The summer travel season saw big gains from 2022, as total travel spending was up 4% year-to-date through July. Consumers were eager to return to vacations after the pandemic years, and travel brands saw major gains thanks to this increase in travel. Now, as the winter travel season ramps up and consumers look to schedule flights for the holidays or to escape to warm locales during the colder months, travel brands are looking for ways to maximize their marketing spend.
More than half of Americans are expected to travel for Christmas and New Year’s, giving marketers a valuable opportunity to reach consumers looking for deals on flights, car rentals or hotels. To maximize the increase in consumer interest, marketers can run different scenarios to determine which channels will deliver the highest ROI. For example, if a travel brand is choosing between a social ad buy or a television ad buy, they can run a scenario for both channels to see which one delivers more ROI. Running this scenario determines that they’d be more successful advertising on Instagram instead of television, allowing them to make an informed decision that ensures that they’re making the best investment.
Marketing mix tools to support your holiday spend
Additionally, brands can use marketing mix tools like Keen to determine where to shift spending to so that they can capitalize on the increased interest in travel. Travel marketers can choose to shift more of their spending towards peak seasons, like winter and summer, from less-trafficked times like early fall. This ensures that marketers aren’t overspending during certain seasons where incremental dollars don’t generate incremental sales, and instead are making their ad dollars more productive.
Don’t go-dark
However, it’s important to note that advertisers should not go dark completely when switching their budgets around. By going totally dark, brands lose awareness and market share, while also putting the long-term growth of the company at risk. As such, it’s important that marketers maintain some level of spend during these off-peak times so they remain top-of-mind among consumers and don’t lose ground to their competitors. Keen can help marketers determine the right amount of spend they need to keep their campaigns running without losing ROI.
This winter holiday season represents a valuable opportunity for marketers to reach travel-hungry consumers. Keen is here to help you make your spending take off and fly above your competition.
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