Press Releases

May 11, 2007 -- Eye For Travel: Home&Abroad Considers Creation of `Content Capital Dashboard'

(www.eyefortravel.com -- 5/11/2007)

Sales and Marketing in Travel USA 2007: By EFT Correspondent in Miami

Are popular providers of destination content able to differentiate themselves?

Mark Schroeder, CEO, Home&Abroad.com doesn't think this is the case right now.

Schroeder, a speaker during the Sales and Marketing in Travel USA 2007 conference in Miami, said, "Our belief is that content has become commoditized. When one looks at the popular providers of destination content, there isn't a significant difference."

Elaborating on the same, Schroeder said, "One provider may have more pictures, one may have more editorial features, but in the final analysis none stand out as uniquely different. The key thing is how that content is served up, how it 'matches' the preference set of a user, how it creates causal connections with the right kinds of products and services that will broaden and deepen the appreciation of a destination."

So what is the core competency of his portal when it comes to content? What do consumers look up to when they visit Home&Abroad.com?

"As everyone in the industry knows, the majority of travelers experience frustration and anxiety when it comes to trip planning. We want to be the tool that travelers turn to to alleviate that frustration: fast, free, and personalized service is our motto," Schroeder told EyeforTravel.com's Ritesh Gupta.

Sharing his observations on the content, he pointed out:
"Today, content is delivered as if there is just one kind of user and it's not sensitive to user differences in intelligence or age. Different kinds of content will benefit from targeting different emotional reactions, as well as an array of intelligences. Not only is content served up the same for all, but it's important to track in a more versatile manner how the content is used by different kinds of clients. Both content tracking and content use need to be dialed down to a more personal level to be effective in Travel 2.0."

"Home&Abroad believes there are various models for acquiring content, the best one being the acquisition of expert, client-generated, and user-generated content that exists in a fluid state, so it can be modified as necessary," said Schroeder. "Typically it's best to outsource this process, as it is not the core competency of most travel companies. Having said that, and when working with a client, it is critical to start the processing by framing the use of content around conversion goals and business objectives. Destination content has been seen as a kind of necessary must-have. By creating a just-in-time content modification system in concert with more precise data metrics around the use of content, we believe that travel companies will enhance their users' experience."

In his presentation during the session "Measure the ROI of your content strategy", he referred to following considerations when it comes to content:
1. What data would be useful for better understanding of leaks and funnel building within the web site?
2. How should the data be gathered and warehoused over time?
3. How do leaks vary across the organization and across time?
4. How do the leaks compare with those from competitors?
5. Does the company have the ability to change and publish content quickly?
6. In what ways is the strategy of the company threatened by leaks?
As far as goals for Home&Abroad.com over the next quarter are concerned, he said: "We would like to dramatically extend the range of cities that we cover. We would like to create a Content Capital Dashboard, similar to a Human Capital Dashboard, that provides our clients with just-in-time data on how well their content is performing. And lastly, we will continue to evolve our application, make it smarter, more inferential, and easier to use."