WAYN.COM - Media coverage

South Africa named world's dream destination

Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

14 May 2013
South Africa has been chosen from a shortlist of seven countries as the world's dream destination.

WAYN.com (Where Are You Now?) compiled the finalists using data obtained from 21m of its global user community, who were then asked to vote for their favourite.

After more than 15,000 votes were counted, South Africa finished ahead of fellow nominees Indonesia, Fiji, Dubai, India, Brazil and Turkey.

'The immense popularity of South Africa as a tourist destination has been reinforced by this competition,' WAYN co-founder Jerome Touze told News 24.

'The activity we are seeing correlates with the recent announcement by president Jaco Zuma that the amount of foreign visitors to South Africa has grown by 300%.'

South Africa has a number of world-class destinations including the capital city Cape Town - famous for its Table Mountain backdrop - the Winelands region and the Kruger National Park, home to the 'Big Five'.

South Africa scoops top accolade and is voted the number one dream destination in the world by WAYN members

Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

LONDON – WAYN announces the winner of its closely fought competition to discover the top dream destination in the world. South Africa has taken the coveted top spot with more than 15,300 votes and joining them on the podium is Brazil, followed closely by Dubai.

Jerome Touze, co-founder and CRO of WAYN said: “All seven countries and cities nominated were extremely worthy contenders and dream destinations in their own right. The immense popularity of South Africa as a tourist destination has been reinforced by this competition, and interestingly the activity we are seeing correlates with the recent announcement by President Jaco Zuma that the amount of foreign visitors to South Africa has grown by 300% to 13.5 million visitors, 9.2 million of which were tourists.

It is also fascinating to note the strong interest coming from Asia, and particular India, which is one of South Africa's BRICS partners. Out of the 408,000 fans of South Africa on WAYN, there are now over 108,000 fans from India alone”.

In total an incredible 78,000 votes were counted for all seven of the destinations, which also included Fiji, India, Turkey and Indonesia. The nominated destinations, both cities and countries, were selected through a combination of market research data and tracking user engagement on WAYN.com. WAYN built an exclusive microsite for the competition and offered members who voted the chance to win an iPad.

Touze added “We are delighted by the phenomenal response from our members, the total number of people who voted exceeded our expectations and offers invaluable intel on where our members want to go. We are planning to build on the success of this campaign over the next year by offering more leading award recognitions for the travel and tourism industry”.

Thulani Nzima, Chief Executive Officer, South African Tourism said: “We are privileged to live in an incredible country, a land of spectacular wildlife, awe-inspiring adventure and unique heritage and culture. It is home to warm, welcoming people, eager to share it with travellers from around the world. We are already touched by the hundreds of thousands of friends our destination has made on the WAYN.com platform and we are delighted with this accolade, which we hope will make more people’s dreams of visiting South Africa a reality.”

SA voted top dream destination

Fri, 10 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

London - South Africa has beaten six other sought after world destinations to take the coveted top spot in travel-related social network, Wayn's recent dream destination competition.

Up against six other sought after destinations - Brazil, India, Dubai, Fiji, Turkey and Indonesia - South Africa managed to garner more than 15 300 votes from all over the world.

Brazil scooped up the second position, while Dubai came in at a very close third.

Jerome Touze, co-founder and CRO of WAYN said: "All seven countries and cities nominated were extremely worthy contenders and dream destinations in their own right. The immense popularity of South Africa as a tourist destination has been reinforced by this competition, and interestingly the activity we are seeing correlates with the recent announcement by President Jaco Zuma that the amount of foreign visitors to South Africa has grown by 300% to 13.5 million visitors, 9.2 million of which were tourists.

It is also fascinating to note the strong interest coming from Asia, and particular India, which is one of South Africa's BRICS partners. Out of the 408,000 fans of South Africa on WAYN, there are now over 108,000 fans from India alone"

In total 78 000 votes were counted for all seven of the destinations. The nominated destinations, both cities and countries, were selected through a combination of market research data and tracking user engagement on WAYN.com. WAYN built an exclusive microsite for the competition and offered members who voted the chance to win an iPad.

Touze added "We are delighted by the phenomenal response from our members, the total number of people who voted exceeded our expectations and offers invaluable intel on where our members want to go. We are planning to build on the success of this campaign over the next year by offering more leading award recognitions for the travel and tourism industry"

Thulani Nzima, Chief Executive Officer, South African Tourism said: "We are privileged to live in an incredible country, a land of spectacular wildlife, awe-inspiring adventure and unique heritage and culture. It is home to warm, welcoming people, eager to share it with travellers from around the world. We are already touched by the hundreds of thousands of friends our destination has made on the WAYN.com platform and we are delighted with this accolade, which we hope will make more people's dreams of visiting South Africa a reality."

