Iden Insider: Your source for PR and marketing ideas and inspiration for the travel industry.

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Marks & Spencer isn't doing itself any favours lately. Not content with its legal battle with Aldi, it recently sent a legal letter to an ice cream shop to rename their 'Perky Pigs' ice cream that contained the famous M&S sweet.

But here's where things get interesting, as Lidl decided to position itself as the hero by not only sending the ice cream parlour packets of its copycat sweet, but also telling the owner they would be honoured if they used their name.

Nice bit of PR in the Metro for their efforts and I'm sure they've earned a few new fans for supporting a small business owner. The story is below if you want to read it.

​https://metro.co.uk/2023/05/23/lidl-pokes-fun-at-ms-after-wading-in-to-perky-pig-ice-cream-saga-18833265/

Now the cynic in me thinks the owner might have intentionally used Percy Pigs and a very similar name to intentionally get a cease and desist letter. After all, it's a great post to put on your social media as you can expect people would come out in support of you. Moreover, the press loves a good David vs Goliath story. Of course, it could just have been a coincidence.

So what's the PR lesson for travel businesses? The answer, other than potentially irking a big-name company, is to look for opportunities where you can be a hero.

It could be as simple as a 'lost teddy promise'. If a child leaves their favourite cuddly toy behind by mistake while on holiday - you'll endeavor to get it returned to them at no cost.

(As an aside, my son once left a teddy bear behind and we didn't realise until we were back home. Didn't bother me too much until I tried to replace it and realised it was a limited edition Jellycat they no longer make and therefore expensive to replace! So a lost teddy promise would have proved invaluable to me!)

Create a competition to celebrate local heroes with all entrants eligible to win a holiday as a prize.

Champion local suppliers by only using their produce in welcome hampers. If there is a catering element to your business, could any surplus be redirected to food banks?

Sponsor local community groups or offer prizes to be used in raffles. An often overlooked group are PTAs. Mums often make the buying decision when it comes to family holidays and are also more likely to be on a PTA or involved with the school run. This is a great audience to get in front of, especially for family-friendly destinations.

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Opportunities

Will Hide is looking for new all-inclusive hotels that have opened in Barbados in the last year.

Will Hide @Willhide Looking for info on any new all-inclusive hotels that have opened on Barbados in the last year / 18 months. It’s for the travel website of a national paper. #journorequest. Please DM or email Me. Thanks 5:26 PM • May 25, 2023 5 Retweets 5 Likes Read 1 replies

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