Yesterday’s April fools day was everyone’s traditional annual excuse to have a bit of fun and attempt to create some noise around a silly idea for their brand or business.
In the travel industry, there were some creative corkers to be enjoyed.
From Contiki’s awesome over 65’s program to ‘Quantas’, AAT Kings cool Hovercoach and Virgin Australia’s lounge exclusively for travelling pets, many creative minds were busily at work together no doubt over a few drinks and plenty of laughs.
The results were quality free media exposure and a light hearted laugh at themselves and at what perhaps could be.
Even the team here at KarryOn got in on the action with our faux creative experiment of moving our offices to Fiji at the end of April.
We did such a good job we even convinced ourselves
A lot of you out there actually did think it was real and we were delighted to receive so many positive comments wishing us luck and local tips and advice to help us make the move smoother. Thank you for getting involved in the fun!
The best compliment was that you were all as excited as we were when we created the story in the first place. In fact our entire team were so pumped (me included) that we were almost depressed not to be doing it.
Which got me thinking.
What if April fools ideas actually turned into real ones?
Why should it be that only once a year brands and businesses work on coming up with so called silly ideas?
What would happen if we focussed on more out there ideas, more often?
Contiki’s aged idea could actually fly
Why shouldn’t Contiki create a product targeted towards the over 65’s with the same fun brand principles?
As we get older surely more of us will want these kinds of experiences? Many of us may even have been Contiki travellers earlier on in our lives so already have a connection to the brand. With inter-generational travel booming it’s worth a shot just as a pilot idea.
Who will you be taking to Europe this summer? Mum or Dad? #NORESTRICTIONSpic.twitter.com/TY25MdmUoh — Contiki Australia (@contikiaus) April 1, 2015
AAT Kings should build a Hovercoach
Imagine zipping up through Sydney Harbour or down the Katherine River in one of these AAT King slick bad boys? Then zooming off the water and onto dry land to experience more of the country in a comfortable ride? Is coach touring losing relevance? This could be a tour changer.
Congrats to @AATKings on the new HoverCoach, a truly groundbreaking way to tour the @cityofsydney#travel#ttotpic.twitter.com/QuWfMftTGl — New Horizons (@NewHorizonsHols) April 1, 2015
Virgin should create a Premium pet lounge
Premium Paw entry. What a point of difference. It sounds ridiculous but then most remarkable ideas are.
Perhaps Flight Centre should’t create a cargo class
Or maybe they should? I’m not sold about travelling in Flight Centre’s Cargo class, but the $199 fare to London will be appealing to many travellers. Maybe they’re onto something.
Frugal Fares: London from $199* per person return! http://t.co/rzT1AgddCo pic.twitter.com/KIzVN4OoBY
— Flight Centre (@flightcentreAU) March 31, 2015
And KarryOn could move their offices to Fiji
The KarryOn team is excited to announce we will be moving to #FIJI this month! @tourismfiji http://t.co/gE297p8MFX pic.twitter.com/xFlRutVbIn — KarryOn (@karryontravel) March 31, 2015
Imagine the possibilities? It would be an amazing experience and the reality is – with a deep breath and a bit of a punt, we could actually do it.
To quote one of my favourite thinkers and quite possibly one of the smartest admen of all time – ‘Paul Arden’ from his legendary bible ‘It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want To Be’.
“Risks are a measure of people. People who won’t take them are trying to preserve what they have. People who do take them often end up having more”.
Paul Arden
The moral of this story is, no matter what size or type your business is – conduct crazy idea sessions often.
Why not hold a monthly silly idea session? When there’s no money, pressure around success or deadlines involved it’s amazing what people can come up with. Which in 2015 is imperative to continually innovating and succeeding in business.
So the question is ‘What if?’