WAYN to offer sports content through CONTENTed deal

Fri, 03 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

WAYN (Where Are You Now?), the travel and lifestyle social network, has created a talent deal with CONTENTed digital media to carry sports and entertainment programming across its network.

WAYN will now have a number of programming and talent initiatives based around major events and their geographical destinations, presented by famous celebrities.

It starts with the British Lions rugby tour in Australia next month, with Lewis Moody, the content and commentary led by former England captain.

WAYN.com claims to be the largest travel and lifestyle focused platform in the world, with more than 21 million members in 193 countries.

Peter Ward, chief executive and co-founder of WAYN, said the CONTENTed deal offers a "unique, highly social and engaging platform".

WAYN VIP Club goes live

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT

WAYN has launched a new VIP offering for its members with hundreds of exciting and exclusive travel deals worldwide.

The WAYN VIP Club will allow members privileged access to travel and lifestyle benefits with hand-picked offers from around the world on airlines, nightclubs, technology, insurance, hotels and car hire.

This is in addition to the social benefits already included in the club.

Launch partners include American Airlines, Worldhotels, Avis and Eco Carrier.

Jerome Touze, chief revenue officer, and co-founder of WAYN said: “We are excited to launch WAYN VIP, which is a key part of our plan to develop the next generation social travel platform.

“The VIP club provides users with a unique opportunity to access a huge range of travel and lifestyle deals, ensuring they get exceptional value for money from their membership for a small fee.

“The interface allows users to search offers by destination or by category, thereby provoking inspiration on where to go and what to do when they get there.”

He added: “WAYN is going through a period of transition and the launch of WAYN VIP is just one of many captivating features still to be released.”

WAYN re-launched in February this year with a new design interface and a complete transformation of the platform to enable its users to better discover where to go, what to do and who to meet.

WAYN names new executives following site relaunch

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Former DailyDeals marketing chief Kai Herzberger has been named chief operating officer of travel and lifestyle social network WAYN.

The company, which claims more than 21 million members in 193 countries, has also taken on Ben Andrews, previously global product manager at Yahoo! Answers, as director of product management.

Chief executive Peter Ward said: “Kai will head up operations through a period of significant transformation following the recent relaunch of the site.

“Kai brings to the table a wealth of experience growing and managing fast growing internet start-ups and e-commerce businesses, including DailyDeals and BuyVIP, with a great pedigree of strategic and operational excellence.

“Ben is an extremely experienced product manager, having helped Yahoo! Answers grow to over 250 million unique visitors a month on web and mobile.”

He added: “We now have an excellent A-Player team and are committed to building a culture of excellence. This will help us to deliver upon our vision to help people better discover where to go, what to do and who to meet.”

Top appointments as WAYN continues to grow

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT

WAYN has announced the recruitment of Kai Herzberger, previously chief marketing officer at DailyDeals, a member of the Google Family, to head up operations as chief operating officer.

The company has also employed Ben Andrews, previously global product manager at Yahoo! Answers, as director of product management.

WAYN has over 21 million members in 193 countries with over 50 global tourist boards, airlines, hotels and travel operators as partners.

WAYN has become one of the world’s leading platforms for driving user engagement and influencing travel decisions.

In December 2012 WAYN won the title of World’s Leading Travel Social Network’ at the World Travel Awards.

Peter Ward, chief executive, WAYN said: “We’re delighted to have Kai and Ben on board.

“Kai will head up operations through a period of significant transformation following the recent re-launch of the site.

“Kai brings to the table a wealth of experience growing and managing fast growing internet start-ups and eCommerce businesses, including DailyDeals and BuyVIP, with a great pedigree of strategic and operational excellence.

“Ben is an extremely experienced product manager, having helped Yahoo! Answers grow to over 250 million unique visitors a month on web and mobile.

“We now have an excellent A-Player team and are committed to building a culture of excellence. This will help us to deliver upon our vision to help people better discover where to go, what to do and who to meet.”

WAYN has recently undergone a complete transformation of its platform, generating over 70,000 tips, reviews, trips and activities daily.

The site partners with over 50 global tourist boards, airlines, hotels and travel operators as partners and has become one of the world’s leading platforms for driving user engagement and influencing travel decisions.

WAYN: how a social startup is cashing in on its jet-setting community

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Since its re-launch in 2006, WAYN has managed to become one of the few social startups to secure funding despite a recent downturn in social media investment. After changing its market strategy over the years, the ‘Pinterest for travelers’ has relaunched its site once again in February. WAYN (Where Are You Now?) claims to be the world’s largest travel and social network and tries to fuse commerce with social. WAYN has, and still is, showing interest in key emerging markets such as South Africa, India and Indonesia and is planning on localising the site in Brazil, China and Russia in coming months.

