Holiday Travel Advertising Trends are Changing in 2018. Here’s Why.

Number one. Top of the list. The shopping experience has evolved. Even since last year’s holiday season. For brands, for retailers, for destinations, for hotels. For everyone.

Why? Technology is driving the trend…allowing our audience easier access to products, stories, and an overall easier, quicker shopping experience. We as consumers expect brands to engage us in this simpler demand for effortless shopping experiences. It’s not time to dial back, it’s time to ENGAGE.

Today we joined a webinar hosted by ClickZ and Kenshoo and were confirmed in what we’ve been preaching for quite some time: Social cannot be overlooked in the holiday advertising strategy.

As a matter of fact, social spending by brands that spent last holiday season as well, are increasing. The only social platform that is expected to see any dip? Facebook. By nearly 4%. Not what most of us expected to hear.

The real holiday star… visual search.

Particularly Instagram and Pinterest. This surprised us a bit. Instagram we get, both as advertisers and users of the platform, but Pinterest is surprising. The platform has not seen the level of mainstream media attention as Facebook and Instagram have. We also don’t hear of many new features, platform upgrades, etc. But, advertisers are spending more than ever in the platform. As a collective, brands are seeing Ad Pricing Low on Pinterest – ROI High on Pinterest. WIN, WIN!

But note, this is a scenario for advertisers spending $5M+ annually on advertising. There are not many destinations with this kind of advertising budget. We’re curious to know if there are destinations spending <$1M annually on advertising seeing the same thing? Let us know in the comments.

Stories are gaining popularity.

Another big topic of discussion are social media “stories” as part of the advertising mix. Recent stats show that stories are increasing in popularity across all demographics. We think this is a direct correlation to the resurgence of consuming experiences meaning more to consumers than products and material things.

Mobile is still huge, but don’t discount the desktop.

There is interplay between the two. Spikes in demand for both are there based on several factors. Time of day, price, CTA, etc. 73% of surveyed brands believe mobile will be more important but don’t discount desktop in your strategy.

Real-time optimization is CRUCIAL.

Look beyond that same ol’ dashboard and dig into that data. Understand what’s affecting the shift you’re seeing and how to capitalize on that. Secondly, don’t set it and forget it. More advertisers this year are willing to test creative, messaging, CTAs, etc. If you’re not able to pay attention to what’s working and not working, your competition will be.

Stay engaged.

Ramping your reach on social media means more engagement in comments, direct messages (DMs), shares, reposts, etc. Engagement is a crucial piece that can be overlooked, especially if your team is in-house with lots of vacay days saved up for the holidays. If your SM staff has time off, use a contractor who understands the nuance of your brand to effectively engage with your audience. It's also a good time to test new voices. With in-house SM teams, it's easy to just push the brand's priorities; an outside player can help tease out and understand your audience's wants! Remember the 80/20 rule.

Let’s recap.

1. Consumer Patience Level – Low
2. Down Time During Holidays – Non-Existent
3. Holiday Memory Loss – Brain on Overload
4. Holiday Time Priorities – Experience over “Things”
5. Holiday Mindset – Playful

We urge you to ramp up when others are ignoring their audience, challenge yourself to change history. Remember, it's question popping season too; get those brides-to-be to drool over you while they are planning weddings and honeymoons like their life depends on it. Trust me, every girl engaged has their whole new married life planned faster than you can say “Pinterest!”

I'd love to know how your brand is taking advantage of the holiday season. Drop us a line in the comments!

Good luck to all, and to all a high ROI.

All images courtesy of ClickZ and Kenshoo