May 3rd, 2024
It’s all the buzz right now, not just in tourism marketing but in any industry where content creation is both essential, and a timely and costly necessity. We’re talking of course of ChatGPT, and other generative AI tools like image and video creators.
Seemingly coming from nowhere unless you were already heavily invested in the field, these tools have turned the world of content creation upside down. Now someone with no copywriting experience can coax a social media post or blog out of a practically magical AI tool. Similarly, a few well-worded prompts can generate a photo-realistic image or heavily stylised illustration to be used in a campaign or on a website. Never mind that sometimes the content written is a lie, “hallucinated” by the AI (to use AI researcher) terms, or that most image models still make a nightmarish mess of things like hands, these tools are just a glimpse into the future, and what might be available in the coming years.
We’re not going to go into how they work, we’d rather just enjoy the fact that right now you can get some (possibly accurate) content written by ChatGPT. You can even ‘prime’ to tool by giving it prompts like “you are an incredibly descriptive writer, known for long and philosophical metaphors” and it will follow your created style perfectly. A recent leaving speech at Maverick was written this way, in the form of a poem after some similar prompting. It should be noted that the rhyming structure was loose at best.
The question is, what is next for AI tools. How will we be using their next iterations in the tourism marketing world, which might only be just around the corner?
Search
Search is an obvious starting point, and one where Microsoft (a major investor in Open Ai, the creators of ChatGPT) has jumped head first into. They have already integrated the newest language model GPT-4 into a version of Bing to give conversational and contextual answers right into search. In some ways this is the natural progression of search tools – being able to ask a specific question and getting an answer right away rather than tweaking keywords or going to Quora or Reddit from the search results seems like a no brainer. The problem of course is that search engines generate the vast majority of income from Search Ads. If the Ai tool is giving answers without encouraging ad clicks, then the whole model falls apart. Other questions like dropping traffic (and ad revenue) for publishers as well as the inability to verify answers as accurate makes this a tricky one. Despite all the negatives, this is where early battlelines are being drawn between tech giants and where a lot of questions are being brought to life about the long-term use of large language models.
Tourism marketing takeaway: Watch this space! Trying to get your business into the data sets for these models is going to turn the SEO world upside down. One thing to remember though – the vast majority of revenue for these companies comes from ads (80% of Google’s 2022 revenue). Because of this, the Search ad space will continue to be essential to focus on for tourism businesses looking to capture travel intent.
Social Media
In a futuristic reality, these tools would be used for endless, automatically-generated social content. Social media is an incredibly important part of the tourism booking process, where aspirational content hooks in dreamers, and shared photos and stories from friends and family act as strong endorsements for destinations and experiences. The personal touch could however soon be taken out of the process – after watching a couple of videos or interacting with a couple of posts/tweets, AI would be able to continuously generate and serve content tailor made to keep you engaged and entertained endlessly. The algorithms perfected by the likes of TikTok that know just what to serve you to keep you on the app for one video longer will be working in tandem with generation tools to provide the perfect feed. This creates a rather existential question: What is social media without the social element?
Tourism marketing takeaway: Genuine interaction is still the most important factor for social media, where operators can generate interest and turn visitors into ambassadors. Keep encouraging social engagement and user generated content, and use your brand to tell a genuine story. Right now, we recommend using ChatGPT for inspiration and suggested social media posts – but be sure to adapt these into your own brand tone of voice, and ensure copy is factual and reliable.
Data Analysis
A useful and exciting application of Ai for tourism marketing is in data analysis. With services becoming able to view and analyse images, there is now opportunity for analysis of tables, graphs, and any other data you can throw together. Auto-generated reports could come with commentary rather than just numbers, tied to any number of information models giving analysis nuanced enough to go from hyper-local issues to global tourism trends or events.
Our friends at Yonder are already using GPT as a tool for summarising reviews for their clients. Their use of the tool analyses the dozens or hundreds of tourism reviews that a product or company gets, and automatically pulls out succinct and useful summaries. Ka pai!
Tourism marketing takeaway: Prepare for easier access to information. Reporting will be able to be far more customised, with more focus on what matters to you as a business. Until then, keep relying on the experts for the analysis!
