Thomas Cook has just released an extremely smart piece of content, a New Year’s Resolutions Calculator with a twist. The tool allows you to input your vices, then using HTML5/CSS3 it works out what you could save over 3, 6 or 12 months if you choose to keep your resolution.
The clever twist is that Thomas Cook then links to the appropriately priced holiday listings for your savings.
It’s a great effort that integrates a timely idea with clever web development, and is well worth some additional publicity. In terms of improvements, my main concern would be the distribution. I’ve had my own projects crippled by poor online engagement rates around Christmas and New Year. To launch on the 27th December, after so much work seems a pity.
A smaller concern would be with the sharing mechanism itself. In order to encourage distribution, you want users to click the Facebook, Twitter or Google+ buttons but the process delivers you to the holiday listings, with no emphasise on these buttons in the steps or design.
I do really appreciate the commercial spin on this project, so it would be good to find a way to hit both goals simultaneously.
One idea would be to include the user counts on the sharing buttons, to contrast more with the rest of the design and make people more aware of the option before they continue onto the holidays. I’d also test an interstitial pop-up box on the holiday listings link, asking users to share to their friends at that point. My gut feeling is that the pull of knowing the holiday value of their resolutions would keep them from clicking away.
So far the page has built up 5 IBLs and a handful of twitter hashtag links but this piece of work deserves far more.
Hat tip to Ian Bowden and Pete Campbell
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Nick Wilsdon
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