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Amy Tan (author of books such as The Joy Luck Club and The Hundred Secret Senses) offers a light hearted presentation on her intimate experiences with the creative process and storytelling in a recently released video on Tedtalks.

Amy Tan talks about her childhood and family history as she seeks the answers to big questions such as why do things happen? How do things happen? and How do I make things happen?

In this interesting presentation, Amy Tan states that creating something from nothing is partly due to chance occurrences, providing her with partial answers in her quest for hidden answers. 

In a report written by David Wilkening for TravelMole, “Marketers going after emerging affluent Latino travelers” - airlines take the lead in spending on Hispanic marketing:

When it comes to going after the US Hispanic market, the airlines are leaders, according to a new report published by Hispanic Market Weekly.

“Marketers continue to aggressively pursue the fast-growing Latino consumer while now developing plans to reach an emerging subgroup – the business and affluent Latino leisure traveler,” said the report.

It shows airlines leading the travel industry in spending.

“Through the first three quarters of 2007, the top 10 airlines invested just over $19 million in Spanish-language advertising, with the majority ($12.5 million) going to Spanish-language network television.  The top investor over the same period was Southwest Airlines at $11.8 million, as tracked by Nielson Monitor-Plus,” said the report. 

The data, as well as insiders, seem to agree that Hispanic travel is poised for dramatic growth. Said Adam Jacobson, associate editor the report’s author:

“What the industry seems most keyed on is the fact that Latino entrepreneurs and those who can afford to take luxury vacations are now gaining in importance, as the ‘visiting friends and relatives’ crowd ponders whether or not to travel in the midst of a sluggish U.S. economy.”

The report also points that many Latinos use online travel sites such as Expedia, Orbitz and Travelocity although they do not have Spanish-language options - a sign that the popular way in which non-Latinos book flights could benefit from a great leap into the US Hispanic market.

The U.S. Department of Commerce today announced that 3.4 million international visitors traveled to the United States in January 2008, an increase of 11 percent over January 2007.  

International visitors also spent a record $11.38 billion (travel receipts and passenger fares), up 23 percent from January 2007.

Highlights of January 2008 International Arrivals to the United States

• Canadian visitation was up 13 percent over January 2007. Air arrivals, accounting for 47 percent of all arrivals, were up nine percent with land arrivals being up 17 percent.
• Arrivals from Mexico (traveling to interior U.S. points) were up 10 percent with air arrivals up down nine percent.
• Overseas arrivals increased nine percent over January of 2007 continuing the strong growth experienced in 2007.
   
• Visitation from Western Europe was up 11 percent in January 2008. Arrivals from Eastern Europe, up 14 percent, continuing the double-digit growth starting in late 2006. Russian visitation increased by 26 percent for the month.
• Arrivals from the United Kingdom were up almost six percent in January following solid growth in 2007. Visitors from the U.K. accounted for 39 percent of all Western European arrivals down from 41 percent in 2007.
• Visitation from other large Western European countries all increased by double-digits in January continuing their growth patterns from 2007. German, French and Japan arrivals were up 13 percent, 15 percent and 13 percent, respectively. The Netherlands, Spainand Ireland were up 16 percent, 17 percent and 22 percent, respectively, for the month.
• Visitation from Asia increased almost four percent in January. Japanese arrivals, however, declined three percent for the month, accounting for 51 percent of all Asian visitors down from 55 percent in January 2007. Arrivals from South Korea, India and the People’s Republic of Chinagrew two percent, 16 percent and 34 percent, respectively. Also, arrivals from Taiwan and Hong Kong increased 11 percent and 6 percent, respectively.
• Arrivals from South America were up 25 percent in January. Double-digit growth in visitation from Brazil, Venezuela, Argentina and Colombia were noted for the month. Brazil is the top arrivals market from South America, accounting for 41 percent of arrivals from the region.
• Travel from Oceania and Australia increased 6 percent in January. Australia accounted for 84 percent of all arrivals from Oceania in January 2008.
• Visitation from Central America was up 12 percent for January. However, the Caribbean was down nine percent mostly due to a 55 percent decline in arrivals from the Bahamas. Arrivals from the Middle East and Africa increased by eight percent and nine percent, respectively.

To access the 2008 monthly arrivals data for world regions and top markets, click here.

Seth Godin’s latest book Meatball Sundae - Is Your Marketing Out of Sync? offers a number of bite sized strategies for seizing new marketing opportunities from fourteen marketing trends.

Godin writes: 

“It’s not an accident that almost all brands, products, and careers that have succeeded with New Marketing are brand new and fresh. The New Marketing demands more than a meatball. It insists on a reinvention of the entire organization and the products it creates. Marketing is now about a lot more than just the yodelling. It’s about the entire package. What you say as much as how you say it. New Marketing is our future. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work so well with meatballs.”

Change or Die. The message is clear. Companies that hold onto traditional marketing plans and strategies will lose. Mass marketing is clearly losing its effectiveness. People no longer tolerate being interrupted by mass marketing advertising tactics. This is clearly happening in the TV world where U.S. consumers are taking back control of their living rooms with the advent of DVRs and TiVo.

Seth outlines fourteen trends in his book, opening new doors to New Marketing. From Web 2.0 and social networking to user generated content, the long tail and permission marketing, Seth writes an easy-to-read marketing guide that clearly illustrates that “Mass [marketing] is no longer achievable…mass is no longer desirable.” 

It’s all about transforming what we make and how we make it. It’s a quick read that offers a variety of valuable insights into New Marketing. If you’re interested in how marketing trends are changing the way consumers purchase products and services - buy this book. It also should be given to senior executives who are stuck in traditional marketing media.

