Limitless traveller choice and data personalisation in China: Final sessions for Travel Marketing Summit announced

Cutting through the limitless choice on offer to travellers and mastering data personalisation in China are the final two session topics to be announced for Mumbrella Asia’s inaugural Travel Marketing Summit in Singapore on April 16.

During the one-day conference at the Novotel in Clarke Quay, among the hot-button topics on the agenda will be disruption, non-traditional marketing, the influencer boom and bust, content marketing best-practice and artificial intelligence tools. There will be global speakers from companies like Skyscanner and Travelport – not to mention experts from Facebook, Expedia, Japan Airlines, Luxury Escapes, Kayak and TripAdvisor as well as Watson (IBM), Formula One, PHD and comScore to name but a few.

In addition, in a sponsored session kicking off the event media agency UM will unveil new quantitative research from across 10,000 respondents in 12 Asia-Pacific countries. The session titled ‘Limitless Choice and Information Overload – the New Enemy for Travellers’ will deconstruct those touchstone emotional moments of travellers, mapped across their myriad geographical experiences.

For journey planning today is just as complex for travellers as it is for marketers. With media fragmentation, new tourism trends, changing consumer motivations and habits coupled with a non-linear travel journey the traditional marketing space has been truly disrupted.

Limitless choice and information overload has become the traveller’s new enemy. As a result, we can see that travel marketing has become more complex to navigate than ever before. Given this, how does the industry cut through this clutter to ensure relevance for consumers?

In this new study, the combination of data and trends that emerge showcase how brands can become more relevant to the digital-savvy audience of travellers and influencers today. Find out how your brand can connect more deeply by owning the moments that matter, when New York-based UM global chief innovation officer Chad Stoller unveils this exclusive study.

Stoller started with UM in June 2017 and before that worked for a number of prominent companies such as IPG Mediabrands, BBDO and the Arnell Group.

The second sponsored session of the day, from ad tech player iClick Interactive, is titled ‘Data Personalisation in China: Is it the Secret Sauce to Marketing in the World’s Biggest Travel Market?’

As marketing accelerates towards a purely data-driven industry, information is more important than almost anything else if you want to be successful. Especially so in China where the digital landscape is highly complex and fragmented, but also extremely rich in terms of data.

In fact, travel brands and marketers are learning that only a data-driven approach guarantees success in terms of personalising the message to consumers – whether the medium be apps, social or video. But are the tools always good enough to help travel marketers meet their objectives?

Certainly, the beauty of digital – at its best – is that everything is measurable. This allows for better research, better strategy and better planning. Find out how to deliver on all three counts in this session presented by Darren Jacobs, iClick Interactive head of agency sales for South East Asia and Europe.

He will unpack the key conundrums marketers face in China as well as casting an eye towards the future trends in what is potentially the world’s biggest market.

Jacobs has worked in ad tech and media for more than 13 years, holding senior roles in the United Kingdom, Australia and now Singapore. He previously worked for companies such as Yahoo!7, Zenith Optimedia and Ikon Communications. Along the way his clients have included Qantas, Citibank, News International and Vodafone.

In other developments, Kayak head of South East Asia Whey Han Tan is joining the day’s finale: ‘Disruption in the Travel Industry: Which Brands are Shaking the Pillars?’

The panel discussion will also include PHD Singapore APAC head of strategy and planning Chris Stephenson, BeMyGuest CEO and founder Clement Wong, comScore APAC senior vice-president Joe Nguyen and Pan Pacific Hotels Group brand and communications vice-president Lee Kit Pui, as well as Japan Airlines regional manager for marketing and overseas passenger sales Jonathan Wan. Moderating the session will be CtrlShift chief executive officer Dominic Powers.

Meanwhile, Luxury Escapes head of growth marketing Ravish Doctor has also joined the speaker line-up for the panel discussion titled ‘Are Traditional Marketing and Public Relations Still Relevant When it Comes to Travel?’. Doctor previously worked for Skyscanner, Singtel, Nokia and Shell among other brands.

Joining him in the session are JW Marriott Singapore South Beach former director of marketing communications – and now an independent consultant – Monica Alsagoff plus The Smart Local Media managing director Bryan Choo, Ink (an international publishing house) APAC managing director Ric Stockfis and Storyation head of content Lauren Quaintance. Moderating the session will be WorkBook APAC CEO Carl Witton.

Taking on MC duties throughout the day at the conference will be former CNN anchor and now C-suite executive coach, and media owner, Glenn van Zutphen. In an esteemed career, he has worked for CNBC and CNN among others, and now runs his own company the VanMedia Group.

To see the full program – which includes eight international speakers plus more than 35 speakers in total across 11 sessions – and to purchase tickets to the event for just $399 per individual or five tickets for the price of four at $1,596, go to the event website here. For sponsorship enquiries, contact the sales manager Wilfred Wong on [email protected] or +65 9159 2337.

Dean is the publisher at Mumbrella Asia. He is an experienced British journalist, who has worked in a number of international markets including Singapore, Australia, Dubai, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. As well as his media work, he is also a published academic.