Founders, Peter Ward and Jerome Touze ‘provide people with inspiration on new places to discover, fun things to do and interesting people to meet.’ Like other social networks, users of the site have profiles, can upload pictures or rate (or ‘like’) other users, places or services. The social network houses user data for 21.5 million users in over 193 different countries, making it a compelling option to potential advertisers.

Advertising and user monetisation have become the company’s two main sources of revenue. Advertising has a strong presence as tourist offices have started relying on social networks to strengthen their online presence. Since February WAYN has tried to revamp its business position as well as commercial image. It has a ‘differentiated commercial offering compared to Facebook and other online social ad platforms.’ The company now focuses more on ‘integrated advertising, social engagement [and] market research.’ Despite investor confidence in social startups having been in decline in general, the monetisation of WAYN’s user base through a credit system has managed to retain investor attention.

Advertisements and market research
Two weeks ago WAYN released it’s top seven dream destinations by encouraging users to partake in surveys incentivised through earning credit or winning prizes. Surveys like these have become part of designated market research the company offers. Customer participation and polling services are highly encouraged. Like other social media platforms, advertisers can target its users based on interests, intentions, location and behaviour.’ Personal information as well as polling information is extremely valuable for advertisers as the company ‘collects 70k data points every day on where people have been, where they want to go, what they like and love and what they have done and would love to do.’

By bringing the popularity of social media to the table, the company has an advantage over content publishers like Lonely Planet, for example. This sets it apart from competing travel websites. WAYN has achieved this by mostly tapping into national country tourism boards of emerging markets who want to engage more closely with their target markets. It has made industry-specific organisation contributions to partnerships ‘over 50 global tourist boards, airlines, hotels and travel operators.’

Emerging market integration
WAYN has managed to gain a foothold in emerging markets by localising itself by having offices in London (UK) and New York (US), but more importantly Cape Town (South Africa), Szczcecin (Poland) and New Delhi (India). The company also wants to ‘open up to’ other emerging markets and localise itself in key regions such as Brazil, China and Russia in coming months. By trying to enhance its presence in the emerging market sector shows that the company has invested interest in maintaining itself in key growing markets.

By having signed deals with, among others, companies like India Today Group (ITG), Indonesian Tourism, Airbnb and South Africa Tourism, WAYN has managed to gain access to millions of people’s travel data in countries with a strong growing middle class. India for example, which together with its booming middle class, has more than 137 million users online. It’s estimated that ITG has access to almost ‘100 million of India’s educated population, via 38 magazines, four Television channels, seven radio stations, 12 web portals and 56 apps across mobile and tablets.’ India alone has more than 130 million internet users with China, Brazil and Russia also under the top six.

User Monetisation via incentives and viral marketing
There has been a definite decline in social startup investment recently. At the height of the social media frenzy in 2006, WAYN secured series A funding to the tune of US$11-million, but more intriguingly, when investment in social startups started to decline, WAYN closed a series B round of US$5.5 million in 2012. This shows that even though the market has grown weak, investors are still interested in throwing their money at social networks with prolific business models. So what sets WAYN apart from the rest? The way it monetises its user base via incentives is one reason. Another is the fact that the company has its feet in both the social-lifestyle and travel industry. This makes it appealing to advertisers. Although there is a VIP service option users aren’t charged registration fees and monetisation of its user base is based on the idea of buying credits in order to gain website benefits.

It’s important as noted by Peter Ward that ‘money vs traffic is the trade-off.’ Premium vs freemium subscriptions. WAYN tries to find the sweet spot in between. Users used to pay for a premium service in order to interact with other users but can now merely choose to upgrade based on incentives. Premium VIP members accounts for only one percent of the site’s users but for 10% of user traffic.

Users can pay up to US$14.99 for a VIP subscription fee. WAYN encourages users to earn credits either through PayPal payments, sharing personal information, taking part in surveys or inviting friends. Unlike TripAdvisor WAYN wants its users to be ‘discovering new things to do, engaging with users and sharing experiences beyond reviews, via their profile.’ The subscription service does has its perks in revenue but hints at the cringe-worthy characteristics of a dating site.

The site undergoes a similar popularity-voting system such as Zuckerberg’s infamous Facemash where users earn ‘likes’ or can rate each other’s photos. Users can increase their popularity (or earn), by buying certain benefits such as having your profile picture shown first when other users are seeking nearby friends. Basically the more active your are or information you put online, the more credit and popularity you gain, the more WAYN can ‘commercialise user data’ and the more advertisers will flock to the website.

