TripAdvisor Has a TV-Heavy Marketing Strategy That Competitors Are Trying Too
Skift Take
Google execs are not losing any sleep yet, but they are likely aware that some of their largest travel advertisers are starting to favor commercials on TV instead of sponsored search engine links. The big spenders' new strategies will have a rippling impact across other metasearch companies, as well.
TripAdvisor kicked off a new strategy in the second half of 2017, emphasizing TV advertising and reducing online marketing spend in areas where it wasn't profitable.
The impact is that this put pressure on top-line growth, but is geared to bolster profitability, or at least to slow the decline in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, TripAdvisor Chief Financial Officer Ernst Teunissen told analysts Thursday after the release of the company's fourth-quarter financial results a day earlier.
TripAdvisor plans to lean in on brand-building in the form of increased TV advertising, including in new markets, in 2018. The company will build on the $74 million it spent on TV last year, which began in the second half of 2017, and will nearly double that commitment. Online marketing, or performance marketing, on channels such as Google will be reduced this year, the company said.
"In our Hotel segment, we will continue to reduce performance marketing expenses to achieve higher return on investment from online marketing channels," TripAdvisor stated in prep
