Many marketing campaigns rely on display advertising to generate results in the belief it’s cost effective because there’s plenty of cheap inventory. But the increasing popularity of YouTube, Facebook video and Tik Tok, as well as other channels, means judicious use of video advertising can deliver better results and engage a more targeted, higher value audience. One study found 87 per cent of video marketers report video delivers a positive return on investment.

Traditionally, many travel marketing campaigns have been based on a defined budget for display advertising campaign to produce a target amount in revenue, for instance cost per customer acquisition of $100. This approach has been popular because there is so much inventory available for display advertising , supply and demand dictates advertisers can buy it at a cheaper rate than other media which in turn allows for greater reach meaning a lower conversion rate is required in order to me campaign KPIs.

But this does not allow the business to target the travellers who are most likely to buy their products and services. Rather, it’s a ‘spray and pray’ approach, involving substantial wastage, with much of the budget spent on targeting people who are neither interested in the product nor in the target demographic.

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An alternative is to use video advertising to pinpoint people who are looking for your products and services right now, using deterministic data. This is data that can be verified that identifies travellers who are in the market to buy flights and hotel rooms and other travel products at the time they are shown the video ad.

It’s a different approach to using display advertising because there is less video ad inventory compared to display advertising, which makes it relatively more expensive. But it’s a more engaging medium and it’s fast becoming a more effective way to a consumer through the purchase funnel and greater drive revenues.

As a result, the top destination marketers are waking up to video’s potential to drive sales from a more targeted audience, using creative that shows off the experience so much better than display can. They understand a high value audience wants to see vision of amazing coral reefs so they can picture themselves snorkelling, before enjoying a gourmet meal and fine wines in an incredible, luxurious location. They appreciate their prospects want to imagine what their trip is going to be like to make the emotional connection that will ultimately drive sales not just clicks.

So if you’ve yet to add video into your marketing mix, make 2021 the year you explore the power of this channel to attract your target demographic to your business and drive sales and profit.