This might come at a cost as the website’s ‘openess’ and constant viral attempts can tarnish its reputation. The company is known for its incentive based marketing tactics. For example, users can ‘Invite 30 friends to join and get a 30 day free VIP subscription’, earn credits when a friend accepts your invitation or partake in polls. At the end of the day all of these incentives generates more personal data which adds to its advertising revenue. The company has a history of founding itself under the criticism of unhappy users, claiming it’s marketing tactics are unethical. Criticism ranges from claiming spam-driven tactics to stealing user data.

Some might find some of the company’s viral and popularity tactics unsavoury. These tactics seem to be working though. Among other things, WAYN’s monetisation of its users and viral strategies seems to be paying off though as the company remains afloat in an increasing dog-eat-dog environment of social media. The company’s interest in emerging markets adds to its success as its increasing an already successful foothold.

Fiji among 7 top dream destinations

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Fiji has been chosen as one of the top seven dream destinations in the world by 21 million worldwide users of a popular travel website Where Are You Now? (WAYN).

The island paradise has been chosen alongside Indonesia, South Africa, Dubai, India, Brazil and Turkey.

The nominated destinations (both cities and countries) were selected by employing a combination of market research data and tracking user engagement on WAYN.com. “Most recently, India saw an increase number of interest, both for business and leisure travels in destinations such as Delhi, Punjab, Uttrakhand and Kashmir” said Jerome Touze, co-founder of WAYN.com.

"Brazil was also voted favourite destinations in Latin America, with 40% of respondents from a panel of 38,000 users saying it would be their first choice in the region. It will be interesting to see which destination will achieve the top spot when it comes to our user vote, but being nominated in the top seven is already a great recognition of the work these destinations are doing."

Dubai is in a very strong position with over 10 million tourists having travelled there in 2012, its highest ever annual visitor figure. The Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) revealed a 9.3% increase in the number of visitors to the Emirate in 2012.

WAYN’s 21 million users will have the chance to vote for their favourite destination in the next two weeks, out of the seven listed, with prizes up for grabs for those who vote. Additionally, each nominee will receive US$70,000 of marketing promotion globally, out of a US$500,000 marketing contribution from Where Are You Now? Ltd.

"I’m extremely excited about this campaign. We are in a position whereby we have data on over 21 million users in over 193 countries who communicate regularly with one another about their trip plans, where in the world they want to go and what they want to do when they get there."

"Going forward, we intend to roll out more leading award recognitions for the travel and tourism industry, so watch this space," Touze added.

Fiji's Tourism Minister Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum late last year launched a re-branded slogan, Fiji- "Where happiness finds you" to promote the South Pacific nation as a more attractive and friendly tourist destination.

Fiji among top dream destinations

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT

TWENTY-ONE million users on the popular travel website Where Are You Now? (WAYN) have picked Fiji as one of their top seven dream destinations in the world.

Fiji was chosen alongside popular tourist destinations like Indonesia, South Africa, Dubai, India, Brazil and Turkey in a competition run by the website.

Users will vote for their top destination in the next two weeks. WAYN is a website where users can advise each other on where to go and what to do when in cities all around the world — creating an instant travel guide for anyone anywhere in the world.

And this latest achievement for the country comes as no surprise to the Fiji Hotel and Tourism Association.

"This is no surprise to me," association president Dixon Seeto said. "In fact I'm somewhat surprised that we are not ranked higher up."

Mr Seeto said Fiji was marketing itself as a South Pacific paradise and with the new re-branded slogan "Where happiness finds you" the number of visitors to the country could only increase.

"Many resorts and hotels in Fiji rank in the top in many holiday categories whether it be for island fun or family resorts."

He explained this all contributed to Fiji's allure as a travel destination.

Jerome Touze, co-founder of WAYN.com said he was extremely excited about the campaign.

"It will be interesting to see which destination will achieve the top spot when it comes to our user vote but being nominated in the top seven is already a great recognition of the work these destinations are doing."

Top 7 dream destinations revealed

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT

The top seven dream destinations for international travellers are Indonesia, Fiji, South Africa, Dubai, India, Brazil and Turkey, according to a new study.

WAYN.com (Where Are You Now?) used data obtained from 21m of its global user community to create the list, Breaking Travel News reports.

The seven locations will now be put to a vote over the next two weeks to determine which is the most desirable of all.

As well as prizes for the voters, WAYN.com is going to give $70,000 (£46,500) worth of marketing promotion to each nominee.

'We are in a unique position whereby we have data on over 21 million users in 193 countries who communicate regularly with one another about their trip plans,' commented Where Are You Now? co-founder Jerome Touze.

'Going forward, we intend to roll out more leading award recognitions for the travel and tourism industry, so watch this space.'

Opodo cheap flights, hotels and car hire - let the journey begin!

Top seven dream destinations in the world revealed

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT

WAYN has revealed the top seven dream destinations in the world as chosen by its 21 million users worldwide.

