When technology, business models, and consumer behaviour in a sector all go through rapid change, the result is a serious shift in the brand landscape. The travel industry has been experiencing change, but which brands are winning and why?

We like our holidays in the UK, so much so that in 2006 we were responsible for 20% of the overall European travel expenditure, spending an impressive €247.6bn. How UK travellers research, organise, and purchase travel has changed as a result of the rise in Internet usage, increased consumer sophistication, and confidence, as well as the rise of the budget airline.

The result has been the birth and rapid growth of brands such as EasyJet and Expedia, and the decline and even disappearance of some long established and much loved high street brands. These new players have changed the market, but have had to constantly evolve in the process.

As traditional B2B booking services went direct to consumers online, their response was driven by functionality rather than a branded experience. Expedia realised that they had a branding problem when the impact of their advertising was seen to have a very short-term effect, and failed to build long-term brand equity. Qualitative research identified that people could remember the holiday they had been on, the airline they had travelled with, and the rough cost, but not the online brand they had booked it through.

The industry focus on functionality and price was driving the sector but with limited brand development. Lastminute.com had the clearest brand proposition through its name, but an unfocused product offer and thin brand image left it being perceived as a clearance house for distressed offers.

Expedia was one of the first companies to recognise that it needed to address the brand to drive consumer engagement and loyalty, as well as invest in advertising. The brand was positioned by bringing together the convenience and ease of the Internet, with the exploration and discovery experience that the world of brochures and travel agents had previously delivered.

‘Enabling’ and ‘inspiring’ were core to the brand and a distinct personality shaped the ‘Let yourself go’ strapline. Beyond the change in identity, the brand positioning has driven development of the site to include areas to inspire people and a language about exploration. Previously, such elements had been tried and removed as the click through rate was lowered. By broadening how we measured the value of the online experience it enabled a richer delivery that was a catalyst for brand understanding to develop.

Elsewhere in the travel market, the maturing low cost carrier airlines have also begun to move from purely functional propositions towards more fully rounded brands. EasyJet’s elegant transition from cheap to value has been achieved predominantly with brand behaviour and, as such, the brand experience, demonstrating that consistently delivering on the brand promise is increasingly important.

Where people save money on flights, the chance is they spend more on hotels. Hotels.com is the largest hotel consolidator site, a concept that consumers are still getting used to. But even in this relatively new sector they have recently gone through the transition from price led to brand led marketing. The role of the brand is that of reassurance, giving people the confidence to find the right hotel for their needs. Getting your choice of hotel wrong for a week with the family in the sun isn’t worth gambling on; in fact if the price is too cheap you’re less likely to trust it. The ‘wake up happy’ strapline is emotional, connecting through the heart to the mind.

“We are very pleased with the new branding for hotels.com and it is working well across Europe. Working closely with Lambie-Nairn, we listened carefully to consumers and as a result have a new brand that truly relates to travelers.”
Patrik Oqvist, EMEA Marketing Director – Hotels.com
Currently one in four UK travel sales is via the Internet, and this is expected to reach 50% by 2013. Recent research identifies that online travel agent brands are considered to be more important than high street brands and as the market matures, we expect to see an increase in niche brands such as Thomas Cook Sport and responsibletravel.com. This is a sector that’s certainly got a lot more branding to do…