Have you heard of glamping? I hadn’t until I came across a story on the Travel Channel recently. The first example of glamping was of a company from Idaho which offers five-star camping. Vacationers take a week’s excursion down the Salmon River, the cleanest freely flowing river in the world. Their trip begins on a private plane that carries them to the launching point. They have an option of riding in either $15,000 rafts or $1000 kayaks. Each day all the glampers do is paddle and enjoy the river.
Ahead of them, two cargo boats carry all the gear for the week, $12,000 worth of cargo and equipment. These contain the equivalent of a floating banquet hall with two tons of goods. The crews of these boats arrive at the evening’s campsite well in advance of the vacationers. The crews set up the luxury $600 tents trucked out with carpet, cots, and $200 air-filled Paco Pads for a comfortable sleep. They lay out the fully-stocked open bar and prepare to give complimentary massages. The chef creates a gourmet meal, offering the vacationers whatever foods they have requested. Essentially, they have their own personal restaurant complete with appetizers and desserts.
The president of Far and Away Adventures, the company offering this glamping, says, “This is a level of service not offered by anyone else in the industry. We have attracted followers who would never go camping.”
This is wilderness luxury travel, glamping. Since 1981, this company has taken 1800 vacationers on this trip. Each person pays $3000 to go camping in a glamorous manner.
Two more stories of glamping followed this one. They were equally astounding. All three offered wilderness experiences in luxurious surroundings. One from Montana featured “permanent” tents attached to a front room constructed of wood. Another from Big Sur, California, showed a circular structure patterned after nomadic tents but with reinforced, latticed walls and thirteen foot high ceilings.
These are excellent examples of creating a new category. In this case, that category is glamping. A new category gets attention. A new category sets the offering apart. A new category gives a target market what they want. With glamping, the target market wants to be outdoors but still be treated to the luxuries experienced indoors. Far and Away Adventures satisfied this with comfortable tents featuring above ground sleeping, complimentary massages, fully-stocked open bars, made-to-order meals, well-built rafts, and attentive service.
New categories appeal to a narrow market. This market may be comprised of people from two or three target markets. The president of Far and Away Adventures noted that they have had people take the trip who would never go camping. Thus, glamping is attracting people who are not campers. It may also be of interest to campers. It certainly gets the attention of those wanting something different for a vacation. As demonstrated by the $3000 price tag of these trips, those in the narrow market are not price sensitive.
Glamping was created to offer a different service that set a business apart.
What sets your business apart? Can you create a new category? How can you tweak your offering to be different and also give customers what they want?
This week's marketing trivia challenge is What have you experienced that sets an offering apart? E-mail your answer.
Ahead of them, two cargo boats carry all the gear for the week, $12,000 worth of cargo and equipment. These contain the equivalent of a floating banquet hall with two tons of goods. The crews of these boats arrive at the evening’s campsite well in advance of the vacationers. The crews set up the luxury $600 tents trucked out with carpet, cots, and $200 air-filled Paco Pads for a comfortable sleep. They lay out the fully-stocked open bar and prepare to give complimentary massages. The chef creates a gourmet meal, offering the vacationers whatever foods they have requested. Essentially, they have their own personal restaurant complete with appetizers and desserts.
The president of Far and Away Adventures, the company offering this glamping, says, “This is a level of service not offered by anyone else in the industry. We have attracted followers who would never go camping.”
This is wilderness luxury travel, glamping. Since 1981, this company has taken 1800 vacationers on this trip. Each person pays $3000 to go camping in a glamorous manner.
Two more stories of glamping followed this one. They were equally astounding. All three offered wilderness experiences in luxurious surroundings. One from Montana featured “permanent” tents attached to a front room constructed of wood. Another from Big Sur, California, showed a circular structure patterned after nomadic tents but with reinforced, latticed walls and thirteen foot high ceilings.
These are excellent examples of creating a new category. In this case, that category is glamping. A new category gets attention. A new category sets the offering apart. A new category gives a target market what they want. With glamping, the target market wants to be outdoors but still be treated to the luxuries experienced indoors. Far and Away Adventures satisfied this with comfortable tents featuring above ground sleeping, complimentary massages, fully-stocked open bars, made-to-order meals, well-built rafts, and attentive service.
New categories appeal to a narrow market. This market may be comprised of people from two or three target markets. The president of Far and Away Adventures noted that they have had people take the trip who would never go camping. Thus, glamping is attracting people who are not campers. It may also be of interest to campers. It certainly gets the attention of those wanting something different for a vacation. As demonstrated by the $3000 price tag of these trips, those in the narrow market are not price sensitive.
Glamping was created to offer a different service that set a business apart.
What sets your business apart? Can you create a new category? How can you tweak your offering to be different and also give customers what they want?
This week's marketing trivia challenge is What have you experienced that sets an offering apart? E-mail your answer.
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