A coach operator based in Bognor Regis is facing a difficult situation and angry customers after its name was wrongly associated with a rival company.
Woods Travel reveals a dispute with National Express began after the latter started advertising its Touromo brand in the former’s catchment area. Woods Travel claims that the advertising campaign has caused confusion and anger among its customers, many of whom have mistakenly believed that the company has become part of the National Express group.
The confusion is said to have arisen from the names used in brochures and correspondence for one of National Express’s partner companies – Woods Coaches of Leicester – which has no affiliation with Woods Travel.
In December 2022 and January 2023, some of Woods Travel’s customers received a letter advising them that “Woods Tours” (along with six other companies) would be part of the new National Express leisure brand, Touromo, with effect from January 2023. Those customers received the letter addressed to Touromo customers due to crossover with nearby National Express operators Worthing Coaches and Lucketts Travel.
Further exacerbating the confusion was the fact that a Google search for Woods Travel at the time resulted in a top search result claiming Touromo Day Trips was “formerly known as Woods Travel”. That advert has since been taken down.
Woods Travel Director, Tina Shaw-Morton, has requested that National Express clarify the situation by changing all mention of “Woods Tours” and “Woods” to refer specifically to “Woods Coaches of Leicester” to dispel any further misinterpretation.
But besides removing the ad specifically referencing Woods Travel, National Express has said that any further misinterpretation by Woods Travel’s clients is beyond its control.
“Touromo is our new name for coach holidays and day trips, bringing together seven local brands previously operating under the National Express Leisure entity, which includes Woods Tours of Leicester,” a National Express spokesperson tells routeone. “As part of the launch we carried out a targeted regional media campaign informing customers in Leicestershire of our new name.
“We were made aware of the potential confusion with Woods Travel of Bognor Regis and immediately set out to rectify PPC ad copy. In a letter to Woods Travel on 6 February we advised of our prompt actions confirming Woods Travel is not mentioned in any of our advertising and trust the matter is resolved.”
But Ms Shaw-Morton counters by saying the continued use of “Woods” and “Woods Tours” in National Express’ advertising is still causing confusion with its own customers.
Woods Travel has tried to reach out to its customer base using social media and Mailchimp, and says it has spent £5,000 advertising in its local newspapers, but the rumour continues to spread.
Ms Shaw-Morton says she “cannot understand the logic” of National Express advertising in its catchment area, and that at least one of its travel agents has disposed of Woods Travel’s brochures due to the misunderstanding.
“It’s breaking out in different directions that we can’t see, and there’s very little we can do about it,” she adds. “Other than spending the money as we have, I can’t find another way of reaching our customers.”
To try to further address the issue, the company has had the graphics on the front of its coaches changed to read “Independent since 1971” and has changed its email signatures. It is also collating a list of post offices, surgeries and assisted living centres in its catchment area to distribute an a4 poster cut from the newspaper campaign. A laminated copy is also being placed on every coach.
“After everything we’ve been through the last three years, and the fact we’ve managed to come out of the other side, I really think it’s not going to hurt (National Express) to cut us some slack, so that we can continue doing what we have been doing well for the last 52 years,” she adds.
