Jenn Wright of New Zealand writes:
How would your Hounds promote Adventure in New Zealand for mid-life women (typically 45-65) which combines life coaching and moderate adventure in a landscape unmatched?
Target market: professional women who are not “athletes” but who have moderate fitness, and are at a place in life where they want to push their inner/outer boundaries and grow exponentially.
The 6-day/5-night adventure costs $1,999 and is all-inclusive. It’s on a private, one-of-a-kind track that traverses in four days amazing rainforest, sea cliffs, beaches, and a distance of about 22 miles. The track, a challenge for most women, is combined with one full day of inner exploration/bonding before the track, and a 10-Step Heroine Process is “worked” throughout the track via group and individual coaching sessions.
“Accommodation is group style, unique, cozy, comfortable. (no roughing it!) and healthy meals. What ideas do your Hounds have for how I can promote this in the U.S.?”
There are four immediate angles I see to this story: psychological growth and wellness; fitness; nutrition and travel.
For mind-body story angles, I would enlist the help of a psychotherapist or psychologist to talk about why getting away and setting/achieving new goals is important for women 45-65. I would further talk to a personal trainer who successfully works with women in this age group to discuss the value of pushing to new physical levels with the added benefit of beautiful surroundings. A separate story may be pitched regarding healthy eating, with the expert being the chef at the facility where attendees stay. Offer sample menus, of course!
This is an “off-the-beaten path” travel story which might provide interest to those who don’t want to do the touristy destinations.
In Southern California, lifestyle or social clubs are very popular. Get in with these groups – a great example would be Athletic Singles Association – and you’re golden. Most of these groups do the same trips repeatedly each year, and have a reach of hundreds of women in your target market. Better still, they’re likely to fill up your trips themselves – making marketing a snap.
As a 55 year old married lady, I’d be interested in knowing if there any similar packages offered for men at the same time. That way we could take our own “specialized adventures” and still have a joint vacation before or after. This might widen the appeal. Team up with someone and do joint marketing.
Also, consider asking airlines or travel agents about special deals for flights and rooms (just before and after) or add-on trips that folks might like to take advantage of since the travel time is long from the U.S.
Suggesting other points of interest to visit the country may induce more reasons to join your trip.
You might even form agreements with others to widen the spectrum of opportunities for publicity. Is anyone else advertising in travel magazines, sending out direct mail pieces to travel groups, targeting women in that age group, etc. This would reduce your costs and get your message out to more women.
Search the Internet for people who are coaches. They could be excellent sources of contacts and they be willing to share it with their clients.
Also, place ads or sponsored-by pieces on e-zines that target this age group and/or self-development.
Good luck! It sounds great.
I think you can pitch this as an interesting feature for the U.S. women and “healthy living” magazine market. Here are some points to consider: is this sort of trip a growing trend? For instance, I believe other companies are doing the bonding/women team building thing while offering trips to other destinations. Consider, too, that this is a baby boomer market. So it makes sense that these kinds of trips will gain great popularity. Try and find an expert that will attest to this and you can crack the business/general interest magazine market.
Meanwhile, let the previous attendees tell their stories and explain to the readers how the trip changed their lives. Additionally, the article can offer a before/after the trip profile on these women. The details of your trip can be highlighted in a sidebar.
Here’s one more idea: give Oprah a FREE trip! Take her along and film segments of the trip for her show! Well worth giving away a free trip.
Wish I could come!
Well, since I took the “How to Use Craigslist…” teleseminar, I would definitely start by posting on their travel forum. At the same time, I would post on the events pages, which you can do for a wide variety of cities. I think this would be a good way to start marketing without spending any money.
I would post to the web site and email newsletter Journeywoman, http://www.journeywoman.com
This web site is devoted to safe travel for women of any age, and would be an ideal vehicle for the adventurous audience you seek!
I would look at a possible ad in magazines such as Woman’s Day where there is a large reader base comprised mostly of women. Another avenue would be to target some of the new age spas that work with the inner side of people.
A GREAT place to advertise would be in the community of Sedona, AZ. The people who live in, and many who visit, Sedona are very much either in-tune or looking to become more in-tune with their inner-self. Holistic, herbal and spiritual growth are big business there.
Check out the list of Yoga Studios and teachers in the US sponsored by Yoga Journal. These are the type of retreats that yogis love!
Hi Jenn, your program brings Outward Bound to mind, and I know some businesses use that as a reward to achiever employees – maybe explore the corporate rewards side of the business, as well as the fitness/nutrition side? I’d also suggest that the same people who find the Appalachin Trail walks appealing would find your program interesting, so piggyback off them (maybe explore via Kathmandu, Canoe & Kayak retailers)? However I’m not sure how broad an appeal your “Middle Earth” pitch would have – I expect it would be rather a small portion of the US market, and I think it is much more critical to NZ than to the US as a selling point (and it’s also been a while now since the movies were released). Good luck!