Briefcase to Backpack serves an untapped market in the United States – the corporate American planning a career break and traveling.

Our readership come from professional backgrounds with established careers. They are educated, financially secure and savvy to social interactions and shopping on the web. They are also pioneers with a desire to do something different and break social norms in the US.

They are not restricted to a tight travel budget and are willing to spend more for the experience, unlike backpackers of a younger generation. They also tend to travel with high-end equipment, including computers, video & digital cameras, mp3 devices and phones.

OUR READERS
Since our launch in March 2009 we have seen our readership grow steadily each month by 50%. But in our niche market, it’s not about quantity – it’s about quality.

Referring Sites: A majority of our readership come from well-established and respected websites & blogs in the travel community. And when they visit they stay, which means this is a topic they seek out. Some of the sites and posts that drive quality traffic include:
• BootsnAll – Top 10 Reasons to Take a Career Break and Travel – This article is one of our highest traffic sources. On average visitors stay for nearly 10 minutes visiting multiple posts.
• Five of the Top 7 ranked travel blogs send traffic to our site, including Brave New Traveler, BootsnAll, Nomadic Matt, Everything-Everywhere, and Almost Fearless
• Otts World – Co-Founder Sherry Ott has been blogging about her solo travels since 2006. She has gained a large following of professional women seeking the same type of experience.
• Social Networking – Our traffic is also driven through social networking outlets such as Twitter, Facebook, and Stumbleupon.

Search Engines: Searches for terms such as “career break”, “sabbatical ideas”, “travel advice website”, and “mid-life adventure” are becoming more common in US searches. And those visitors stay for a great deal of time on the site. Likewise, visitors also find us when seeking general travel advice.

Demographic:
67% of our readers are from the United States
17% come from Career Break-friendly countries (UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand)

SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
This is a great opportunity to get on the ground floor for this cultural revolution:

• US Companies – Be the first in the country to throw your support behind this cultural phenomenon.
• If you are a company outside of the United States, here is your chance to introduce yourselves to a new audience.

Some ideal sponsors would include (but not limited to): Travel Gear – Electronic Companies (computer, video, camera) – Tour Companies – Volunteer Programs – Travel Insurance – Storage Facilities – Career Coaches

Remember, our niche audience is a very well-targeted group of people. We are only interested in creating partnerships, not pay per click ads or commission-based links.

For information about advertising on or sponsoring a section of Briefcase to Backpack please contact us by email: contact@briefcasetobackpack.com

JOIN THIS CULTURAL REVOLUTION
Career breaks are culturally acceptable and popular in many parts of the world. Every year around 90,000 professionals are estimated to take a career break. In the UK, where it grew out of the gap year concept, 75% of the British workforce currently consider taking a career break, and there are several companies and websites that cater to this audience. (Source: Wikipedia – Career Break)

With retirement no longer what it used to be, this is about to rollover into the United States as well:

• “A report on adult gap years released in July 2008 by Mintel International, a market research company, described the potential American market for gap years as a ‘sleeping giant.’” – NY Times “Those ‘Gap-Years’ Aren’t Just For Students”

Younger generations are also beginning to embrace the gap year concept before starting college. And this audience will expect career breaks or sabbaticals to be a part of job packages in the future:

• “Generation Y gets the concept of lifelong learning, and seek employers who offer tuition reimbursement, sabbaticals, and other types of learning experiences.” – Dr. Randall Hansen, founder of Quintessential Careers
• “People who consider taking career breaks and who want more flexibility aren’t an aberration but instead reflect a broader overall shift in the traditional model of workday arrangements and a linear career path – particularly among Gen Xers as compared to Baby Boomers.” 2007 Tuck School of Business Survey
• “Younger workers (26-41 years old) are the most likely to say they would consider taking a career break (70%)” – 2007 Tuck School of Business Survey
• Gen Y Will Redefine Retirement – “Retirement is dead…We will re-invent retirement by taking multiple mini retirements instead of calling it quits a few years before its time to croak. Maybe in our late twenties we’ll take a few months just to travel the world.” – Brazen Careerist

So join us in adding “Career Break” to America’s Vocabulary!