SOUTHLAKE, TX – MARCH 10, 2014 – On a mission to inspire people to do things they’ve never done and see things they’ve never seen, Travelocity and The Roaming Gnome are inviting consumers once again to “Go & Smell the Roses” in a series of new advertising, digital and promotional efforts that encourage would-be travelers to actively dream about where they want to go. The new integrated campaign highlights the very best of The Roaming Gnome’s globetrotting adventures and kicks off the #iWannaGo Contest, enticing consumers to tell The Roaming Gnome where they want to travel for a chance to win their ultimate dream vacation.
“Focusing on #iWannaGo in our newest campaign is more than just a contest. It’s a way to celebrate the universal truth of wanderlust and to encourage travelers to share their travel dreams with others,” said Bradley Wilson, chief marketing officer, Travelocity North America. “Whether it’s booking a quick trip to see family and friends or traveling to far-off lands and exotic destinations, we want to hear about it…we also want to help you get there. We want to know, where do you wanna go?”
The #iWannaGo promotion was unveiled last night alongside the debut of the brand’s seven new “Go & Smell the Roses” television spots and an integrated partnership with CBS’ All-Star Edition of “The Amazing Race” where The Roaming Gnome joined contestants on an amazing adventure through waterfalls and raging rivers in the jungles of Borneo.
Developed with Durham-based advertising agency McKinney, the seven new television spots – “Sidecar,” “Safari,” “Walls,” “Beached,” “Surf,” “Swordfish,” and “Rappelling” – are the newest extensions to the brand’s wildly popular “Go & Smell the Roses” campaign that launched in 2013. The new spots can be seen on major broadcast and cable networks including, ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX and exclusively on Travelocity’s own social media channels including Facebook (www.Facebook.com/Travelocity), YouTube (www.YouTube.com/Travelocity) and Twitter channel (@RoamingGnome).
#IWannaGo Contest Details Beginning March 6 through May 5, 2014, consumers can tell The Roaming Gnome where they wanna go by posting dream travel tweets, photos or videos on Twitter, Instagram or Vine using the hashtag #iWannaGo. Two winners selected according to official contest rules will win their dream #iWannaGo trip, and will be announced via social media in April and May. For the full contest details and official rules visit, Travelocity.com/iWannaGo.
#IWannaGo Travel Survey
As part of #iWannaGo, Travelocity conducted a national survey to better understand and identify where, how and with whom most Americans prefer to travel. According to the survey, when asked who most Americans would prefer to vacation with, nearly half (44%) stated their significant other. However if the opportunity to vacation with a celebrity presented itself, nearly 40% said they would opt for someone funny like Ellen or Jimmy Fallon.
Other highlights from the national telephone survey included:
- 44% of respondents want a relaxing trip, especially women (55%) who want to be on a beach or at a spa
- 33% of millennials (18-34) prefer a European vacation 27% of Americans want to stay on their home soil (U.S.) for travel and vacation
- 25% of men want to travel to Australia
- 21% of luxury travelers (household incomes of $100K+) want to go on vacation with “someone smart” like Mark Zuckerberg or Marissa Mayer
Part of the inspiration behind Travelocity’s #iWannaGo campaign stems not only from the results of the national survey, but from the thousands of everyday fans and followers who socially share their dreams of wanting to get away and see the world. To celebrate these travel dreamers, Travelocity will take over the #iWannaGo hashtag on Twitter from midnight to 11:59 p.m. on Wed., March 12.
For more information on the Travelocity #iWannaGo campaign, contest or survey results, please visit Travelocity.com/iWannaGo. Travelocity can be found on Twitter (@RoamingGnome), Facebook (www.Facebook.com/Travelocity), YouTube (www.YouTube.com/Travelocity) and Instagram (http://instagram.com/roaminggnome).
About the Survey
The Travelocity “iWannaGo” Survey presents the findings of a telephone survey conducted by ORC International among two national probability samples, which, when combined, consists of 1,004 adults, 503 men and 501 women 18 years of age and older, living in the continental United States. Interviewing for this CARAVAN® Survey was completed on February 27-March 2, 2014. 654 interviews were from the landline sample and 350 interviews from the cell phone sample. The margin of error for the national sample is +/- 3 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level.
About Travelocity
Travelocity wants to inspire you to “Go & Smell the Roses!” and is dedicated to being your kindred spirit – a travel companion and a travel instigator, roaming the world beside you while helping make your traveling experience memorable with innovative apps, competitive prices and 24/7 customer service. Based in Southlake (Dallas/Fort Worth), Texas, Travelocity is owned by Sabre, a global technology company whose innovative technology is used by approximately one billion people around the world to plan, book and get to their destination at a time and price that’s right for them.
CONTACT:
Heather Wilkins
Citizen Relations
(949) 809-6766
Heather.wilkins@citizenrelations.com