The seven destinations are Indonesia, Fiji, South Africa, Dubai, India, Brazil and Turkey, all of which will fight it out for pole position in a user vote this month.

The nominated destinations (both cities and countries) were selected by employing a combination of market research data and tracking user engagement on WAYN.com.

“Most recently, India saw an increase number of interest, both for business and leisure travels in destinations such as Delhi, Punjab, Uttrakhand and Kashmir” said Jerome Touze, co-founder of WAYN.com.

“Brazil was also voted favourite destinations in Latin America, with 40% of respondents from a panel of 38,000 users saying it would be their first choice in the region. It will be interesting to see which destination will achieve the top spot when it comes to our user vote, but being nominated in the top seven is already a great recognition of the work these destinations are doing.”

Dubai is in a very strong position with more than 10 million tourists having travelled there in 2012, its highest ever annual visitor figure.

WAYN’s users will have the chance to vote for their favourite destination in the next two weeks, out of the seven listed, with prizes up for grabs for those who vote.

Additionally, each nominee will receive US$70,000 of marketing promotion globally, out of a US $500,000 marketing contribution from Where Are You Now? Ltd.

WAYN.com reveals the top seven dream destinations in the world

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT

WAYN has just revealed the top seven dream destinations in the world as chosen by its 21 million users worldwide. The destinations will fight it out for pole position in a user vote this month.

The seven global hot spots are Indonesia, Fiji, South Africa, Dubai, India, Brazil and Turkey. The nominated destinations (both cities and countries) were selected by employing a combination of market research data and tracking user engagement on WAYN.com. “Most recently, India saw an increase number of interest, both for business and leisure travels in destinations such as Delhi, Punjab, Uttrakhand and Kashmir” said Jerome Touze, co-founder of WAYN.com.

He added: "Brazil was also voted favourite destinations in Latin America, with 40% of respondents from a panel of 38,000 users saying it would be their first choice in the region. It will be interesting to see which destination will achieve the top spot when it comes to our user vote, but being nominated in the top seven is already a great recognition of the work these destinations are doing."

Dubai is in a very strong position with over 10 million tourists having travelled there in 2012, its highest ever annual visitor figure. The Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) revealed a 9.3% increase in the number of visitors to the Emirate in 2012.

WAYN’s 21 million users will have the chance to vote for their favourite destination in the next two weeks, out of the seven listed, with prizes up for grabs for those who vote. Additionally, each nominee will receive US$70,000 of marketing promotion globally, out of a US$500,000 marketing contribution from Where Are You Now? Ltd.

Touze said: "I’m extremely excited about this campaign. We are in a position whereby we have data on over 21 million users in over 193 countries who communicate regularly with one another about their trip plans, where in the world they want to go and what they want to do when they get there... Going forward, we intend to roll out more leading award recognitions for the travel and tourism industry, so watch this space."

WAYN reveals dream destinations for travellers

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT

WAYN has revealed the top seven dream destinations in the world as chosen by its 21 million users worldwide.

The destinations will fight it out for pole position in a user vote this month.

The seven global hot spots are Indonesia, Fiji, South Africa, Dubai, India, Brazil and Turkey.

The nominated destinations (both cities and countries) were selected by employing a combination of market research data and tracking user engagement on WAYN.com.

“Most recently, India saw an increase number of interest, both for business and leisure travels in destinations such as Delhi, Punjab, Uttrakhand and Kashmir,” said Jerome Touze, co-founder of WAYN.com.

He added: ‘’Brazil was also voted favourite destinations in Latin America, with 40% of respondents from a panel of 38,000 users saying it would be their first choice in South America.

“It will be interesting to see which destination will achieve the top spot when it comes to our user vote but being nominated in the top seven is already a great recognition of the work these destinations are doing.’’

Dubai is in a very strong position with over ten million tourists having travelled there in 2012, its highest ever annual visitor figure.

The department of tourism and commerce marketing revealed a 9.3 per cent increase in the number of visitors to the Emirate in 2012.

WAYN’s 21 million users will have the chance to vote for their favourite destination in the next two weeks, out of the seven listed, with prizes up for grabs for those who vote.

Additionally, each nominee will receive US$70,000 of marketing promotion globally, out of a US$500,000 marketing contribution from Where Are You Now?

Touze said ‘I’m extremely excited about this campaign.
“We are in a unique position whereby we have data on over 21 million users in over 193 countries who communicate regularly with one another about their trip plans - where in the world they want to go and what they want to do when they get there…
“Going forward, we intend to roll out more leading award recognitions for the travel and tourism industry, so watch this space!”

WAYN has developed an exclusive microsite for the campaign, which goes live today.

