Kids are the stars of the latest Thomas Cook Canada campaign that promotes the travel company’s Kids First program.
The program, aimed at kids and their parents, offers a selection of destinations vetted by Thomas Cook that meet the travel needs of families. It also offers travelers $500 in extra perks, including a $50 prepaid Visa, a subscription to Today’s Parent, free airline seat selection and airport lounge passes.
“Kids play a very influential role in the decision to plan a family vacation,” said Jacqueline Grossman, retail marketing director at Toronto-based Thomas Cook. She referred to a study conducted by Harris/Decima that found 60% of parents say their kids influence their travel decisions. Another study by Thomas Cook’s broadcast partner Corus Entertainment found that 92% of moms seek their children’s opinions when making travel plans.
To that end, the marketing campaign features reviews “by kids, for kids,” said Grossman. TV spots and a series of online videos star 8- to 13-year olds reviewing family travel destinations. The spots have the tagline, “Kid reviewed, parent approved.”
As part of a social media component run in partnership with Lola, Thomas Cook teamed up with select Canadian mommy bloggers, who received free vacations and wrote about them on their blogs. Their children were filmed at various vacation spots for the online video series.
The Kids First program launched in November and the marketing campaign is now in its second wave. A TV spot, developed by Corus Entertainment, will air on its YTV and Treehouse specialty channels over the next four weeks.
Thomas Cook’s second video contest is open until March 31. Kids and parents submit a video review of a vacation they’ve taken for the chance to win an all-inclusive holiday at the Mayan Riviera resort.