Video Creation
An AI created Pizza Ad took the internet by storm last week, using a number of readily available tools to script and ‘shoot’ (generate) an ad for a made-up Pizza place. The result is nightmarish with eyes and mouths that don’t work right, and cheese pouring is a truly unsettling way, however the end result is truly amazing when you consider just how new the tools are. Marvel Avengers director Joe Russo predicted that AI generated movies are only a couple of years away, which is a strong endorsement for the progression of the technology.
What this means for people not looking to make terrifying online videos is that the cost and issues around filming disappear. If short AI generated content is ‘good enough’, then the cost of entry for businesses looking to do short video ads disappears. Even if it just good enough to improve your existing footage, then older low-res footage can suddenly be upscaled to HD or an overcast day is instantly sunny and bright. There is however the question of who owns the content generated by AI tools – and who is responsible for any legal or ethical issues that may arise.
Tourism marketing takeaway: Start thinking of all your campaigns as fully-multi channel. What messaging and visuals are going to resonate with each of your audience on each platform. Even before the tools get good enough, this will help you have better conversations with your ad managers on what a Gold Standard campaign will look like.
Throwback Thursday to our tourist takeover at the B:HIVE for Halloween last month 👻 We may work in tourism, but this year, we took the role seriously and dressed up as stereotypical (and scarily-realistic!) tourists: Hawaiian shirts, cameras in hand, and snapping photos at every chance we got!
#Tourismindustry #DigitalMarketing #BooHive #Halloween2024
Throwback Thursday to our tourist takeover at the B:HIVE for Halloween last month 👻 We may work in tourism, but this year, we took the role seriously and dressed up as stereotypical (and scarily-realistic!) tourists: Hawaiian shirts, cameras in hand, and snapping photos at every chance we got!
#Tourismindustry #DigitalMarketing #BooHive #Halloween2024
📢 One week to go until Destination: Digital - The Playbook kicks off, and this is your LAST chance to secure a spot at Aotearoa`s only conference dedicated to tourism marketers!
The buzz is building, and the final tickets are flying out the door. Don`t just take our word for it - check out what last year`s attendees had to say 👇
Get ready for game-changing insights from expert industry thought-leaders, and interactive practical workshops to set you up for success in 2025. It`s all taking place at the @bhivenz in Auckland next Tuesday, 3rd December.
🎟️ Grab your tickets before they`re all gone: link in bio!
#TourismMarketing #NZmarketing #MarketingEvents #TourismIndustry
📢 One week to go until Destination: Digital - The Playbook kicks off, and this is your LAST chance to secure a spot at Aotearoa`s only conference dedicated to tourism marketers!
The buzz is building, and the final tickets are flying out the door. Don`t just take our word for it - check out what last year`s attendees had to say 👇
Get ready for game-changing insights from expert industry thought-leaders, and interactive practical workshops to set you up for success in 2025. It`s all taking place at the @bhivenz in Auckland next Tuesday, 3rd December.
🎟️ Grab your tickets before they`re all gone: link in bio!
#TourismMarketing #NZmarketing #MarketingEvents #TourismIndustry
Final chance to grab an Earlybird ticket for Destination: Digital 📣
On our ‘From Insight to Impact’ panel, you’ll hear from data-driven decision makers Rachel Howie (RealNZ), Shaun Fitzgibbon (TRA), and Sarah Britton (nee Short) (Tourism New Zealand), who’ll bring a diverse range of perspectives on how you can leverage data to shape marketing strategies, identify emerging trends, and build high-impact campaigns.
As NZ’s only conference dedicated to tourism marketers, it’s a day all about equipping our industry with the latest tactics and techniques for your digital toolboxes. Now all that’s missing is you - see you on Tuesday December 3 (the day prior to TEC Xmas Symposium) at the B:Hive in Auckland. Grab an earlybird ticket before 5pm today 👉 link in bio.
Final chance to grab an Earlybird ticket for Destination: Digital 📣
On our ‘From Insight to Impact’ panel, you’ll hear from data-driven decision makers Rachel Howie (RealNZ), Shaun Fitzgibbon (TRA), and Sarah Britton (nee Short) (Tourism New Zealand), who’ll bring a diverse range of perspectives on how you can leverage data to shape marketing strategies, identify emerging trends, and build high-impact campaigns.
