How do travel companies keep up with the latest trends in the tumultuous big-bucks world of Internet advertising? Search is now being projected as the big future loser as user-generated content and video grow in #s,
A few thoughts on the “decline” of search
– Online marketers are not usually looking for branding contrary to whatever they say in their campaign objectives. Online branding is easier when it’s preceded by some impactful tv, print and outdoor advertising. Otherwise, the brand had better be an ipod or some such out-of-the-box attitude product. Even today, brand-building does not come cheap.
– When search ruled the game, ROI metrics mattered first. Now that video is happening, brand-building is suddenly the new buzzword. It’s better to identify the role of each avenue and work towards specific objectives for each one. Trying to get your display campaign to deliver against search metrics is a battle lost even before it’s begun.
– As if it wasn’t enough to involve audiences, the online world is now looking for measures of “engagement” as pageviews fall out of favor. Marketers, if your audiences are engaged but not buying your product, take a closer look at your offer and the competitive landscape (instead of pinning blame on the advertising)
– Fortunately for travel sites, things are a lot simpler. If you haven’t sold enough rooms or air tickets at the end of it all, that panoramic user-generated videoblog on your site didn’t do its job. Simple as that – people still buy hotel rooms because of the price, amenities or a positive past experience .
I agree with your posting about Video. I think it’s overrated, and quite difficult to measure ROI from it. With the likes of Mark Cuban and other internet Guru’s, I anticipate that Internet Video will remain a hot topic in the near future.
Will