tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-184396966784813723.post8601921014632462087..comments2023-09-11T07:15:32.445-05:00Comments on Social Media for PR Class: Last Minute Travel Travails - or how not to run a promotional campaigncorinnewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18433410355420569684noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-184396966784813723.post-71245954247633034522009-05-05T08:20:00.000-05:002009-05-05T08:20:00.000-05:00Lol, I just came across this page. Very well writt...Lol, I just came across this page. Very well written article, I wish I had come across it earlier. I agree with you that the contest has largely been a failure. Even months afterward I don't know anyone who has used LMT to book a paid reservation. Their prices just aren't as competitive as Hotwire/Priceline.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-184396966784813723.post-22118075105104368232009-05-03T08:26:00.000-05:002009-05-03T08:26:00.000-05:00Hmmm. Interesting, an anonymous comment praising t...Hmmm. Interesting, an anonymous comment praising the promotion the same day Keta Keta visits my blog. Leaving fake comments on behalf of a client is so unethical IMHO.corinnewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18433410355420569684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-184396966784813723.post-82589461336154537022009-05-03T08:25:00.000-05:002009-05-03T08:25:00.000-05:00Hmmm. Interesting, an anonymous comment praising t...Hmmm. Interesting, an anonymous comment praising the promotion the same day Keta Keta visits my blog. Leaving fake comments on behalf of a client is so unethical IMHO.corinnewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18433410355420569684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-184396966784813723.post-26501007814554022502009-05-03T02:11:00.000-05:002009-05-03T02:11:00.000-05:00I actually did win a 7 night vacation to Disney. M...I actually did win a 7 night vacation to Disney. My kids were thrilled, and my husband and I were so happy to be able to take a trip this year! <br />We never expected to be able to, so this was an amazing surprise. <br /><br />LMT made my family's year!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-184396966784813723.post-31185008899107778402009-02-05T14:22:00.000-06:002009-02-05T14:22:00.000-06:00@Tennor - Just saw on the forum that they finally ...@Tennor - Just saw on the forum that they finally did give you the booking for free. Congrats!corinnewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18433410355420569684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-184396966784813723.post-92059515329861757252009-02-04T11:15:00.000-06:002009-02-04T11:15:00.000-06:00Corinnew,Will you be analyzing the effects of the ...Corinnew,<BR/><BR/>Will you be analyzing the effects of the Promotional Campaign and how it kept changing its shape/form due to unexpected catalyst? (e.g. the different softwares that were used to circumvent the TOS) How about the psychological effect this Campaign has taken on people, such as sacrificing their time to get a vacation for the family or how frustration/anger escalates to a borderline virtual mob scene with threats for lawsuits, ECBs, etc.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-184396966784813723.post-87388923114177676212009-02-03T22:26:00.000-06:002009-02-03T22:26:00.000-06:00"No one is calling you a “cheat,” we simply are pr..."No one is calling you a “cheat,” we simply are preventing robots from violating the rules."<BR/><BR/>I wonder if they will re-shoot their <A HREF="http://www.veoh.com/videos/v17340261wEtP4sTM" REL="nofollow">clue videos</A> in order to edit out their own use of auto-reload scripts :-)corinnewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18433410355420569684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-184396966784813723.post-54607826692204009152009-02-03T22:12:00.000-06:002009-02-03T22:12:00.000-06:00Response from email written to LMT:Hi Kristen,A fe...Response from email written to LMT:<BR/><BR/>Hi Kristen,<BR/><BR/><BR/><BR/>A few things before I address your specific questions. Any questions you have should be sent to LastMinuteTravel .com employees as Ypartnership is responsible only for communicating information to members of the press. Next, I do want to thank you for your comments and want to provide you with answers.<BR/><BR/><BR/><BR/>I can confirm, we are absolutely still running the World for $1 campaign. Week two started yesterday and continues through this Friday. We did make some changes which have completely limited the use of non-manual activities (robots, etc) on the site, as they are against our terms and conditions. No one is calling you a “cheat,” we simply are preventing robots from violating the rules. However, for individuals who explore www.lastminutetravel.com, The World for $1 sale is very much available for a total of 15 minutes per day - no more than 3 sessions of no less than 5 minutes - covering the entire hotel inventory. The reason we launched this sale was to introduce people to the website – show them that our rates, availability, service and speed really are better than “the big guys.” I suggest that instead of simply refreshing, get to know the site a little better.<BR/><BR/>We did change the terms and conditions before the campaign started in order to stay with in the laws that govern promotions such as this. I am sorry, I know that was frustrating, but laws are created in the best interest of the consumer so we had to maintain that. Here is a link to the Terms and Conditions http://www.lastminutetravel.com/w...ar-TC.aspx and a full FAQ on our blog: http://worldforadollar.lastminutetravel.com/<BR/><BR/><BR/><BR/>I understand that you are frustrated – but please know the promotion is not over. During the first 6 days of the campaign 955 reservations were made sending 2,261 people on a free vacation. I hope I have answered some of your questions.<BR/><BR/><BR/><BR/>Lauren Volcheff<BR/><BR/>Director of Marketing<BR/><BR/>Travel Holdings, Inc.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-184396966784813723.post-25670768787224209452009-02-03T19:24:00.000-06:002009-02-03T19:24:00.000-06:00The problem is stuff like this:"I had called custo...The problem is stuff like this:<BR/>"I had called customer service [...] CS rep said that it will be random times - hints have no value anymore - particularly in reference to time- and that not everybody would get videos regardless - it would be based on cookie when you logged in. Another - completely random as to who and when. Best advice he said was to look around site some and see if got lucky ...." (taken from <A HREF="http://forums.slickdeals.net/showpost.php?p=16780637&postcount=1944" REL="nofollow">forum</A>)<BR/><BR/>If that's the case, they need to clarify that ASAP before more people get upset.