The nominated destinations will receive exposure on WAYN, media coverage and further market research insight for their destinations.

Peter Ward from WAYN.com (Where Are You Now?), a travel and lifestyle social networking community, looks at the importance of social media and the influence it has on decision making…

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Social networking and social media have become the business buzzwords of the 21st century. Even when we started WAYN back in 2002, in the hangover period of the dot.com bubble bursting, the internet was still very much the platform of choice for most business innovations.

The internet allowed people to find information, draw comparisons and discriminate based on price, quality, features and service by simply finding the different sites that offered that product or service and making a comparison with a click of a mouse.
Google led the way by dominating Search, and it soon became a requirement for every business to become an expert in Search Engine Optimisation (SEO).

That appetite and interest remains in place today, as search and search referral traffic have become the staple way for people to find what they are looking for. However, social is the next step and offers something truly different. Facebook is the probably the most notable as one of the world’s most visited sites – so popular they made a film about it! But why has social media proved so popular? As a social species, it allows us to tap in to the ego, has become an extension of status and taps in to an inherent primary need to belong and for recognition of personal success.

Why does investment in social media drive influence in travel buying decisions?

1. Recommendations from friends help define where to go, what to do and who to meet
2. Reciprocity drives engagement. Engaging with prospective and existing customers is key to influencing decisions and understanding what they want
3. Authority leads to credibility and brand reputation. Gaining a huge following and popularity are good indicators of this
4. Scarcity – offering things only to those who are in the top bracket (Mayors, VIPs etc.) drives advocacy.
5. Advocacy – getting others to vouch for you, is the best form of referral as it appears objective and independent

When it comes to adding social to our business strategies, we still have a lot to learn about the clear financial return it delivers but its importance is evidenced by the current share price of Facebook and Linkedin. Ignore it at your peril.

How useful is it really? That depends on how well you navigate the social waters. Reputations, as we know, can take years to build and can be lost in a second. One thing we can be sure of, the potential to influence consumer behaviour is huge…

Interview: Wayn’s Peter Ward on how the travel social network rediscovered its purpose

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT

New backing from the private equity firm behind Skyscanner is giving social networking site Wayn.com a new lease of life as it re-establishes its travel credentials, according to its founder.

The firm, which came to prominence before the rise of Facebook when it attracted investment from, among others, Lastminute.com founder Brent Hoberman, has recently unveiled a new look and feel.

Peter Ward, founder and chief executive, admits Wayn [Where Are You Now] lost its way after the financial crisis hit, putting paid to a $20 million at the eleventh hour in September 2008.

But he fought to retain control of the London-based company and six months after securing new investment from Scottish Equity Partners the website was re-launched.

“We managed to effectively go back to the market at the end of 2011 and started having conversations with investors again.

“We wanted to retain control of the company and we wanted to keep that sense of autonomy, but we also wanted someone who will back this transformation.

“We found a VC in year one of a 10-year fund, including Skyscanner, who brought with them an understanding of what worked for them. Six months later we had a new version of the site out.

“It was a complete re-launch of the platform, taking a combination of 10 years experience in the field of what worked and what did not and best in class of what’s happening in the marketplace.

“We saw the rise of Pinterest and we always wanted to be more aspirational for the travel industry - to inspire people to travel and to do things they really want to do.

“We wanted something versatile, not just for pictures so we can intersperse advertising and mix it up, like a jigsaw. It’s responsive in design and really scalable for us.”

Ward promised many more features were in the pipeline saying the site still only reflects 10% of the vision of where it needs to go.

One aspiration is for the site is to eventually enable individuals who post content about their affiliates to become affiliates in their own right and earn through a revenue share deal.

Where Ward believes Wayn can succeed in an area in which the likes of Simonseeks.com, for instance, failed is that the site has a sustainable engagement model not reliant on costly SEO or SEM.

He quotes the results of a South Africa campaign that delivered 400,000 friends for the destination and 160,000 survey responses – engagement, he says, that puts the likes of Facebook in the shade.

Wayn currently has 21 million registered users and drives six million unique visitors a month and 12 million visits.

Ward believes being Wayn’s advantage lies in the fact that it is a specialist in the travel sector that has social in its DNA rather than social being a build-on.

“People come to hang out, to meet people, to find out about experiences. If anything they do not come to transact so our challenge is how we fuse social with commerce.”

Wayn is in the process of integrating with various bookable capabilities for flight and hotel providers and all types of travel products.

On top of that the social layer will build advocacy, something Ward believes offers the biggest benefit to those travel firms that have already embraced the opportunity.

“The data we are collecting is like a gold mine. When your brand gets a friend on Wayn not only can you engage with them on the site but also communicate directly on email,” he said.

Wayn has integrated with Facebook, as well as the likes of Foursquare, and sees the world’s largest social network as a great enabler for its vision of social media in travel.

