Digital Video Is the Fastest Growing Format for Travel Marketing

Digital video is one of the fastest growing formats for travel industry marketers in 2014.

According to eMarketer’s report “The U.S. Travel Industry 2014: Digital Ad Spending Forecast and Trends,” digital video is expected to account for up to 30 percent of marketers’ total digital budgets by the end of 2014.

And that’s little surprise when considering that branded video content is the most watched type of travel-related video watched by U.S. travelers today.

Based on a survey of almost 2,500 business and leisure travelers, branded videos were more popular than videos and trip reviews produced by experts, regular travelers, and even friends and family.

Perhaps due to the rapid growth of the format, digital videos produced by the travel and lodging industry attract more viewers than most other industries today.

Travel and lodging-related videos attracted more than 270 million views in the fourth-quarter of 2013. View volume was beat only by the automotive and electronics industries.

Seeking to capitalize on the impressive growth, digital video publishers are creating new ways to track views and deliver more personalized messages.

One example cited in the eMarketer report explains how travel advertisers are now ending ads with real-time airfare prices based on viewers’ current locations.