Thomson campaign says 'You're in Safe Hands'

A new Thomson advertising campaign will seek to reassure potential customers that it is financially secure in the wake of rival Thomas Cook seeking additional borrowing from its banks.

In a move that might be seen as an attempt to capitalise on Cook’s woes, the Tui Travel operator is launching a ‘You’re in Safe Hands’ press campaign designed to reinforce the message that customers can book its holidays with confidence.

The advertising push does not mention Thomas Cook explicity by name but contains a reference to “the recent turbulence experienced by another holiday company”.

The move comes the day after dynamic packaging rival Lowcostholidays was forced to offer a public apology after a Google PPC advert refered to 'Thomas Crooked', prompting Cook to start legal action.

The Thomson promotion “reassures customers that the company is in strong financial shape, so they are in safe hands when booking. It also aims to address any confusion between the two holiday brands”.

Adverts will appear in the Daily Telegraph, Mirror and City A.M. today (Friday) and across key national newspapers over the weekend. 

It will also be supported by email and online marketing highlighting Thomson’s exclusive product range and reassuring customers that they can book with the operator with confidence.

Thomson said the campaign highlights three key points to demonstrate why it is different from its rivals:

• That it hand picks and designs its hotels with its customers in mind - that's why 95% of them rate its holidays as good or excellent
• Three quarters of its holidays are exclusive to Thomson, and cannot be found anywhere else
• Lots of Thomson’s hotels come highly recommended on TripAdvisor

Tui UK and Ireland marketing director Jeremy Ellis said: “When there is uncertainty in the marketplace, consumers want to book their holiday with a company that they can trust, and we want to reassure them that Thomson is in great shape.

“This campaign also highlights the success of Thomson’s strategy of investing in distinctive, high quality product that the rest of the market is unable to copy.  When the economy is slow, customers’ hard-earned two weeks away in the sun become even more important to them, so they want to be confident that they will have a great holiday experience.

”We believe that we offer the very best holidays, not only in terms of experience and value but also peace of mind.”

Cook has consistently said since announcing a deterioration of business on Tuesday that customers can continue to book with confidence with the company.

Cook takes legal action over Lowcostholidays slur

By Travolution

November 24, 2011 01:00 PM GMT

10 Comments

Thomas Cook has said it is taking legal action against Lowcostholidays.com after it used the phrase 'been Thomas Crooked?' in its search engine advertising.

The dynamic packaging firm has bid against search terms including 'Thomas Cook' and  'Thomas Cook holidays' using the controversial headline. The link appears second on the list of pay-per-click results on Google.

The move has prompted an investigation from trade association Abta after it received a complaint.

Cook is claiming that the firm has breached Abta's code of conduct, which states that no member should make comments about another member's financial status. The code also stipulates that no member should denigrate another or bring them into disrepute.

Ian Ailles, chief executive of mainstream for Thomas Cook UK said: "It is shocking the tactics some will stoop to. This is totally unacceptable and defamatory and we're taking immediate legal action against them.

“Lots of our trade partners are working with us. It shows the childishness of this organisation. It’s almost unforgiveable.”

Speaking before Cook confirmed this morning that it was consulting its lawyers, Lowcostholidays chief executive Paul Evans said the wording was meant to be light-hearted, but added: "This is clearly a very worrying time for all the staff and we wish them well.  There is a lack of confidence in the brand and the company now.

"The question now is whether they will be able to build confidence for summer 2012."

Evans said the media had focused too heavily on the UK perspective. "You can't take a UK perspective - it's not a UK play it's a German, Scandinavian and French play. Ving - Cook's Scandinavian tour operator - makes up £100 million of their profits. The question is whether the retail trade in Scandinavia will continue to book it."

An Abta spokesperson said : “We have received a complaint about a Lowcost Holidays advert on Google which the Abta legal department is investigating for potential breaches of the Code of Conduct.”