Head of advertising explains the travel retailer's rebranding marketing initiatives as the group reports solid full-year financial performance
The rebrand of Helloworld - including a new logo and marketing initiatives - has added a “greater depth of meaning and impact” to the travel brand and its identity, according to head of advertising and promotions, Dominique Dalton.
Helloworld Travel is an Australian based travel agency specialising in retail, corporate and wholesale travel products and packages. This week, the company announced its full-year results for 2018, while at the same time signalled its rebrand to Helloworld Travel in Australia had been completed. The new branding was successfully rolled out across the network during the 2018 financial year.
“We sought a lot of feedback from customer, internal stakeholders and brand and design experts," Dalton said. "Consumers weren’t sure what industry we represented and it was time to define that and clear up any confusion."
The group reported full-year revenue increased by $1.6 million to $326.9 million to 30 June 2018, representing higher transaction volumes and improved contracting outcomes across the business. This was partially offset by lower international airfares. Profit after tax was $32 million, an increase of $10.4 million, or 48.1 per cent, compared with the prior year
Referencing the rebrand, the company said it had made significant investments in more focused consumer marketing, advertising and sponsorship in FY18 to strategically accelerate Helloworld Travel’s brand presence.
“The strategy has proved successful with prompted and unprompted consumer brand awareness for the Helloworld Travel brand growing significantly,” the company stated. “Helloworld Travel continues to invest in its internally developed technology to provide enhanced travel solutions and experiences for its member network, partners and customers.”
Asked what results have been achieved thanks to the rebrand over the past year, Dalton noted a marked uptick in brand awareness.
“Our franchisees love the new look in their stores, consumer feedback tells us that the new look is inviting, that they feel confident dealing with a travel professional and that the new branding is fresh and contemporary. The rebrand has added a greater depth of meaning and impact to the Helloworld Travel brand and identity. It’s also helped to differentiate Helloworld Travel from others in the market,” she said.
Among the new marketing initiatives launched to support the rebrand are an expanded agreement with News Corp as its platinum travel partner, as well as plans for a TV show called Helloworld, that will air from October 2018 on Nine. Dalton noted the rebrand marketing has also involved new channels and execution tactics.
“We continue to market via omni-channel offerings and research indicates that the cut through we are achieving has certainly increased as a result of the brand refresh," she said. "We reintroduced a jingle that customers were familiar with and integrated 'The Travel Professional' tagline as one of our key brand assets.”
Related: How Helloworld scaled out its digital marketing platform
Related: How Helloworld's social tactics helped boost sales and customer engagement
As for next steps, Dalton Helloworld Travel will continue to integrate its new-look branding into all marketing activity, drive brand awareness and support its agent network.
More widely, Helloworld Travel is focused on growing revenue margins, cost reduction and extracting further efficiencies in its business to improve profitability.
“For the third consecutive year, key metrics including EBITDA, net profit after tax and earnings per share have increased significantly," the company stated in its financial report. "In FY18, Helloworld Travel continued to grow its business while successfully reducing costs to resize the cost base, supported by enhanced technology solutions and business process efficiencies.”
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