<BR/><BR/>If it's not, the CS reps need to be clued in on what's going on.corinnewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18433410355420569684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-184396966784813723.post-6075069707210837562009-02-03T17:48:00.000-06:002009-02-03T17:48:00.000-06:00This promotion was a failure for the company, in m...This promotion was a failure for the company, in my opinon. No, consumers are not "entitled" to free hotel rooms - but I know that I, and a lot of other unhappy people, will not be using their website in the future. The fact that they changed and even disregarded the Terms of the promotion makes me uncomfortable trusting them with my credit card information. And the fact that they never answered the several emails that I sent shows how bad their customer service is. It's true that the idea of the promotion is great and a win-win for both the company and the consumers, but the execution was off and did not instill confidence.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-184396966784813723.post-42250074797308879662009-02-03T17:37:00.000-06:002009-02-03T17:37:00.000-06:00I agree that after the first 2 days, there was def...I agree that after the first 2 days, there was definitely a lot of excitement on LMT and the public about getting up to 7 days free anywhere in the world. If LMT had stopped right then and there, they would have had a fairly good reputation (granted if they admitted that more people won they then expected). However, it's really a cause and effect situation. LMT found out that there were 3rd party proprietary software that was being used to circumvent the booking process (software that automatically refreshed or those that sped up the video). It clearly read in the TOS that if used, would violate the terms established. At this point, LMT could have pulled the campaign as well and again, had fair light shined upon them. However, they continued but made it more difficult and (admittedly) more obscure for people to get bookings. I believe that due to the public finding a loophole (or depending on how you want to phrase it, finding an "upperhand"), LMT had to change their TOS to prevent these measures from occurring. Although I agree that the campaign has really taken a turn for the worst, and reputation for LMT has been tarnished, one cannot argue that the first 2 days were not highly successful but certain anomalies (3rd party software) made it go downhill after that.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-184396966784813723.post-27527739262315353542009-02-03T17:03:00.000-06:002009-02-03T17:03:00.000-06:00I just think you have to be careful when you try t...I just think you have to be careful when you try to create this type of excitement around a campaign. The way this was set up through the videos and the intial reports of successful bookings created powerful expectations in people's minds. Are they entitled to a prize? No. Did they think they had a chance? Yes, mainly because of the way this was set up: figure out the clues, log on, book, win.<BR/>When those rules were changed, people got mad. Did LMT have a legal right to change those rules? Absolutely. I just don't think that helps them in the court of public opinion.<BR/>If there are reasons for changing the rules, let people know (ASAP), and explain why they were changed. I'm convinced people wouldn't have reacted that negatively if LMT had been more transparent.corinnewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18433410355420569684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-184396966784813723.post-3298771665841498782009-02-03T16:48:00.000-06:002009-02-03T16:48:00.000-06:00Communication is definitely a key to effectively d...Communication is definitely a key to effectively deploying a marketing strategy...it's probably fair to say that LMT did not think this out thoroughly and could have made a better effort to communicate to the public, given they do have blogs and such in which to do so. However, at what point does a person cross that line of feeling like they need redemption for their time and energy spent on trying to get the hotel stay? I don't disagree that LMT failed to communicate, but is it not up to the people to make their own choices of whether or not they want any part of this promotion? I think ownership and responsibility has not been partially shared by the public in this matter; after all, no one is being forced to participate and participation is at the user's discretion. The blame game comes easy when one is behind the majority line.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-184396966784813723.post-30381843836164142872009-02-03T16:29:00.000-06:002009-02-03T16:29:00.000-06:00@ anonymous (#3)I think the point is that people w...@ anonymous (#3)<BR/>I think the point is that people wouldn't have reacted so strongly if LMT had communicated with them. I've been following this promo since day one and have been surprised how uninvolved LMT has been in this discussion - especially given all the rumors and accusations. They have a blog - why not use it? I'm not saying they should give the clues away, but they could have addressed people's questions/concerns before the whole deal got out of hand.corinnewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18433410355420569684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-184396966784813723.post-33152370831745975022009-02-03T16:19:00.000-06:002009-02-03T16:19:00.000-06:00First off, great promotion IDEA by LMT whether or ...First off, great promotion IDEA by LMT whether or not the user got in on it and received a free hotel stay. Granted they could have managed it better instead of changing the TOS as they well and pleased (which they do have the right to do anyway), but the public image has been tarnished in some eyes. Understandably, the people who got in probably have little to no ill will and those who didn't are the antithesis. However, isn't this what happens in general? The people who get something feel an euphoria and those who don't feel left out and in some cases bitter. There's a fine line between someone who does not get what they want and is riled up about it to the point of defaming the company versus someone who does not get what they want and moves on with their life. Hopefully the logical and tempered people decide which they want to be.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-184396966784813723.post-39357529328597724732009-02-03T16:03:00.000-06:002009-02-03T16:03:00.000-06:00Great blog. Totally agree with you.I'm still waiti...Great blog. Totally agree with you.<BR/><BR/>I'm still waiting to hear back why I was charged the full amount last night.Tennorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09440213121690232134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-184396966784813723.post-88987788014879927222009-02-03T15:59:00.000-06:002009-02-03T15:59:00.000-06:00Great summary of that fiasco. Unfortunately people...Great summary of that fiasco. Unfortunately people won't truly understand it unless they participated in it and saw how frustrating it was. After all the shenanigans the company pulled, I'm not sure I would trust booking travel arrangements - let alone giving up my credit card info - with them.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com