Zoomers - boomers with zip — are hanging up their Bermuda shorts and opting for more colourful adventures, says the Calgary Herald.

No longer content to bask their golden years away on the beach, they want to explore exotic getaways, immerse themselves in foreign cultures and discover something new about their destinations and themselves.

See the full article here - Travel Companies Zero in on ‘Zoomers’

“They’re really after interesting experiences,” says David Cravit, executive vice-president of the 50plus group, a multi-faceted media company that owns CARP magazine and 50plus.com. “And I think we’re just beginning to see the travel industry see those kinds of experiences for this market.”

Cravit says that 50-plus group account for 54 per cent of all trips by Canadians and 55 per cent of foreign trips. Individual companies in the travel industry stand to make a lot of money if they can appeal to this growing sector.

To attract this demographic, the travel industry has refocused its packaged trips and altered its travel loyalty programs.

Moses Znaimer, the boomer-centric media mogul (who coined the term “zoomer” to describe the new-style 50-plus traveler), recently purchased the 50plus group.

Julie Liesse, writing for Advertising Age, says “as the U.S. Hispanic market evolves, new media are playing an increasingly important role in the lives of Hispanics.”

In the same article titled “Digital Work“, José López-Varela of ADN Communications and Chairman-elect of the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies states “Hispanics have really embraced new technology… You don’t hear the term ‘digital divide’ in terms of Hispanics anymore. In fact, a lot of things that the general market still is not using, Hispanics have embraced.”

José López-Varela’s remarks are echoed by Adriana Waterston, VP Marketing and Business Development for Horowitz Associates. “What has been true for the 15 years we have been researching this market is that Hispanics tend to be much more heavily engaged in new technologies and entertainment services than non-Hispanic whites.”

Matías Perel, who founded Latin3 in 2000, guiding the company to a market leadership position as one of the top interactive marketing agencies in the U.S. and Latin America, comments by saying ”A disappointing fact about the U.S. Hispanic market is there is a limitation of content in this market. There are not enough sites directed to Hispanics. Because of that, a lot of Hispanics consume content from Latin America.”

What’s clear is the sentiments of many, including Sergio Zyman, a leading U.S. marketer who wrote that the Hispanic market was one of the largest, fastest growing, and most overlooked market in the United States. [He wrote this more than two years ago].  With rapidly evolving and new technologies to address the Hispanic market, few companies are capitalizing on this critically important market by providing media and content that’s relevant to the market. Matías Perel’s comments only reinforce that the lack of Hispanic targeted content in the U.S. is influencing the way Hispanics seek out and access media.

In the end - the subtitle for this article is relevant and echoes the sentiments of one of the fastest growing U.S. markets - “Hispanic Consumers are evolving and embracing all kinds of new media. Warning: Content Publishers, Technology Providers and marketers lag behind at their peril.” 

According to an article in TravelMolefrom David Wilkening [Are Kids Real Vacation Deciders], conventional wisdom is wrong: It’s not usually mom who makes the decisions about vacations. It’s kids calling the shots.

Wilkening reports that a “Yes Effect Survey” found that almost two thirds of moms say “yes” to their kids more often while on vacation. The survey, conducted by Synovate, was commissioned by the Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau, Inc. and polled hundreds of moms and kids across the country to delve into the power of “yes,” uncovering what moms say “yes” to on vacation as compared to topics kids typically get a “no” response to at home.

Moms shared that they hesitantly say “yes” to their kids on vacation to certain activities including: staying longer at a venue or attraction (64%); swimming in the pool (44%); riding a roller coaster or another ride (37%); and volunteering for a show or activity (21%).

Moms’ top reasons for taking their children on vacation included: to provide new experiences (79%); to relax and have fun (66%); to get away from the stress of work, school and home (63%); and to spend one-on-one time with them (44%).

Looking for more information on experiential marketing? Advent’s Experiential Marketing Today offers free podcasts that you can listen to on their website or if you prefer, download episodes that interest you.

Learn about the new trends of marketing such as the emerging framework for evaluating value, making an emotional connection with your audience - and the new world of service based marketing (by making a difference through a cause).

“U.S. mass transit ridership began to surge when gasoline hit the $3 a gallon level in 2005 and has continued to rise steadily ever since as pump prices top record after record, according to a report released on Monday [March 10, 2008] by the American Public Transit Association.” (Keith Bedford/Reuters)

In an article by Rebekah Kebede/Reuters, titled Mass transit use hits 50-year high on pump prices, Rebekah Kebede writes “Mass transit use increased by more than 2 percent in 2007 to the highest level in 50 years, with Americans taking more than 10 billion trips on public transport while the number of vehicle miles traveled was flat in the first 10 months of the year.”

In late March, Alex Kingsbury and Bret Schulte wrote Mass Transit Systems Have a Hard Time Paying the Bills, citing that “Between 1995 and 2006, use of public transportation increased by 30 percent, a rate far outstripping both population growth and increased highway usage. Last year, that meant Americans took some 10.3 billion trips on mass transit. “

The painful reality is - rising fuel costs means that we are going to see increases in everything that we buy - from oranges at our local grocer to dinner out at our favourite restaurant. With that said, its becoming even more important to focus on creating an authentic story around mass-transit that appeals to the needs of a growing demographic of consumers who want to “ride the bus.”

One mass-transit operator located in Everett, Washington is starting to tell a differnet story by purchasing 23 double-decker buses, saving on fuel costs and repairs.