TV advertising is working for the travel industry as reflected by the growth in spend which has now exceeded pre-pandemic levels.
The investment in advertising obviously plummeted during the pandemic. Despite the fact that people were at home watching TV, either using traditional methods or through video on demand, there was nowhere to travel.
Since the world has been back open for business, TV advertising investment hasn’t just returned to previous levels, it has surpassed it. Compared to 2018 when TV travel spend was at £274m, this figure has increased dramatically to £354m in 2023.
Just because the spend is greater it doesn’t mean that the effectiveness is equal to it. Fortunately, though for those investing their travel ad budgets on TV, the spend is reflective of success.
Campaigns are more effective when TV is included
TV has proved to be crucial for delivering revenue returns. By TV we mean both linear and Video on Demand (VOD) because both are having an effect on ad campaigns.
Using travel agents as an example, those not including TV in their media mix saw their returns fall by 18%, which equated to £9m. Similarly for the return for hotel chains not utilising TV saw a £4m or 11% drop.
The highest volume of short-term returns comes from TV
Collectively, AV advertising performs incredibly well, which shouldn’t come as a great surprise because of its ability to inspire an emotional response.
Print and online video are strong when it comes to short-term ROI. This is something that is most likely to be because of travel focused titles and content, which is something that should be considered when planning TV campaigns. There’s a benefit for advertisers when leveraging relevant content.
As you can see from the table below. TV has by far the greatest profitability. Generic PPC and paid social are the next largest contributors, however one thing to consider is the overall value of PPC because of the competitiveness of the bidding within the travel industry.
The data suggests that generic PPC within the travel industry is already overinvested compared to other channels. The effectiveness for PPC within the travel sector is below that of other industries so it’s worth remembering that the average success metrics for PPC can be slightly different for the travel industry. This possibly reflects that marketers can sometimes be drawn to trackability leading to an overly digital focus, when perhaps other strategies should be considered.
Value in streaming
Streaming platforms let you pick your audience which is an obvious benefit for travel companies, especially those with a niche offering. Using audience data, it is possible to target audiences depending on their preferences. For example, it’s possible to target audiences that spend heavily on luxury travel, regular travel or by their cultural preferences.
Alternatively, advertisers can target specific shows (in both streaming and linear TV), positioning themselves next to travel related programs or content. There are also some groundbreaking technologies which allow advertisers to run contextual targeted ad campaigns. This means that if non-travel related shows feature holiday related content their ad will appear next to it.
Contextual targeting uses AI technology to scan the shows in search of relevant content. This is just one example of the ways that the broadcasters are utilising the capabilities of the technology to the advantage of advertisers.
Planning TV
When planning a campaign, travel companies should follow the usual steps of trying to find the right audience but speak to us about what you want to achieve. We can help you to plan a TV campaign using our experience and understanding of the industry.