American Marketing Group (AMG) has announced that it is introducing new technology, including a customized AI solution, and marketing initiatives to continue driving sales growth for its affiliated advisors.

AI Connect

AMG’s proprietary AI tool, AI Connect, will help advisors develop marketing content while saving time. With the program, advisors can access exclusive preferred partner offers for the U.S. or Canada and generate social media captions, blog posts and landing pages. AI Connect also integrates with Canva to build graphics using royalty-free images, all while learning the unique tone and style of the advisor’s brand.

“Generative AI is opening up a $28 billion-plus opportunity for the travel industry,” said Nicole Mazza, AMG chief marketing officer. “We’re seizing that opportunity with AI Connect and giving our advisors the advantage they need to stay ahead in a rapidly evolving industry. With AI Connect, they’ll be able to work smarter and faster to create professional marketing materials that will translate into sales.”

Technology Innovations

This year, AMG advanced its proprietary technology, in keeping with its five-decade-plus history of innovation to make selling travel easier for advisors. The tripXpress booking platform has several new enhancements to improve performance and open additional inventory to advisors. It can now pull live information into passive bookings for real-time updates; offers 26 cruise lines, many direct connects; and offers improved consumer experience with a more intuitive layout and relevant updates.

Additionally, a new tripXpress capability will allow advisors to deep-link directly to the booking platform from their webpages or blog posts. They will be able to add a link to their communications that takes consumers directly into the booking process. The booking is automatically attributed to the advisor.

Other technology innovations include:

• A custom-branded URL at the agency or advisor level that will stay the same for every marketing campaign. With a single link, advisors can drive consumers to promotions and offers.
• Enhancing advisor extranets so advisors can find all the information they need to market and sell successfully in one central place. The home page will be streamlined, displaying all marketing offers and campaigns prominently, with links to the most frequently visited extranet features.

Marketing and Lead Generation

AMG shared that marketing programs aimed at both travel advisors and consumers have expanded their reach this year:

• 5.6 million emails sent to consumers, up 47 percent from last year
• 700,000 emails sent to advisors, up 4.4 percent from last year
• 72,000 monthly page-views of advisor extranet sites, which provide an information hub for affiliated agencies, up 4.3 percent from last year
• 12,000 leads sent to advisors

Digital campaigns are a cornerstone of AMG’s lead generation strategy, proving highly successful since their introduction last year. Tens of thousands of consumers looking for travel expertise view the ads, then visit network websites, generating high-quality leads for advisors. In the coming year, three campaigns will launch, focusing on new-to-cruise customers, Suite Life and romance travel.

Another initiative to drive more leads to travel advisors are enhanced profiles on the TravelSavers, NEST and The Affluent Traveler Collection consumer websites. Travelers can now select the advisor that’s the best match for them based on location, specialties, destination expertise, languages spoken as well as accolades and certifications.

Partner Additions

AMG has added partners to broaden travel options for advisors and their clients:

• Project Expedition offers thousands of excursions, tours and attractions in destinations worldwide
• Le Passage to India, a DMC that arranges tailored experiences throughout the country
• Travel Industry Solutions, which provides agencies with tools and resources to mitigate risk, protect against chargebacks, maintain compliance, and stay abreast of changing laws and regulations

As well, the number of airlines has now grown to 60, with the addition of Qantas, Turkish Airlines, BermudAir, Condor and LATAM Airlines.

TravelSavers Preferred Hotel Program

This program offers advisors commissionable rates from more than 51,000 hotels, including over 6,100 extended stay hotel accommodations, and access to more than one million serviced apartments in over 9,000 cities and 190 countries. Through the program, agencies affiliated with AMG networks book more than 21 million room nights worth $3.9 billion in annual revenue.

In 2024, the TravelSavers Preferred Hotel Program launched two initiatives including an online Marketing Store and a marketing program, Extended Stays by TravelSavers.

New KORE Markets

The KORE travel education program offers a comprehensive, flexible and self-paced online curriculum. It offers mentorship with an agency owner or manager, as well as a placement service to connect candidates with agencies that are hiring. This year, KORE launched in Canada, complete with courses co-created with in-country experts, addressing airline regulations, cruise sales and compliance, and fraud protection in the country.

KORE is approaching diverse audiences who may be considering a travel advisor career, including military veterans and people consulting with recruitment agencies and workforce development programs.

For more information, visit www.theamericanmarketinggroup.com.