Gear up your brand for summer travel

Summer is here. And consumers are eager to travel. To say there’s pent-up demand for travel is an understatement. In a recent survey conducted by Yahoo, we found that 78% of participants are eager to take a summer trip after holding off for the past two years.¹ And 64% have been saving money and travel miles for their first post-pandemic journey. So, despite rising fuel costs and an increase in fares, consumers aren’t letting anything prevent them from traveling, with 81% responding that they’re willing to pay to get out and play.

Connecting with travelers should be on your marketing itinerary. And it’s not too late since 33% of travelers plan trips only 2-3 weeks in advance of their adventure. According to respondents, 48% said July was when they would get going. And 34% said August was the time to head out of town. Getting vacationers to pack your brand is easy with Yahoo DSP. You get an end-to-end advertising platform to launch your campaigns quickly and easily.

Ready to hit the road with Yahoo? Here are five ways we help you make the summer memorable for your brand.

1. Plan for success
   The key to great summer travel and marketing success is planning. Omniscope, one of our powerful planning solutions which includes tools for supply path optimization, helps you reach your desired audiences efficiently. Use Omniscope to discover high-propensity travelers and find the right mix of channels, exchanges and ad formats.
   
2. Be seen often
   In our survey, most people plan to road-trip this summer, with 67% saying they’ll be traveling by car. Programmatic digital out-of-home (DOOH), such as digital billboards on high-traffic roadsides across the U.S., makes it easy to connect with these road trippers. You can also reach them during long dwell times, like on gas station screens where you can advertise anything from road trip snacks to shopping destinations.
   
3. Check in with travelers before they check in
   Nothing beats a busy day of sightseeing like relaxing at one of Marriott International’s hotels. You can reach 164M dedicated Marriott Bonvoy members before they check in and when they’re on-site, thanks to the hospitality industry’s first global media network. The Marriott Media Network, powered by Yahoo, is available for Yahoo DSP clients starting Q2 2022, just in time for summer travel.
   
4. Connect before they go
   Our research shows that 87% of respondents will shop for one or more items for their trip, making it the perfect time to reach these summer travel shoppers with Dynamic Product Ads (DPA). Whether it’s products for the journey, like beachwear or hiking goods, to the hotel or cruise booking for the trip itself, DPA puts your goods and services in front of the right audiences to increase consideration and sales. In addition, with DPA, it’s easy to retarget consumers who have already shown interest in your products or services with highly-targeted and relevant ads, so you can be top of mind when they’re ready to buy.
   
5. Make changes to maximize fun and performance
   Is everybody having fun? This question applies to vacation travel and your campaigns. You must understand if your campaigns are working and use learnings to optimize current and future campaigns.
   
   With Yahoo In-Flight Sales Analysis (ISA), you can analyze how your digital advertising investments across desktop, mobile, CTV and DOOH influence online and offline sales in near real-time to understand how your campaigns are performing. Sales can mean everything from a meal purchased at a quick-service restaurant during a road trip to goodies bought at a grocery store. Use these insights to optimize campaigns faster when your campaign is live, driving sales for your campaigns. That’s our idea of a good time.
   

Your campaigns are cleared for takeoff
Just like 79% of travelers who said they would not let obstacles (e.g., shutdowns or pandemic variants) get in the way of traveling this summer, nothing should stop you from launching your best campaigns with the Yahoo DSP. To speak with one of our friendly campaign consultants, connect with us today. Have a great trip.

¹ Source for all stats: Yahoo/Toluna Survey, May 2022.