As NZ’s only conference dedicated to tourism marketers, it’s a day all about equipping our industry with the latest tactics and techniques for your digital toolboxes. Now all that’s missing is you - see you on Tuesday December 3 (the day prior to TEC Xmas Symposium) at the B:Hive in Auckland. Grab an earlybird ticket before 5pm today 👉 link in bio.
After just 8 months of dazzling us all with her epic energy, enthusiasm and quick learning; our superstar PT, @emi.cross, has been promoted to our Digital Performance Executive and we couldn`t be prouder! 🚀
From navigating the tourism industry to crafting Google and Meta campaigns, Emi has truly embraced the world of paid media like a pro 👏👏👏
#Promotion #DigitalMarketing #TourismIndustry #NZ
After just 8 months of dazzling us all with her epic energy, enthusiasm and quick learning; our superstar PT, @emi.cross, has been promoted to our Digital Performance Executive and we couldn`t be prouder! 🚀
From navigating the tourism industry to crafting Google and Meta campaigns, Emi has truly embraced the world of paid media like a pro 👏👏👏
#Promotion #DigitalMarketing #TourismIndustry #NZ
As our trip down Maverick memory lane continues, we`re shining a light on the highlights of 2020 and 2021. It was the years that a certain large global event threw a few surprises into the mix - and when our mantra quickly became Keep Calm and Carry On.
While international borders were closed, domestic demand remained strong and we worked alongside clients to encourage Kiwis to explore their big backyards.
We ran free weekly webinars to offer tips, tricks and tactics to the industry to pivot and drive conversions from the domestic market - and we shared our Maverick magic with tons of tourism businesses as part of the Qualmark Digital Capability programme.
🔒 Lockdowns (remember those?!) brought us together online
🐳 We kicked off our partnership with Destination Kaikōura
👩✈️ We dressed up as Top Gun fighter pilots for our team photoshoot
🌲 We climbed new partnership heights with Redwoods Treewalk
🛶 Team day saw us paddle to Rangitoto and enjoy a sunset BBQ
We all have our memories of the pandemic years - and for us, working hard to help our clients survive and thrive was a real source of pride.
Looking back, this time was key in building our resilience and agility - and helping to lay the foundations for next chapter of Maverick (more on that next week!)
#nztravel #digitalmarketing #tourismbusiness #workanniversary
As our trip down Maverick memory lane continues, we`re shining a light on the highlights of 2020 and 2021. It was the years that a certain large global event threw a few surprises into the mix - and when our mantra quickly became Keep Calm and Carry On.
While international borders were closed, domestic demand remained strong and we worked alongside clients to encourage Kiwis to explore their big backyards.
We ran free weekly webinars to offer tips, tricks and tactics to the industry to pivot and drive conversions from the domestic market - and we shared our Maverick magic with tons of tourism businesses as part of the Qualmark Digital Capability programme.
🔒 Lockdowns (remember those?!) brought us together online
🐳 We kicked off our partnership with Destination Kaikōura
👩✈️ We dressed up as Top Gun fighter pilots for our team photoshoot
🌲 We climbed new partnership heights with Redwoods Treewalk
🛶 Team day saw us paddle to Rangitoto and enjoy a sunset BBQ
We all have our memories of the pandemic years - and for us, working hard to help our clients survive and thrive was a real source of pride.
Looking back, this time was key in building our resilience and agility - and helping to lay the foundations for next chapter of Maverick (more on that next week!)
#nztravel #digitalmarketing #tourismbusiness #workanniversary
As we continue reflecting on a decade of Maverick, today we`re throwing it back to 2019 - a year filled with fun, adventures, and a bit of mischief.
This was the year we kicked off our first themed photoshoot in goofy bowling whites, #justbecause!
We had an epic team day at @ecozip_adventures, zipping through the trees then using their awesome conference facilities to plan world domination.
2019 also saw Tim and Alex heading down to Rotorua to onboard @offroadnzrotorua - just look at Tim sizing up that impressive 7-metre drop on their awesome 4WD Bush Safari product 😱 Five years on and we`re still proud as punch to work with Ian, Carol and the team.
