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Gary Leopold

Member since January 2010Contact Gary

Gary Leopold is the President of CP Travel, the marketing consultancy and advertising agency arm of Connelly Partners that specializes in problem solving for premier travel and lifestyle brands. In his career at CP and prior to that ISM, he has advised leading travel, hospitality and lifestyle organizations, including Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, American Express, Emirates, the United Nations Foundation, the Saint Lucia Tourist Board, Sheraton Hotels, Hong Kong Tourism Authority, The Islands Of The Bahamas, Historic Hotels of America, Massachusetts Port Authority and Harley-Davidson. He is a receipient of the Albert E. Koehl Award from HSMAI for lifetime achievement in travel and hospitality marketing and advertising, an award he shares with such previous honorees as Richard Branson and Michael Eisner. Gary is a past President of HSMAI, serves on the HSMAI Foundation Board and is the former President of the MAGNET global agency network, which is comprised of nearly 40 independent marketing organizations located around the globe.

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  • A Voice Drives The Future Of Travel by Gary Leopold (Marketing: Travel on 09/06/2016)

    In response to my post the folks at Sabre wrote to let me know that this week marked the 50th Anniversary of the launch of Star Trek, a visionary TV show that was a harbinger of technologies that are now becoming quite real.  One of them was voice technology, and this interesting info graphic provides a great glimpse at just how voice technology has evolved from then to today.  https://www.sabre.com/insights/fifty-years-later-how-star-trek-shaped-the-history-of-voice-technology-infographic/

  • Everyone In Travel Needs To Welcome The HENRYs by Gary Leopold (Marketing: Travel on 01/04/2016)

    Thanks Pam. I appreciate the work you and UNITY have done to research and illuminate this audience and will look forward to getting your mini-book.

  • Going Native by Gary Leopold (Marketing: Travel on 02/02/2015)

    Hi Jonathan. Thanks for your comment. I totally agree that native, like every other form of advertising, is often poorly executed, and God knows the world doesn't need another "Top 10..." But, to your point, travel is particularly suited to a native approach, and can be particularly effective if well executed. Of course, it still needs to be smartly done and many native campaigns -- in and out of travel -- continue to fall short in that regard.

  • The Millennial Mindset: Not Just For Millennials by Gary Leopold (Marketing: Travel on 08/04/2014)

    Hi Rocky, I totally agree that brands can ill afford to ignore the needs and spending power of Boomers. And you're right that Millennials travel habits and preferences will no doubt evolve as they age, have families, etc. How they march into their future years will likely reveal a consumer that will have some very different needs and habits than they exhibit today. For example their willingness to use travel agents is a surprise many would never have predicted. Brands have to recognize that these audiences have evolving and often intersecting needs, and that the one thing we can predict with confidence is that change will be very fluid.

  • Traveling By Tribe by Gary Leopold (Marketing: Travel on 12/02/2013)

    Paula, many thanks for your comment. I totally agree with you on the growth of singles as an important travel audience. In fact, a few years ago I wrote a post titled, "One. It's no longer the loneliest number" that addressed the very point you are making. And, last month my post highlighted some of the changes within the Boomer population, including the growing number of singles in that age group. Unfortunately, as you note, the industry continues to remain slow to respond to the opportunity. I guess you and I will just need to keep writing until more take notice.

  • Boston Strong: Travel Marketers, Not So Much by Gary Leopold (Marketing: Travel on 05/06/2013)

    Thanks Henry. As you point out, an essential consideration for hotel companies confronted by a crisis is to quickly coordinate between the corporate office and the individual properties, so that all communications can be properly aligned and working in tandem, so there is no disconnect within the brand. As the individual property -- like the Fairmont Copley -- is reaching out to impacted guests, the last thing it needs is for a generic marketing message from the corporate office to hit those same people.

  • Is It Time For The Caribbean To Have An Airline Of Its Own? by Gary Leopold (Marketing: Travel on 11/05/2012)

    Thanks Jim. I appreciate your input and willingness to participate in the conversation. I encourage others to share as openly and with equal passion because I think we both agree it's a vitally important debate.

  • Is It Time For The Caribbean To Have An Airline Of Its Own? by Gary Leopold (Marketing: Travel on 11/05/2012)

    Henry, thanks for the feedback. Despite the article's title, my real hope was to bring more thought to how people are thinking about and attacking the problem. I totally agree it's been a road well traveled and that it's littered with casualties. Further proof that it needs a fresh and visionary perspective, which could certainly embrace carries like JetBlue or reimagine things in a new way.

  • Giving Meaning To Sustainable Tourism by Gary Leopold (Marketing: Green on 07/07/2010)

    Thanks for the positive feedback. For those looking to learn more about TSC and to review the criteria: http://www.sustainabletourismcriteria.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=58&Itemid=188

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