Why Expedia is leaning into emotional storytelling with new in-house campaign
Expedia is adopting a more emotional narrative in its marketing as it tries to differentiate its brand from other travel options.
Tekef
Expedia is tapping into the emotional aspects of travel with its new spring push. The internally developed campaign marks a departure for the online travel agency from humor-based marketing that is more transactional in nature as Expedia tries to differentiate its brand from other travel booking sites.
The brand's new creative work communicates the emotional benefits of travel through Expedia as opposed to solely focusing on its functional aspects, according to Hector Muelas, senior VP of global marketing and creative at Expedia.
“We started looking at how Expedia offers a bridge to travel—that’s the role of the brand to eliminate those travel barriers and be the catalyst, or the conduit, for people to realize their travel dreams,” he said, noting that consumers are often stymied in making plans by obstacles such as price or timing. “Ultimately, travel is a very emotional endeavor and a lot of brands in our category are only focused on that last bit of the journey—the transaction.”
Four new spots focus on what precedes the purchase button. In one 60-second video, a London-based man tries to answer questions from his young son about the ocean, before he eventually finds a low enough price to purchase tickets to Jamaica and let the child experience sand in person.
In another commercial, a woman in a wheelchair navigates a slushy urban winter with her dog; she then uses Expedia to spontaneously find a hotel in a warmer climate that is both pet-friendly and wheelchair-accessible. Actor Ewan McGregor, who appeared in Expedia’s Super Bowl ad last year, provides voiceover for some spots.
The TV ads, part of a series titled “Never Give Up On Going,” will air in the U.S. this week and debut in the U.K., Canada and Mexico later in April. Expedia is also investing in digital marketing, with shorter videos from six to 15 seconds in length tailored for social platforms such as TikTok and Instagram. Muelas called such clips “Ernest Hemingway micro stories” in a reference to the iconic writer’s simplistic yet powerful prose. Additionally, the campaign will include out-of-home advertising.
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While Expedia conceived and created the new campaign through its in-house division, the company does still work with outside agencies, such as Anomaly and Wieden+Kennedy, on various projects for its brands, which include Hotels.com and Vrbo. Expedia handles its own media buying alongside OMD.
“There is a certain type of work that we’re better positioned to do by virtue of being close to the research and our features and new products launching—this was one of those,” said Muelas. “It’s a bit Frankensteinian,” he said about the agency model Expedia has adopted.
Expedia was one of a host of travel brands that opted out of a costly Super Bowl spot this year amid a potential pullback on leisure travel during the down economy. However, Muelas said the brand has not seen any deterioration in travel demand. Rather, consumers are being more considerate with their planning. He noted that the budget for the new marketing push is on par with the budgets for previous spring campaigns.
Earlier this month, Expedia said it was investing in ChatGPT, enabling customers to use the AI to get help and chat about travel planning. The program is currently in beta testing.
Expedia recently reported record full-year and fourth-quarter lodging bookings and lodging revenue. Overall fourth-quarter revenue rose 15% to nearly $2.62 billion.