To top it all off, we threw a fabulous birthday bash to mark five fantastic years in business with some of our favourite tourism friends. Time flies when you`re having fun! 🙌
#nztravel #digitalmarketing #tourismbusiness #workanniversary
As we continue reflecting on a decade of Maverick, today we`re throwing it back to 2019 - a year filled with fun, adventures, and a bit of mischief.
This was the year we kicked off our first themed photoshoot in goofy bowling whites, #justbecause!
We had an epic team day at @ecozip_adventures, zipping through the trees then using their awesome conference facilities to plan world domination.
2019 also saw Tim and Alex heading down to Rotorua to onboard @offroadnzrotorua - just look at Tim sizing up that impressive 7-metre drop on their awesome 4WD Bush Safari product 😱 Five years on and we`re still proud as punch to work with Ian, Carol and the team.
To top it all off, we threw a fabulous birthday bash to mark five fantastic years in business with some of our favourite tourism friends. Time flies when you`re having fun! 🙌
#nztravel #digitalmarketing #tourismbusiness #workanniversary
Today, we’re reminiscing about 2018 – a real milestone year for Maverick! 🌟 2018 saw us kick off our partnership with the legendary @hobbitontours, an absolute business highlight. Collaborating with such an iconic operator brought our passion and know-how for tourism marketing to life in a whole new way. 2018 was also the year we were lucky enough to add Kelly Hookey to the team – six years later, Kel is one of our longest-serving Mavericks and leads our powerhouse Performance team.
#DigitalMarketing #ThrowbackThursday #WorkAnniversary #NZbusiness
Today, we’re reminiscing about 2018 – a real milestone year for Maverick! 🌟 2018 saw us kick off our partnership with the legendary @hobbitontours, an absolute business highlight. Collaborating with such an iconic operator brought our passion and know-how for tourism marketing to life in a whole new way. 2018 was also the year we were lucky enough to add Kelly Hookey to the team – six years later, Kel is one of our longest-serving Mavericks and leads our powerhouse Performance team.
#DigitalMarketing #ThrowbackThursday #WorkAnniversary #NZbusiness
Today we’re throwing it back to 2014, where Maverick’s journey began 🌍✈️ After working at Tourism New Zealand, Founder Alex Dykman left for an OE in South America – collaborating with a bunch of awesome kiwi operators on all things marketing along the way. Curating digital strategies, social media plans and paid media campaigns in between exploring the Galapagos Islands and hiking in the Andes – now that’s work/life balance😉
After returning home, Alex set up Maverick Digital officially, and the rest is history. From humble beginnings to helping tourism smash digital in New Zealand, the USA, Canada and the South Pacific - we’re celebrating a decade in business! Here’s to many more years of innovation and adventure in tourism marketing.
#maverickturns10 #tourism #newzealand #marketing #throwbackthursday
Today we’re throwing it back to 2014, where Maverick’s journey began 🌍✈️ After working at Tourism New Zealand, Founder Alex Dykman left for an OE in South America – collaborating with a bunch of awesome kiwi operators on all things marketing along the way. Curating digital strategies, social media plans and paid media campaigns in between exploring the Galapagos Islands and hiking in the Andes – now that’s work/life balance😉
After returning home, Alex set up Maverick Digital officially, and the rest is history. From humble beginnings to helping tourism smash digital in New Zealand, the USA, Canada and the South Pacific - we’re celebrating a decade in business! Here’s to many more years of innovation and adventure in tourism marketing.
#maverickturns10 #tourism #newzealand #marketing #throwbackthursday
Cheers to an epic Hospitality New Zealand conference in Ōtautahi Christchurch 🥂
#conference #networking #hospitality #wearemaverick
Cheers to an epic Hospitality New Zealand conference in Ōtautahi Christchurch 🥂
#conference #networking #hospitality #wearemaverick
We can whip up a Google Ad, witty caption or SEO audit - easy peasy 🍋
Turns out us Mavericks can whip up a pretty tasty feast too! 👩🍳
@maincoursenz #teambonding #cookoff #masterchef #teamday #wearemaverick
We can whip up a Google Ad, witty caption or SEO audit - easy peasy 🍋
Turns out us Mavericks can whip up a pretty tasty feast too! 👩🍳
@maincoursenz #teambonding #cookoff #masterchef #teamday #wearemaverick
We're a team of tourism and digital experts who hang our hats on doing high impact work that affects your bottom line.