At the same time it is competing for business by offering a greater degree of reach to followers, claimed Ward.

“We are getting huge amount of business from companies wanting to try us out, give us 10% of their Facebook budget and see how effective it is.

“We love the Facebook platform. We think it’s a complement to our service. They could gobble everyone up but are they going to become an enabler or a monopoly?

“One would hope they would lose too much good faith if they were not open.”

Ward said firms expecting quick returns in terms of bookings from social are being unrealistic, but taking a more medium to long-term approach will reap rewards.

He advised firms to do test campaigns for relatively modest amounts - as little as £25,0000 over three to six months .

“To make social work you need time and to commit a certain amount of investment to get results.

“You can spend £2,000 on some basic advertising platform and get an offer out to a very segmented group of users. But you are just going to get leads.

“We always try to work with people to try to put as much firepower as then can in to their first campaign. We believe we can show the fruits of their labour. Invariably they come back for more.”

Social is a crest of a wave that will only gather momentum due to the diminishing returns on other platforms like Google, which is becoming a “walled garden” for the big brand, said Ward.

“What we understand is the overwhelming fact that people are less focused on where they want to go and are more interested in what they want to do.

“We did not know that at first and focussed on where rather than what. You are only going to go travelling once or twice a year so social proof or influence, the fact that someone you know has been there is what’s going to make it interesting.

“The future of our business is social commerce. Look at Airbnb. People think it’s just a distribution platform for guest houses and people with spare rooms.

“But what it is is a distribution platform with a social layer. Of its four-and-a-half million bookings two million have come in the last year.

“You may not find a Hilton on there but you can find all sorts of accommodation and hotels now. It’s a distribution platform for booking a place to stay.

“We will become a distribution platform for a tour operator or a travel expert. It’s about integration with those providers and adding a social layer.”

Ward said before its latest re-launch Wayn asked itself a fundamental question of what sort of site it wanted to be.

“This was a real challenge for us. We had two opportunities; to either be a travel dating service or a travel social network.

“The first - become like a Badoo for travel - was easier to do but we felt if we get this right it could be the next Tripadvisor. No one has cracked it yet because it’s hard.”

Global travel habits are changing says WAYN

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT

A recent travel survey of over 38,000 members of leading travel social network, Where are you now? (WAYN), has revealed some interesting changes in how its users choose to travel.

The introverts guide to travel? The results suggest that travellers increasingly seek solitude when on holiday, with the majority - 33% - claiming that they would choose to travel solo. The second most popular travel companions (26%) are friends, rather than partners or spouses.

Independent Travel vs. Tours? Traditional guided tours appear to be falling from favour with 49% of travellers opting to make their own sightseeing plans rather than join a specific tour. Travellers seem to trust social media and other web research tools to arm them with enough detail to plan their trips, without the need of a guide.

Luxury or less? WAYN members prefer budget and mid-range accommodation to luxury hotels, with most members claiming that cost would be the only thing that would deter them from visiting the region: crime and disease were not considered deterrents.

Setting new standards in South America? The survey, which focused on questioning travellers about visiting South America, showed that WAYN members are clearly an adventurous bunch. Brazil was the most popular country in the continent with 49% of respondents saying it would be their first choice in South America, while an ideal break would combine city and beach. 90% said they would travel widely while on holiday, visiting a number of cities and countries to make the most of having travelled to the continent.

Peter Ward from WAYN said: “We believe the internet accounts for some of these changes with increased amounts of accessible and relevant information empowering travellers to travel alone, stay in more diverse accommodation and plan visits to previously unconsidered destinations. I’m a big advocate of independent travel and our site gives users an opportunity to make friends at home before they travel so even if they do prefer to go solo, they have a virtual friend to explore their destination with.”

WAYN is the brainchild of Jerome Touze and Peter Ward who came up with the idea after returning from backpacking in 2002. It is currently the world’s largest travel and lifestyle social media platform with 21 million members in 193 countries. The focus of WAYN is to assist individuals with making the most out of life by discovering where to go, what to do and who to meet.

Global travel habits are changing, says WAYN

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Travellers increasingly seek solitude when on holiday, with the majority -33%- claiming that they would choose to travel solo. The second most popular travel companions (26%) are friends, rather than partners or spouses.

A recent travel survey of over 38,000 members of leading travel social network, Where are you now? (WAYN), has revealed some interesting changes in how its users choose to travel.

The introverts guide to travel? The results suggest that travellers increasingly seek solitude when on holiday, with the majority - 33% - claiming that they would choose to travel solo. The second most popular travel companions (26%) are friends, rather than partners or spouses.

