Consumer Travel Marketing Masterclass, Part 2

Podcast summary

In this episode of the Travel Insights Podcast, Clay Coomer, Head of Marketing at battleface, leads us through the second part of the Consumer Travel Marketing Masterclass series. Clay underscores the significance of having a robust brand, using a heart analogy to highlight how brand health is pivotal to a company’s success. He examines the consequences of brand issues on a company’s performance, particularly revenue, and outlines key questions businesses should ask to evaluate the current state of their brand.

Clay dives into the consumer travel planning process by breaking it down into four phases: inspiration, passive searching, active searching, and booking. He explains how understanding these phases can guide marketers to tailor their strategies effectively. When it comes to paid media strategy, he advises against spreading out the budget evenly throughout the year, known as ‘peanut buttering,’ suggesting instead to align spending with the phases of trip planning. This targeted approach ensures that marketing efforts resonate with consumer behavior at the right times, ultimately enhancing efficiency and impact.

Finally, the episode explores year-round content planning and the importance of maintaining evergreen content, along with addressing recurring travel themes like wave season and hurricane season. Clay introduces the probability of conversion matrix, an advanced tool to optimize marketing tactics by assessing channel data through a scatter diagram. This tool helps in determining channel efficiency and aids marketers in making data-driven decisions to enhance their marketing performance. Clay’s expertise provides listeners with practical strategies and analytical tools to better align their marketing plans with consumers’ evolving travel behaviors and preferences.