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As we spend more of our lives online, travel marketers must ensure they are launching effective campaigns that both engage and convert – particularly true now given the large demand for travel as the world continues to reopen. Breaking through with your unique story in today’s content-heavy world and creating meaningful connections with travelers may feel daunting, but with the right data and an insights-led approach, travel brands can face this challenge head-on. Data is a critical cornerstone in developing and executing marketing strategies – from informing tactics and delivering personalized consumer experiences to measurement and reporting. Data can also impact the way we think about and develop the creative elements of a campaign and help reveal opportunities to create meaningful engagement with travelers.
Understanding Your Audience
Before anything else, it is important to identify and understand your target audience. Leaning into your own data is key to understanding your audience’s travel behaviors and preferences and working with strategic partners to access custom industry studies can help fill the data gaps or provide a more holistic view. Through a combination of both first-party data and insights from industry research, you can paint a more complete picture of travel shoppers and the latest influences on their travel purchases, such as a growing interest in sustainable travel options, as well as more meaningful and conscientious travel experiences. It’s also important to keep in mind that the way travelers shop, along with their mindsets and behaviors, has shifted significantly since the beginning of the pandemic, and continues to do so. Understanding these shifts is critical to informing not only your marketing creative, but your overall strategy.
For example, our first-party data from Q2 showed that travelers are continuing to search for trips in the near term, as illustrated by 15percent quarter-over-quarter growth in the 61-to-90-day window. However, when we dug into that further, we found that international searches in the 61-to-90-day window also increased, up 20percent quarter-over-quarter. This indicates that even though travelers are reverting to planning for the near term, they are still considering international trips. International visitors are an important and valuable audience for many travel marketers, and insights like these can help inform an appropriate targeting strategy, such as promoting deals or offers for trips booked at least 60 days out or adding international travelers back into your audience mix.
Learning Through Testing
Gathering and understanding the insights from data is great, but they mean nothing if they’re not also being synthesized and applied to your creative approach – whether it’s your messaging, imagery, or both. By running marketing campaigns and analyzing the results of your tactics, you can test different creative iterations and messages, learning what resonates best with your audience. This is where the real magic happens - travel brands are reaching the right consumer, at the right time and place, with the right creative message to drive maximum results.
“Gathering and understanding the insights from data is great, but they mean nothing if they’re not also being synthesized and applied to your creative approach”
The ability to test creative and access relevant data metrics in real time should be an invitation to keep experimenting. And while it may be difficult for travel brands to take more risks in the current landscape, especially if you’re working with limited resources or have more pressure to deliver ROI, the insights from your tests can help you course-adjust quickly, when needed. Try something, see if it works – and if it doesn’t, you have the insights to inform your next approach.
By successfully executing data-driven creative, travel brands can offer more relevant experiences, deepen engagement with consumers, and, ultimately, build brand loyalty. With these best practices in mind, travel marketers can produce more impactful marketing and ad campaigns that deliver strong results and support their rebuilding efforts.
