Expedia.co.uk releases new summer advertising campaign

Expedia.co.uk, the world’s largest online travel company, has launched its new summer advertising campaign to boost awareness around its Summer breaks. The TV advertisement, shot in Barcelona, showcases the range of experiences and scenarios holiday makers can encounter whilst away in the same location.

The Summer advertising campaign will showcase Expedia’s ability to provide the best combination of flights and hotels and consumer customisation, ensuring that whatever an individual’s unique plans for their trip might be, Expedia can make them happen. The production and creative for this multi-million pound campaign was led by Ogilvy & Mather with media buying from PHD.

The city break TV advert was filmed in a single shot using sophisticated recording technology to capture the range and diversity of holidays that can be taking place, just in one corner of a city, from a couple celebrating an anniversary, to football fans enjoying a trip away. The advertisement is part of a wider pan-European campaign using different scenarios to reflect the message that holidays mean different things to different people. The campaign will be rolling out across a broad mix of channels including: TV, radio, print, online banners, video on demand, mobile apps, and social media across seven European countries.

Andrew Warner, Senior Marketing Director, Expedia, EMEA, explained the concept“On every single plane flying to a destination each group of passengers are travelling for different reasons. Our advertising campaign highlights that many tourists may travel to the same locations, but their expectations of that holiday and the experiences they will encounter can all differ greatly. The campaign conveys the fact that at Expedia we don’t believe in a ‘one size fits all’ approach to travel. 

“We think people should be able to shape the trip they want in a way that suits them”, Warner continued. “Because of Expedia’s market leading choice of flights and hotels, our scale, our access to great deals and independent content such as our verified hotel reviews, however you see your perfect holiday – at Expedia we can make it happen.  Plus if you book a flight and hotel together on Expedia, not only will you make a saving, but your personalised holiday benefits from ATOL protection in the same way as if you had settled for an ‘off the shelf’ package holiday.”

The campaign will launch in the UK this month with advertising across national TV, national press (including Metro, Times, Guardian, Evening Standard) and digital (including the Guardian, Times, MSN & Google). There will also be Social Media activity supporting the theme of the campaign.

Mel Stonier, Senior Marketing Manager for UK and Ireland added “Our success in catering for a wide range of holiday needs is reflected in our broad customer base. The growing demand for more flexible travel services is particularly apparent in the UK and we believe our ability to foresee and pioneer this style of travel service is one of the reasons why we have once again been shortlisted for two British Travel Awards this year.”

Expedia.co.uk has been named by the British Travel Awards (BTAs) as one of the shortlisted contenders for the Best Flight Booking Company, as well as the Best Online Hotel Booking Company 2012.

All companies entered for an Award were put before a core selection of industry professionals, drawn from the BTA Academy - a panel of respected individuals in business from both in and outside the travel industry, who whittled the nominations down to the list of final nominees in each of the seventy-five categories.

Mel Stonier added “We are very proud to be nominated for this award and to receive this accolade from leading experts, but ultimately our success depends on our continued ability to deliver on the expectations of our customers. We are constantly reviewing and improving our services for our customers and we hope that customers will vote for us as a trusted brand that helps them to easily create and navigate their travels”.

The next stage sees the shortlisted companies put before the public vote with voting promoted through BTA media partners which include The Times, Sunday Times, The Sun, Sunday Sun and the Global Radio stations, including LBC and Classic FM. To vote for Expedia, go to http://britishtravelawards.com/

BTA’s chief executive Lorraine Barnes Burton said: “Expedia.co.uk is to be congratulated on reaching the finals of the prestigious British Travel Awards. The largest consumer voted awards programme in the UK, The BTAs are designed to reward the best companies in travel, and the winning accolade is the benchmark for excellence when it comes to finding out who really is the best in the business of travel for the UK consumer. Good luck to Expedia.co.uk!”

The winners will be the companies with the most votes - in 2011 over 700,000 votes were cast with the voting process and results scrutinized and audited by independent auditors Deloitte LLP. The winners of the 2012 British Travel Awards will be announced at a glittering ceremony on 1 November at the Battersea Evolution in Battersea Park, London.

For further information on Expedia contact

Gemma O’Sullivan or Asad Dhunna, 020 7395 7181 expediaukpress@fleishmaneurope.com

For further information on the British Travel Awards contact

Jane Richards, T: 07711 101493, jane@britishtravelawards.com