Last week I went to Porto with a couple of friends for a sightseeing stopover. 

This may sound strange to those who know Porto is my hometown. I left Porto more than 20 years ago and I return regularly to visit my family, but my time is naturally limited, and I dedicate it to socialising with them rather than to wondering around the city. I also travel regularly to Porto to my classes, but my schedule is too tight to accommodate tourism.

But this time was different!

I was going to Porto as a tourist, for a whole weekend. 

I was obviously aware of the wave of new restaurants, bars, hotels and hostels open to meet the tourist demand, but I wanted to see (and taste) it by myself: how the landscape and lifestyle had changed in the last years.

Walking around the city centre we came across a dark but well-decorate tunnel, someone told us it was the reception of Selina hotel – a new concept from an international network. We decided to get in, to have a few drinks (…and also to kill my curiosity about it!)

The beats from the speakers were getting louder as we crossed the tunnel and approached the terrace, surrounded by different bars and coffee shops. On the terrace, a disk jockey was entertaining guests, who were laying down on sun beds and comfortable chairs. Refreshing drinks were served and guests were either socializing around long tables or relaxing alone. The walls were decorated with graffiti, and a very nomad truck was taking a nap, in the middle of it.

More than the relaxed looks, it impressed the terrace being surrounded by rooms that were either individual, or collective. People could rent a bed in a collective room for four or six or could ask for a private room for two or four. 

At this point my mind started to wonder how the world had changed so much … but how come marketing fundamentals didn’t change at all. We have been bombarded so often by talk of the digital transformation, that the good, traditional marketing principles seem to serve no purpose except to say they’re dead.

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Nothing is more wrong than that and Selina is the live proof of that! ​

Customers are not what they used to be, they no longer crave 5-star service and luxury and sophistication. They crave experiences that match their expectations and outlook on life, the way they see the world through their own eyes. They are very different from those of previous generations. These nomadic customers were not people who visited on a budget, they wanted to experience something radical and new.​

Good marketing is about understanding and catching customers needs– no matter how much they are changing, how often they change, and where they’re moving – and designing convenient solutions.

No digital transformation will ever be able to design a hotel around new lifestyles and customers new expectations: only good old observation of customer behaviour, desires and needs (old-fashioned research, some would say) can provide the hints that have built Selina.

That the world is under a digital transformation there is no doubt about it, but that traditional marketing is not dead, is something that cannot be understated.