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Advantage Travel

Title: Insider
Target: 2,000 travel agency members
Key aim: To improve member communication
Pagination and frequency: 20 pages, B2B monthly
Format: Saddle-stitched A4 magazine

Advantage's testimonial

Advantage operates in an extremely competitive and fast-moving travel market: online start-ups, discount airlines, self-packaged holidays and direct distribution channels have all helped to create one of the most dynamic business sectors in the UK.

Advantage asked Atom to relaunch their main communication tool to the owners, managers, and sales staff in SME member travel agents and larger travel companies throughout the UK. An important secondary audience also needed to be reached: the UK’s major travel operators who work with Advantage to provide holidays for member customers.

The goals were to:

Help the company to build stronger relationships with its partners
Promote a professional and consistent image
Give readers a magazine they can relate to
Educate and inform readers about the industry.

Download a sample page (PDF) from this magazine

Atom audited the existing publication and highlighted the needs of the target readers and the major travel operators. The existing publication was proven to have:

A lack of positive feedback from members
Frequency confusion, lack of relevant content and design impact
Limited editorial opportunity to show value for members
Publishing process drains internal resources
Reaches principals only, not all staff

Key issues and objectives for Advantage were to address the above and ensure the following:

Dialogue with members through punchier editorial and a clear voice
Real and proven benefit
Successful promotion of travel operators
Reduced demand on internal resources
A robust editorial and publishing system.

Atom totally revamped the publication. The editorial content and design became more engaging — incorporating not only operator focused pages but also general travel editorial with a consumer-led approach.

Atom positioned the operator-focused pages as essential, inspiring editorial not advertorial.

The paper and format were changed to modernise the whole feel of the magazine and add quality.

We researched the travel market to ensure Atom would produce a magazine that could stand up to its competitors and grab readers’ attention, even when faced with consumer, newsstand magazines.

A clear management process was established not only with Advantage themselves but also with the travel operators. Brief forms were devised to make their job of submitting work easier and ultimately the whole process smooth, logical and on schedule.

Atom has been successful in producing an engaging and relevant publication. Atom’s relationship with Advantage has since grown and we have produced further work for them including Business Travel Journal, Cruise Lines, Travel Bug and also produced the creative work for their end of year campaign in 2004/2005, consisting of posters, a website, interactive game and competition.

In March 2005, after six months of publishing Insider, Atom tested response to the publication with a reader survey:

23% sold a holiday as a direct result of reading the magazine. Industry standard levels for directly attributable sales are much lower for customer magazines (c. 8 per cent).
85% of respondents read some, most, or all of the publication
97% found it very or quite useful to their business
35% passed on the publication to a colleague
81% found the publication good, very good or excellent

General feedback

"Great photography and design."
Alex Pilkington, Direct Line Holidays

"... a vital source of information and product training to help us promote Advantage partners."
Paul Cockhill, Chew Valley Travel, Bristol

"I enjoy and look forward to reading Insider to give myself a better
understanding and insight into the industry overall."
Katy Busby, Sun Living, Lancashire

"Please pass on my warmest congratulations in regard to Insider magazine. I found myself interested in every page – this is unlike many times in the past when it was duty to the Association for me to continue! Well done.”
Willie Stewart, Stewart Travel Centre