The things Generation X and Generation Y found funky and fashionable back in the day is deemed as old school and ‘not so cool’ by today’s hipsters and yuccies.
There are very few things in this world that survive the generation gap and maintain relevance 50, 40, 30, 20 or even 10 years later.
It wouldn’t take more than one hand to number off the things in popular culture that today’s early-twenty-somethings have in common with the generations before them.
Here’s my list: Eminem and Contiki.
Photo by: faith-poppy#Turkey
Posted by Contiki Holidays on Friday, August 28, 2015
The youth tour operator has managed to defy this aging process to maintain relevancy and desirability 54 years after its initial launch.
And as you could imagine, it hasn’t been an easy task.
Speaking to KarryOn at the Contiki Legends Party in Sydney this week, Global CEO, Casper Urhammer, said this everlasting status of ‘cool’ requires consistent marketing innovation to capture the ever-changing market.
“What we do really well is innovating not imitating.”
Casper Urhammer, Contiki Global CEO
“You need to be the first ones to do something and then you need to have world class marketing to support it.”
But more importantly, Urhammer said it’s vital that every time a coach leaves with 50 or so young people on board they have the time of their life.
“We’re really good at that. We never fail to deliver what our clients expect. Nobody does it as good as us,” he added.
This attitude of ensuring travellers get what they want has contributed to the company’s growth and even lead Contiki’s recent itinerary expansion into Iceland, Romania, Montengero and Bosnia.
“People have been requesting these destinations, especially Iceland, for such as long time.”
Casper Urhammer, Contiki Global CEO
“So we’ve added trips to these destinations, which is unbelievable.”