Target and Engage Leisure and Business Travelers to Influence Booking Behavior
Travel advertising will be more impactful and drive greater results with media partners that deliver custom, creative, contextually relevant executions against the highest quality impressions.
Leaders from across the travel and tourism industry agree that travel is back! It’s been a difficult road to navigate but forecasts from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) indicate that by the end of 2023 the sector will reach $9.5 trillion, just five percent lower than pre-pandemic levels in 2019 when travel was at its peak. For travel marketers, the time is now to capture new travelers and remind existing customers to stay loyal to your brand.
Checking the box on investing in media that provides efficient targeting is a basic component of any media plan. Effective travel marketers need to dig deeper to evaluate and prioritize media partners who can deliver higher quality impressions and custom campaign executions that drive impact in environments that are in close proximity to travel research & booking.
Wheels Up for Leisure and Business Travel Industry Forecasts
The outlook is positive news for both leisure and business travel. Anthony Capuano, president and CEO of Marriott International, notes the “’phenomenon’ of consumer spend shifting from ‘hard goods’ to experience is expanding.” The travel itch has been building and consumers who have been on the sidelines are ready to explore again or increase the frequency of their vacation travel.
Many were concerned that business travel was irreparably damaged by the pandemic. Luckily that has proven to be untrue. Morgan Stanley reports that business travel expenditures are “back to pre-pandemic levels and will continue to grow.” Interestingly, smaller companies are showing the largest demand, which may be good news for lower-cost airlines and midrange/budget hotels.
This is an exciting time for travel marketers to take a hard look at their media allocation and ensure they’re not only targeting the highest value travelers but executing custom, creative and high-impact campaigns.
Effective Delivery of Travel Super Influencers
Captivate is a DOOH industry leader engaging frequent, high-value business and leisure travelers in brand-safe environments where they work and live. Known for our office media network in elevators and lobbies of Class A office towers in top markets, we recently expanded to reach professionals at home in 700+ luxury residential properties, plus an exciting new partnership on the horizon to extend our residential network reach by over 2 million households!
Travel has always been a top partner category for Captivate due to our ability to target frequent travelers and reach them where and when business and leisure travel is researched and booked. It makes sense that business travel is booked during the workday but, there’s nothing like a stressful day at the office to motivate you to research your next vacation to unplug and recharge.
Syndicated research confirms that Captivate viewers travel frequently and spend abundantly – they are 146% more likely to have taken 8+ round trips by plane in the past 12 months. Travel is their passion, and they have the means and desire to pay more to do it well and make the most of their experience. They are 60% more likely to book travel 1 week or less in advance making it critical to stay top-of-mind.
| Captivate Viewers | |
| 8+ Business Trips Past Year | 290 Index |
| 5+ Personal Vacation Trips Past Year | 181 Index |
| Travel is One of My Passions | 140 Index |
| Spent $8K+ on Foreign Vacations Past Year | 129 Index |
| Fly 1st Class/Business Class | 182 Index |
| Stay in Upscale/Luxury Hotel Past Year | 143 Index |
They also hold tremendous influence over the travel plans of their friends and colleagues. Captivate viewers are Business Travel Super Influencers (408 Index) and Vacation Travel Super Influencers (225 Index). The spending power they represent makes them a must-reach audience for travel brands looking to increase market share in the post-pandemic travel resurgence.
+300% More Likely To Be Business Travel Super Influencers
*Captivate Viewers; Source: MRI-Simmons Fall 2022 Doublebase
Proprietary Research Provides Valuable Travel Insights
Captivate | OFFICE PULSE research offers marketers timely analysis, category insights and campaign effectiveness measurement from our proprietary panel of over 6,000 professionals across North America who work and live in Captivate buildings. Our research is trusted by leading brands to measure campaign performance and data from our topical surveys has been widely published, solidifying Captivate | OFFICE PULSE as the leading authority on the pulse of modern professionals.
An April 2023 travel survey provides valuable insight into travel intent, anticipated spend levels, when they plan to book and brand preference. According to the U.S. data, 88% of professionals in Captivate buildings plan to travel more or the same in the next year.
