After motoring quietly along for 45 years, the Mobil Travel Guide company is attempting to muscle into the fast lane with new lines of books and a makeover for its signature Regional Travel Planners. The first signs of transformation appeared in October—the release of an expanded line of regional guides, to be followed in early 2004 with the publisher's first city guides and a line of specialty travel books. In summer 2004, Mobil will cruise into Zagat's territory with five city-specific dining guides. The company has spent about $2 million to revitalize the brand, including a launch party last month at New York City's St. Regis hotel.
At the core of its new effort is the decades-long tradition of Mobil's star-based rating system. The publisher's database of information, updated every year with secret inspections of hotels and restaurants, will remain the books' key selling point. But that information will be organized and packaged in ways that target travelers who until now have paid little attention to the guides—including those who prefer the skies to the highways. "People still want the Mobil Travel Guide ratings, but they don't want to drive everywhere," said Kevin Bristow, who has been preparing to relaunch the brand since he took over as v-p of publications two years ago.
The changes reflect the publisher's attempt to compete in a travel market that has changed drastically since Mobil Gas Company established them in 1958 to keep their road-tripping customers happy. In 2001, the publishing operation was spun off into an independent company (with Exxon-Mobil as an investor), creating the need for it to start making a profit.
For its flagship Regional Planner series, Mobil is putting out 16 guides instead of the 10 it used to publish, which means each book will encompass a smaller area and go into greater depth. To improve the writing, Mobil hired 25 leading travel journalists to write for the series, and the books are getting a new look as well, with red paperback covers replacing the yellow hardback covers.
The specialty publications will include a book on spas and resorts, a guide to pet-friendly accommodations, a title for budget-conscious travelers and a series developed in cooperation with the National Scenic Byways Program that highlights famous drives. The City Guides will list Mobil Star-rated lodging and dining, as well as events and other attractions in major cities.
Booksellers who specialize in travel said Mobil could have trouble appealing to a generation of travelers to whom the guides seem as hip as a Studebaker. "I would say they're almost starting from scratch," said Lee Azus, owner of Get Lost Travel Books, Maps and Gear in San Francisco. "I don't think they would get much name recognition for their books unless the customer is over 55."
Harlan Smith, a buyer at the Savvy Traveler bookstore in Chicago, was skeptical of Mobil's chances of success in the city guides market, where it will share the road with established players. He said even the brand's trademark rating system doesn't "have the kind of cachet that it used to have.... People would constantly refer to the four-and-five-star restaurants and that was a big deal. But you haven't heard about that as much recently."
