Flickr.com / Giuseppe Milo
Skift Take
The coronavirus crisis has given new meaning to traveling like a local. Brands are trying to figure out how to market to travelers when they actually are the locals.
With destinations around the world forced to go on lockdown because of the coronavirus pandemic, many tourism boards and brands found themselves on unfamiliar turf — trying to promote their own destinations to locals.
“I think the communication right now during the crisis has been like walking in a minefield," said Janicke Hansen, co-founder of NordicTB, a collective of storytellers and influencers in the region working on marketing campaigns for destinations and brands.
Hansen argued that a lot of companies that traditionally focus their marketing on an international audience don't have a clue about connecting with locals discovering their own neighborhoods or countries.
Building better relationships with local communities is also something that could prove beneficial to these travel brands after the recovery as well. After all, local community members can access destinations in their own backyard quicker than international travelers can, making it easier