Independent Travel vs. Tours
Traditional guided tours appear to be falling from favour with 49% of travellers opting to make their own sightseeing plans rather than join a specific tour. Travellers seem to trust social media and other web research tools to arm them with enough detail to plan their trips, without the need of a guide.

Luxury or less
WAYN members prefer budget and mid-range accommodation to luxury hotels, with most members claiming that cost would be the only thing that would deter them from visiting the region: crime and disease were not considered deterrents.

Setting new standards in South America
The survey, which focused on questioning travellers about visiting South America, showed that WAYN members are clearly an adventurous bunch. Brazil was the most popular country in the continent with 49% of respondents saying it would be their first choice in South America, while an ideal break would combine city and beach. 90% said they would travel widely while on holiday, visiting a number of cities and countries to make the most of having travelled to the continent.

Peter Ward from WAYN said: “We believe the internet accounts for some of these changes with increased amounts of accessible and relevant information empowering travellers to travel alone, stay in more diverse accommodation and plan visits to previously unconsidered destinations. I’m a big advocate of independent travel and our site gives users an opportunity to make friends at home before they travel so even if they do prefer to go solo, they have a virtual friend to explore their destination with.”

WAYN is the brainchild of Jerome Touze and Peter Ward who came up with the idea after returning from backpacking in 2002. It is currently the world’s largest travel and lifestyle social media platform with 21 million members in 193 countries. The focus of WAYN is to assist individuals with making the most out of life by discovering where to go, what to do and who to meet.

Travel review site WAYN.com targets trade advertisers

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Global review site WAYN.com claims it is offering the travel industry more commercial opportunities following a relaunch of the site.

The new-look site is more modern and not dissimilar to Pinterest, but as well as featuring photographs it includes travel reviews, queries and content about destinations worldwide to help users decide where to go, what to do and who to meet.

Tourist boards, airlines and hotels are able to sponsor destination pages, offers can be tailored to particular users and, like on Facebook, users can become 'friends' of chosen brands. However, unlike Facebook, WAYN gives its advertisers the option to directly contact 'friends'. WAYN has 20 million users worldwide and six million unique visits a month. Already it works with 50 tourist boards and thousands of travel clients.

"We are getting a huge amount of interest following the relaunch of the site," said CEO Peter Ward. "The new platform is more about aspirational travel than previously, and when we have shown what we can do we have got a lot of interest."

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

WAYN transforms its website

Fri, 15 Feb 2013 00:00:00 GMT

WAYN goes live in its core markets, with a fresh new design interface and a complete transformation of the platform to enable its users to better discover where to go, what to do and who to meet.

The new site helps users on a journey of "destination discovery", provoking inspiration on where to travel to next as well as what to do when you get there and who to connect with to make the most of your experience.

Peter Ward, CEO and Co-Founder of WAYN said: “We are extremely proud of the new platform, which whilst only 10% of the vision, is designed to encourage users to share their experiences, meet people and discover the best places to go to as well as what to do once they get there. We have re-built parts of the site from the ground up, consulting our users at every stage. A selection of current and new users have had the opportunity to test the site in advance, to ensure that we get the first version of the new vision, absolutely right. Now, engaging with locals, experienced travellers who've been and budding jet-setters who want to go to any destination, has never been easier.”

The platform includes a Pinterest-style wall, in the context of every destination around the world, showcasing not only pictures added by users of that destination, but also who lives there, who has been and who wants to go, as well as tips and questions added by users, places to visit and more. Members of the platform can search or browse any destination and filter it by their WAYN, Facebook and Foursquare networks with a click of a button, so that they can quickly find recommendations on where to go and what to do, based on what others have already experienced. Users can also filter the results by people or content type, making it easy to find what they are looking for, by destination. Content that they like can be pinned to their profile and eventually, they will be able to create customised collections of their favourite things and share them with others.

WAYN currently has over 50 global tourist boards, airlines, hotels and travel operators as partners and has become one of the world’s leading platforms for driving user engagement and influencing travel decisions. The re-launch of the platform has drawn interest in the industry from reputable brands, the launch partners include the likes of Gauteng Tourism, Indonesia Tourism, Roomwise, and Topdeck Travel to name but a few.

With headquarters in London and a team in Poland, WAYN now has a global network of offices in Cape Town; New York and most recently in Delhi, via its partnership with India Today Group (ITG). WAYN currently boasts over 21 million members, 15 million visits per month while 70,000 trips and activities are added each day, establishing the site as the world’s largest travel and lifestyle social media platform.

Peter Ward said “We believe that we are on the road to developing the next generation social travel platform. The re-launch is the first step; we have numerous exciting features still to be released over the coming months. Our focus in the past has been on connecting people, whereas our focus is now on building a recommendation engine for where to go and what to do, as well as who to meet”.