Expedia Debuts Travel Media Network to Broaden Advertising Reach Beyond Traditional Platforms
Expedia has launched a new travel media network, significantly expanding its 20-year-old advertising business to include offsite advertising opportunities. This strategic move allows advertisers to target Expedia’s audiences beyond its own platforms, reaching potential customers across the open web.
During its annual Explore 24 partner event in Las Vegas, Expedia unveiled this innovative network, which leverages first-party data to enable offsite advertising. This development is particularly timely as the digital advertising landscape evolves with the upcoming deprecation of Google’s third-party cookies.
According to Expedia’s recent earnings report, its advertising and media division, Expedia Group Media Solutions, saw a notable increase in revenue, climbing from $99 million in Q1 of 2023 to $145 million in the first quarter of this year. This growth underscores the potential of Expedia’s refined advertising approach, which now offers more comprehensive targeting capabilities across connected TV, video, and social media platforms.
Jennifer Andre, Vice President of Business Development at Expedia Group Media Solutions, emphasized the expanded appeal of this network to a diverse range of advertisers, including those in automotive, financial services, and retail sectors. “This gives us a lot more opportunity to proactively speak to those advertisers and connect them to travelers in the right places,” Andre stated.
The quality of Expedia’s network’s measurement tools was also highlighted as a critical factor for its success. Dan Maguire, Director of Retail Media at agency GALE, pointed out the high potential for various sectors to leverage this highly qualified audience, especially as it expands beyond traditional hospitality-focused campaigns.
Expedia’s robust data collection—spanning over 200 points of sale across 70 countries—enriches its advertising offerings. With the ability to target Expedia audiences on multiple platforms and measure the impact in a unified manner, the company offers a compelling proposition for hotels and other properties. According to Expedia, properties that invest in sponsored listing ads on its platform enjoy 120% more bookings and a 50% higher conversion rate compared to non-enrolled properties.
This strategic expansion by Expedia into travel media networking positions it to capture a broader market share and provides advertisers with innovative ways to reach and engage with targeted audiences effectively.
Sources: AirGuide Business airguide.info, bing.com, adweek.com