When it comes to vacations, 4 in 5 are likely to take a vacation that includes at least 1 overnight stay. And it won’t end there; 68% of them plan to take 2-3 leisure trips in the next year with 1 in 5 anticipating 4+ trips on the horizon. Of professionals in Captivate buildings, there was a remarkable 46% increase in those who plan to spend $2K+ on their next vacation (vs. November 2022).
How will they get to their destinations?
- 3 in 5 viewers will take a domestic trip by plane
- Half plan to travel by car
- 1 in 3 will take an international trip by plane
Travel and tourism marketers should note that 63% of professionals have not yet booked their next leisure trip. There are millions of eager, affluent travelers in-market looking for inspiration for their next trip.
63% of Captivate Viewers Have Not Yet Booked Their Next Vacation
Plans for business travel are equally as strong with 69% planning a trip in the next 6 months. Of those planning business travel:
- 72% will fly
- 51% will attend a conference
Now is the time to connect with these frequent fliers who have flight, hotel and rental car reservations in their sights.
Captivate | OFFICE PULSE research provides insight into brand favorability that is good news for some but indicates there is room for brands to improve upon brand metrics with in-market travel intenders.
8 in 10 Likely to Book a Hotel in Next 12 Months; Which Hotel Chain Do You Plan to Book Your Stay?
- 62% Marriott
- 42% Hilton
- 34% Hyatt
81% Are Frequent Flyer Members:
- 58% United
- 52% Southwest
- 50% Delta
- 48% American Airlines
- 30% JetBlue
In Canada, the story is equally as strong with 7 in 10 professionals planning to take an international trip by plane this year and a 22% increase in professionals who plan to spend $2000+ on their next vacation (vs. Nov 2022).
For air travel, they plan to fly:
- 83% Air Canada / Air Canada Rouge
- 52% WestJet
- 17% Porter Airlines
- 13% American Airlines
Canadian travelers’ hotel plans include:
- 37% Marriott
- 35% Hilton
- 28% Best Western
Proximity To Purchase Keeps Your Brand Top of Mind
Where and when travel decisions are made and influenced are critical elements for travel marketers to factor into their media planning process. Travel advertising on Captivate reaches decision makers during the workday at the office where they research and book trips. Insight from Captivate | OFFICE PULSE confirms that 6 in 10 research & book business trips during the workday. Our recent partnership with WeWork further extends Captivate’s ability to reach influential travel decision makers. A large portion of WeWork members use co-working space as a homebase while also traveling for business. And as previously mentioned, small businesses are leading the business travel resurgence. Advertising at WeWork is a highly targeted strategy to engage and influence viewers booking behavior.
The workday is also an important time to drive consideration among leisure travelers, 82% of whom book trips after work in the evenings or weekends. Ensure your brand is part of the conversation with their spouse or friends as they finalize their plans and book. There are few media partners that can efficiently deliver targeted travel advertising reaching frequent travelers and travel super influencers in close proximity to purchase like Captivate can.
6 in 10 Business Travelers Research & Book Travel During The Workday
Captivate | OFFICE PULSE can deliver high level analysis or narrowly focus on questions specific to your business. For example, international airlines eager to drive bookings can tap into research to understand international travel intent (34%) and top destinations – Caribbean (45%), Europe (45%) & Asia/Pacific (28%).
Top Brands Trust Captivate To Deliver Small Business
Meaningful, Contextually Relevant Environments Drive Engagement
Consumers are bombarded by advertisements all day every day, simply targeting them isn’t enough in today’s world. Planners need to look deeper to invest in media partners that drive engagement and deliver contextual relevance to increase visibility and impact of campaigns.
Understanding that travel is a passion for our viewers, it has long been a staple of our content mix. So much so that our editors begin each week with the “Monday Morning Ahh,” featuring a beautiful destination spotlight to ease into the work week and alleviate the Monday morning blues. Later in the week, we follow up with our “Wednesday Travel Gems” spotlight on a unique destination including interesting facts. These are all in addition to our tried-and-true Travel Tips and Travel News. Plus a mix of high-utility content like Travel Weather and Flight Status combined with the ever popular user-generated “View From Your Vacation” photo feature showcasing photos of the stunning adventures of our loyal viewers.
