Not so Lonely Planet
Posted in Media, Digital, Branwell Johnson, Latest reporters' blogs October 1st, 2007 by Branwell Johnson
BBC Worldwide’s acquisition of Lonely Planet is an intriguing example of how brands need to evolve and find strong partners in the brave new world of online development and social networking.
The Lonely Planet brand still has cachet with travellers, both of the old school 70s “magic bus” variety and gap year students. But the books themselves are a dwindling resource.
Today’s traveller gets information from the web – either on personal devices or from internet cafés – and social networking sites are at the heart of this exchange of information.
Lonely Planet owns the Thorn Tree forum, a valuable source of tips, information and recommendations – the gold nuggets that travellers love to pan for and swap. It is now building a fully updated networking site for travellers with all the whistles and bells one would expect and it has also stretched the brand into podcasts, downloadable pages as pdf files and on to a web TV channel. But further expansion into the internet is going to require deeper pockets and broader strategic vision than maybe Lonely Planet, with its independent roots, can provide.
What BBC Worldwide is bringing to the table is access to relevant BBC content, such as Michael Palin’s travel shows, which should prove attractive to Lonely Planet fans. The deal gives BBC Worldwide fantastic access to a young demographic and a strong stake in the social networking world, a strategy similar to that pursued by ITV when it bought Friend Reunited.
The key to success will be how BBC Worldwide handles the brand – remember, it is a commercial organisation tasked to make the money, it’s not the altruistic broadcaster BBC. Older Planet aficionados will be watching carefully to see if the tone of warmth and trust they expect from Lonely Planet changes. Going from independent roots to part of a global empire is a difficult balancing act to pull off, as Body Shop, Green & Black’s, PJ Smoothies etc can all testify. Can it be done for this singular outfit? Me, I still treasure my battered 80s copy of the Rough Guide to Morocco…
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Tags Lonely Planet, BBC Worldwide, TV, Travel
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namrita’s comment is....
I have to admit, I was a bit disappointed when I heard that the Lonely Planet was being sold to the BBC, as I have always admired it’s independent roots and as you say, the “tone of warmth and trust” you get from the guides.
It is a shame but I have to say, I was relieved that it was the BBC and not, say, Sky, because I would definitely have found an alternative guide if Sky had got their hands on it!
Posted October 1st, 2007 at 11:21 am
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