The Fifth Network's director of travel marketing explains why video is the perfect way to reach and engage potential travelers.
The Travel and Tourism industry is the nation's second largest services export and one of America's largest employers. Destination marketers are active advertisers, image makers and trendsetters, and we all know that the internet is very popular with travelers.
According to the Travel Industry Association of America's (TIA) report "Travelers Use of the Internet," people who travel tend to be computer savvy, with a full two thirds using the internet to make travel plans. Use of the internet to book travel continues to increase, with 45 percent of all online travelers having made travel reservations during the past year.
What's more, online leisure travel planners tend to use the internet about 16 hours per week. A majority (66 percent) do more than half of all their trip planning online. One in five of those who have traveled in the past year (21 percent) contacted a destination marketing organization to get information, including visiting the websites of those organizations.
Needless to say, no matter where they are geographically, people who travel live on the internet.
Most destination marketers have already embraced SEO techniques to drive people to their websites as a result of research that clearly shows search engines as the highest source of leads. The flaw in this plan, however, is that search marketing by its very nature implies that the location decision has already been made, or at least narrowed down.
The real challenge for these marketers remains how to get prospective travelers to consider their location early in the process and how to motivate high-end spenders to be explorers and early adopters of a destination, activity or event.
So how have marketers traditionally attracted the attention of prospective travelers?
Half of all U.S. adults say that they use the travel media -- everything from newspaper travel sections and television travel shows to online newsletters -- to plan their vacations. About one third (31 percent) of travelers have decided to visit a travel destination because of information that they saw or read in travel media.
Historically, destination marketers utilized TV to deliver compelling experiential visuals to elicit the "wish I was there" reaction and spur response. However, the proliferation of online and offline media outlets has resulted in an extremely fragmented customer base. Add to this the inability to measure real results when consumers are motivated by one of these ads and destination marketers are ripe for alternatives.
So how do we capture their attention now and transfer that attention into action?
To be competitive on the internet, we must actively engage users' senses, and at The Fifth Network, we put online video to the task! Video ads create an emotional connection similar to the dynamic that has worked for so many years in TV advertising. For advertisers who are accustomed to the 15 or 30 second TV commercials and have already invested considerable dollars in producing high-end video, these ads provide an outstanding additional use.
There are several key benefits to video ads including their ability to rise above the clutter, to use sound and dynamic motion to grab attention and to create a connection with the user.
As a result of the increased engagement, video ads achieve noticeably higher clickthrough rates than static display advertising. Advertisers can also use a variety of metrics to track engagement with their video ads, such as display time, interaction rate/time, video completions, and video pauses/rewinds/mutes. Video, while maintaining the ability to brand, includes the ability to interact.
Nearly 64 percent of all U.S. internet users have reported that they streamed some video online. But today's user wants control, control of the type of content and the place and time content is delivered. Destination advertisers need to adapt to these demands and match their messaging closely with consumer needs.
When targeted effectively, the travel marketer's video is able to introduce or reconnect a destination to a potential traveler. The successful destination marketer forges close relationships with consumers, close enough so that their video advertising can be considered part of the content their users are consuming, not just as a commercial interruption of the content.
"Leisure Travel Planning: How Consumers Make Travel Decisions" by TIA re-confirms how important tailored information is in the destination selection process. CRM programs used to gather visitor profiles have become commonplace, and loyalty programs have moved from the days where they were all based on miles or points to ones in which customer tendencies and interests are being addressed. Once travelers have identified themselves as golfers or wine enthusiasts, savvy travel marketers can easily provide information specific to this interest and speak directly to the individual. Video clips which showcase these experiences and are targeted to the right audiences are welcome and prove to be extremely effective motivators.
A final thought…
Travel, while it is a necessary function for many, often plays an exciting and stimulating role in many Americans' lives. While most people don't talk to each other about their routine visits to the dry cleaner or bank, they do spend considerable time talking about their travel experiences, and the majority of destination decisions are based on recommendations from friends and families. Using video to entice travelers to share their own experiences can provide a never-ending source of new material for future targeted promotions. Getting users involved in sharing their experiences through online video, either through contests or video portals on their own site, can serve as extremely powerful testimonials.
Traveling is about the experience, and since video has proven time and time again that it enhances the user-experience, these two media make for a perfect marriage.
Lauri O. Klefos is director of travel marketing at The Fifth Network. Read full bio.