Paul Alexander - Product + Brand Specialist

Overview

Flokk Travel is a concept for a family-first travel planning app designed to solve a common but overlooked problem: Planning trips with kids is time-consuming, uncertain, and emotionally risky. While inspiration is everywhere (Instagram, blogs, AI), turning that into a realistic, executable itinerary for a family is still hard. Flokk flips this by offering: • Family-tested itineraries • Day-by-day, practical plans • Transparent insights into what actually works with kids

The Problem

Through user conversations and early testing, three key challenges emerged:

Planning friction is high: Parents juggle multiple tabs, conflicting advice, and unrealistic schedules. Result: hours of effort with low confidence
Existing solutions don't fit families: AI tools generate generic plans, travel blogs optimise for clicks not usability, and Google Maps lacks structure and context. Result: plans that look good but fail in real life
Emotional risk is underestimated: Family trips carry pressure from limited time, high cost, and kids' needs and unpredictability. Result: "If this goes wrong, the whole trip suffers."

The Insight

Families don't want more options — they want confidence. The real value isn't information. It's: • Knowing a plan works • Trusting the pacing • Reducing second-guessing

The Hypothesis

If we provide real, family-tested itineraries that show:

What to do
When to do it
Why it works

Then users will: • Trust the product more than AI or blogs • Be willing to pay for reduced planning effort • Use it for key trips (1–2 times per year)

Approach

We built a lightweight landing page to test: • Value proposition clarity • Demand for curated itineraries • Willingness to join a waitlist

1. Prototype a Landing Page

3. What We Learned User feedback revealed a critical gap: People liked the idea — but didn't understand what they were actually getting.

2. Initial Positioning Early messaging focused on: • "Family-tested itineraries" • "Travel planning made easier"

Key Learnings

The value was too abstract: Users couldn't distinguish Flokk from travel blogs, AI tools, or Pinterest-style inspiration
The product wasn't visible: We described itineraries, but didn't show their depth or quality
Trust wasn't proven: "Family-tested" was compelling — but needed evidence, not just a claim

Iteration: Making the Value Tangible

We shifted the strategy from telling → showing

1. Bring the itinerary to life

Introduced a real itinerary preview
Showed day-by-day structure
Highlighted practical details (timing, pacing, food, breaks)

2. Reframe the value proposition

From: "Family-tested itineraries" To: "A plan you can actually follow — built from real family trips"

3. Emphasise "thinking", not just content

We added: • "Why this worked" • "What we'd skip next time" • "Tips for different age groups"

This positioned Flokk as: Human insight > AI output

4. Clarify the competitive edge

We explicitly contrasted:

AI Plans	Travel Blogs	Flokk
Fast but generic	Inspiring but fragmented	Practical and proven
Unrealistic pacing	Hard to follow	Designed for families
No accountability	Content-first	Outcome-first

Design Principles

To create a distinct "Flokk feel", we focused on:

Make it feel premium but usable: Clean, calm layouts, structured day-by-day cards, editorial-style presentation
Show the work: Real decisions, trade-offs, honest notes
Reduce cognitive load: Clear hierarchy, visual cues (icons, sections), scannable but detailed

Testing Strategy

We designed a second iteration test:

Variant A (Control)

Concept-led messaging
No real itinerary shown

Variant B (New) • Real itinerary preview • "What's inside" breakdown • Stronger, concrete copy

Success Metrics

Quantitative

Waitlist conversion rate
Clicks on itinerary preview
Scroll depth

Qualitative • "What do you think Flokk does?" responses

Outcome (Early Signals)

Early feedback suggests:

Higher clarity when itineraries are shown
Stronger trust vs AI-generated tools
Clear resonance with "family-tested" positioning

Next Steps

Develop a freemium model (free preview → paid full access)
Expand itinerary library
Introduce filters (age, pace, interests)
Test conversion at point of trip planning

Reflection

This project reinforced a key product lesson:

"If users can't see the value, they won't believe it exists."

By shifting from concept → concrete, Flokk moved closer to becoming: • A trusted planning tool • Not just another travel idea platform

My Role

Product strategy & positioning
User research & insight synthesis
UX and landing page direction
Messaging & go-to-market testing
Experiment design

Flokk Travel

Client

Services

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