Tapping into messaging around New Year’s resolutions isn’t just for fitness chains and other health-related brands. Travel companies are also homing in on the trend, which is a common marketing push for this time of year.
After finding through its own research that 72 percent of American consumers are interested in taking a trip to help achieve their New Year’s resolution, Booking.com is rolling out “There’s a booking for every resolution.”
The campaign will run on TV, in cinema, on radio and online. Booking.com worked with Anomaly, which it has tapped for previous campaigns, on creative, and Mindshare on media duties. Customers are encouraged to use the hashtag #BookYourResolution.
In one 30-second spot, a man flies his grandmother to New York and books her in a fancy New York city hotel to see snow for the first time. In another, a woman resolves to exercise more—and with her dogs.
It’s the first work from Arjan Dijk, who joined the Amsterdam-based brand in June as senior VP, chief marketing officer. Dijk was formerly VP of global marketing at Google.
“Everyone sets New Year's resolutions,” Dijk says. “I believe ‘moment marketing’ and creating seasonal platforms can be extremely relevant for consumers as it allows us to be focused on a message that is top of mind and universally relatable for our audience.” He adds that the campaign also allows Booking.com to put its own brand spin on that message.
The new campaign, which will run for the remainder of December and through the end of January, will include a promotion with Google that includes its own ad spot. Some customers who book during a certain time frame for a minimum spend will receive a free Google Nest Mini.
The travel site has had an interesting relationship with Google in recent months. Over the summer, parent company Booking Holding, which also owns travel brands including Kayak and Priceline, said it was moving some of its ad dollars away from Google into TV and digital videos, according to a CNBC report. That trend continued into the more recent third quarter, when Booking announced it had reduced its performance marketing expenses, which primarily go to Google, by 3 percent to $3.5 billion, for the nine months ended Sept. 30, compared with the year-earlier period. Brand marketing expenses related to TV and online ads, however, rose 20 percent for the same period to $462 million, the company said in a financial filing.
Interested in hearing more about resolution-related marketing? Attend Ad Age Next: Health and Wellness on Feb. 6. Purchase your ticket here.
