Expedia Group Media Solutions introduces advertising relief programme worth $25 million
Expedia Group Media Solutions, the global digital advertising organization of Expedia Group, has announced further details of its destination relief programme, as part of its $275 million commitment to helping travel partners rebound from the impact of COVID-19 and fuel industry-wide recovery efforts.
To help re-ignite travel demand to destinations, Media Solutions is making $25 million of advertising relief available, which includes products, programmes and media value add from Expedia Group brands for display campaigns across Expedia Group sites.
Several brands within the Media Solutions portfolio – including Expedia, Hotels.com, Orbitz, Travelocity, Hotwire, Wotif, ebookers and CheapTickets – are offering customized brand recovery packages with flexible, nimble and scalable advertising solutions to help generate and capture traveller demand for destinations.
“As travel restrictions lift, people will be eager to reschedule missed trips and plan new adventures, meaning millions of travellers will visit our sites to research, plan and book travel,”said Hari Nair, Senior Vice President, Expedia Group Media Solutions. “With the reach and scale of Expedia Group’s global brands, we can effectively show travellers that destinations are open for business and ready to welcome visitors again, helping advertisers maximize their investment and fuel destination demand, while also contributing to tourism recovery around the world.”
How to Participate
The global programme focuses on standalone and co-op campaigns to revive destinations running before the end of January 2021. Destinations and tourism organizations, as well as lodging, transportation, activities partners and other advertisers looking to promote a destination can be eligible for the program by signing up by September 1, 2020.
Standalone campaigns, for advertisers funding a campaign independently to promote a destination offer flexibility with objectives, campaign components and spend levels.
Co-op campaigns, for advertisers that want to maximize campaign reach through partnership to promote a destination, enable multiple advertisers to collaborate on a collective campaign to minimize ad spend and maximize conversion. By sharing marketing budgets and business objectives, all partners – from destinations to airlines to in-market hotels, activities and more – benefit from promoting the destination to travellers.
Media Opportunities
Advertisers can select from a comprehensive range of recovery packages, helping them to reach the right traveller, with the right content and media placement, on the Expedia Group brand site that meets their needs to promote a destination. Packages for both standalone and co-op campaigns are powered by Media Solutions’ comprehensive suite of display advertising formats and innovative solutions to connect with travellers throughout their path to purchase including:
- Destination of the week emails help advertising partners reach and educate potential travelers through sponsored content around cohesive destination themes.
- Destination landing pages highlight bespoke destination content, information and deals to raise awareness among a highly targeted audience.
- Coupons, for package bookings, activities, lodging and more, inspire booking and traveling to a destination and encourage conversion through special discounts and incentives.
- Destination spotlight sponsorship value add puts destinations front and center in travelers’ minds through native placements.
- Brand social media placements, including Instagram Stories and posts, enable destinations to connect with travelers in unique and inspiring ways.
“As travelers begin to dream about their next trip, they are looking for inspiration, information on the state of travel at their destination, and of course peace of mind,”said Peter Kern, Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Expedia Group. “Therefore, we believe that messaging in the right way will play an essential role in the travel industry’s recovery. The products, resources and insights provided by the Media Solutions relief program will help our supply partners reach travelers when the time is right and rebuild destination demand, setting the stage for sustained growth over these next critical months. As part of Expedia Group’s broader relief initiative, this program is one of the many steps we’re taking to support our valued travelers and partners, and to help rebuild a more resilient and sustainable travel industry for the years ahead