Captivate editors don’t stop there: when summer heats up, so does the focus on travel! Striking the same balance between high-utility content (Summer Weather Dashboards), informational content & aspirational adventures. A few of our favorites include Eco Excursions featuring tips on how to be an eco-friendly tourist and Road Trip Tracks sharing songs best suited to viewers’ weekend journeys.
All travel content – and more – is sponsorable and available for brands to align their campaign to enhance contextual relevance and overall impact.
Successful Travel Advertising Strategies Are Targeted and Relevant
The most successful campaigns blend the efficiency of sophisticated targeting capabilities with the creativity that ensures the ad is noticed, relevant and meaningful to your intended audience. An experienced, trusted partner that can collaborate with you to ensure your campaign delivers on both fronts is the key to success.
Below are a few unique examples that demonstrate the value collaborative partnership can deliver to targeting solutions and campaign creativity to move the needle and drive bookings.
MARRIOTT executed a high-impact campaign featuring a mix of full screen ads & contextually relevant brand integrations which were synced with native content. The Captivate editorial team partnered with Marriott to source relevant, useful and meaningful content from the Marriott Bonvoy Traveler™ website that resonated well with their target audience & drove increases in key metrics.
PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND (PEI) TOURISM is a repeat client who saw great success from their custom content series on Captivate. PEI partnered with Captivate editors to develop a brand integration featuring custom content highlighting PEI facts, destination attractions and more.
ARIZONA TOURISM partnered with Captivate to identify and align with a custom blend of content categories that speak to their target audiences of “Foodies,” “Self Care Seekers” and “Luxury Travelers.” Their eye-catching brand integration creative aired alongside food, lifestyle, health/wellness and travel content in key cities.
AMTRAK took a fun and creative approach, hitting a home run in ensuring their campaign perfectly aligned with contextually relevant content. A brainstorm with the Captivate team sparked the idea to have Amtrak sponsor “Flight Delay” content in key markets up and down the East Coast. The strategy perfectly reinforced Amtrak’s brand goal to drive consideration of rail travel by aligning with pain points for air travelers; flight delays!
NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINES used a turnkey but effective strategy, aligning their creative with Travel Tips and Travel Destination.
There are many more examples of alignments that enhanced the impact of the travel brand’s campaigns. One interesting strategy featured a data integration that showcased hot Florida temperatures in cold northern markets to entice winter-weary professionals to book a flight south. Weather triggers are a great strategy to promote relevant destinations; Snowing in New England? Let’s trigger creative targeting skiers to book a trip and hit the slopes.
Campaign Measurement Confirms Strategies are Effective
A recent Cathay Pacific campaign aimed to increase brand consideration among International Travelers. Captivate was a perfect partner due to our ability to effectively reach their audience and provide campaign effectiveness research to validate success.
- 69% Ad Recall Among Asian Travelers
- +17% Lift in Consideration
- +14% Lift in Brand Awareness
Calls To Action Results
- 93% of Those Who Recalled Took Action
- 53% Went Online To Learn More
- 43% Discussed With Friends, Family, Coworkers
- 56% Would Consider Purchasing Future Flight on Cathay Pacific
Advanced targeting capabilities enable brands to target specific buildings in the Captivate footprint that effectively reach their target audience and ensure your plan is efficient. When it comes to Travel, Captivate’s network reach includes nearly 12,000 displays in 1,950 buildings across North America delivering over 109.5 million monthly impressions.
Out-of-home advertising across multiple channels remains necessary, and adding partners that effectively target your audience is critical to achieve an efficient plan that yields results. With Captivate, targeted ads are paired with contextually relevant content delivered at a time and in a place where travel is booked and trips are researched. With 63% of professionals yet to book their next vacation, now is the time to partner with Captivate. Let’s discuss your brand goals and solutions to elevate your campaign performance. Captivate is here to help.
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