Travelpro

It all started when Robert Plath, a pilot for Northwest Airlines, changed the physical orientation of luggage from horizontal to vertical, added large wheels and an extension handle; hence, inventing Rollaboard® luggage an entirely new way to transport personal belongings while traveling. An innovation that is hailed as one of the most important advances in the travel industry behind online booking. In 1994, Travelpro was ranked as one of the fastest growing private companies by Inc. Magazine.

Today, the luggage industry is dominated by rolling luggage. And, Travelpro had its difficulties in fending off the attack of global entities, quality control issues and since inception, it lacked sufficient innovation to maintain its position of strength. It was acquired in 2005 by a leading Canadian private equity firm.

Daniels+Roberts was engaged in 2008, by the new management team, to increase brand relevance, recognition, recall AND generate revenue. The primary initiative was a luggage industry and comp set analysis. We utilized prior management’s perceptions and outreach strategy as the hypothesis for a lifestyle segmentation analysis. The findings provided substantiated data that could not be more opposite than originally thought. The consumer prospects were substantially higher income, more educated, geographically diverse and therefore easily segmented.

We embarked on a series of trade-off studies built into a quantitative vehicle to validate choice attributes and buying behavior. The brand and creative direction was reconsidered with the new insights. Our consumers gravitated to the professional standard and durability. Brand positioning became “choice of flight crews and frequent travelers.” From these studies, we found Travelpro Brand loyalty scores some of the highest that we have ever seen.

Strategic plans included developing major web and interactive redesign, online and traditional retail channel marketing support and leveraging partner programs with Hilton and Kimpton Hotels. Media choices were derived from the analysis. “We love it when a plan comes together.” Tireless effort from management to provide the consumer with new, innovative, durable, functional yet stylish products with virtually no product return issues combined with strategic outreach has made Travelpro a force to be concerned with.

Since 2009, Travelpro has grown top line revenue annually and in excess of 300%. Travelpro was also recognized by the Travel Goods Association with the New Product Innovation of the Year Award in 2013. In 2016, Travelpro International Inc. was acquired by MidOcean Partners, a premier private equity firm.

Utilizing trade-off analysis, Daniels + Roberts also defined the brand tone and language, critical messaging, resolved the “all-inclusive” stigma, updated branding and produced multi-channel programs for each segment. The visual language, the photographic style, the choice of models and wardrobe, all represent aspiration and a luxurious promise.

Campaign: Crew 11^™ Launch

RESULTS:

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Of the 537 who visited the Where To Buy page, 332 clicked through to an online retailer

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Top three most visited product pages in ascending order:
International Carry-on Spinner (661 views), 21” Expandable Spinner (1,099 views), 22” Expandable Rollaboard (1,239 views)