Analyzing Success- A Case Study of a Recent Direct or Digital Marketing Campaign

Analyzing Success- A Case Study of a Recent Direct or Digital Marketing Campaign

Digital Marketing

Digital marketing is on the rise due to the growth of internet users. For the past 25 years, key innovations have occurred such that now people do many things with their devices, including communication, booking, and shopping. Also, social media networks have connected marketers with their potential clients, making marketers shun traditional marketing strategies. Studies within the marketing field suggest that about 71 % of buyers are likely to buy from brands they follow on social media. The numbers suggest the importance of the Internet and how necessary it is for marketers to be present in this field.

Expedia: Let’s Make a Trip Marketing Campaign Overview

The ‘Let’s take a trip’ digital marketing campaign by Expedia is one of the most successful marketing campaigns in the recent past. The advert came amid the COVID-19 pandemic, with the travel industry being the worst hit. The marketing campaign essentially sought to reassure people that despite the travel restrictions resulting from COVID-19, normalcy would resume soon. In the advert, a couple recreates a travel experience at home using sheets, cushions, and books, among other household items, to recreate the tourism experience. The couple hikes mountains, swims, and enjoys room service from the comfort of their home. The campaign offers a glimmer of hope that people will travel and enjoy similar experiences once the pandemic is over.

The ad by Expedia is an online marketing strategy, one of the oldest marketing strategies. Apart from TV advertising, online advertising was ranked as the second most popular marketing strategy after TV spots (Dwivedi et al., 2020). One of the reasons video advertising is taking root is that it is cheaper and more quality videos are produced. Besides, research shows that over 40% of internet users prefer to watch online video advertisements, which are popular among companies (Dwivedi et al., 2020). Also, representing a brand through a video significantly enhances a customer’s perception of a product; hence, companies prefer this strategy.

The highlighted marketing campaign by Expedia also seems to have adopted the transformational strategy, in which the marketer seeks to play with the psychology of the audience. The emotional appeal offers the marketing company a competitive advantage (Dwivedi et al., 2020). Expedia Company is well aware that people have been deprived of the freedom to travel and share good moments with their loved ones. By filming a couple having their best vacation moments, Expedia manages to influence travel lovers who have been deprived of their joy due to the pandemic. Once travel resumes, it goes without saying that the audience will go ahead to relive the experience.

Also, posting the videos on social media expanded the audience. Most people access the internet now that the smartphone penetration is high (Dwivedi et al., 2020). These internet users access social media networks such as YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. With social media analytics that target those who can potentially be interested in tours, the target audience will see the advert whenever they look down on their phones. Besides just hosting the channels, social media networks such as Facebook and Instagram also tempt the user by giving them a snippet of their friends’ experiences shared on the sites.

Digital Marketing Success Metrics

Key performance indicators (KPIs) of a marketing campaign are based on the nature of the marketing campaign and the target audience. The success of a marketing campaign is either based on revenue or social indicators (Rahal, 2021). Since Expedia mostly seeks to speak to a random audience, the success of the marketing message will mostly be based on social indicators such as the audience reached and the conversion rate. Revenue-based indicators also matter since a marketing campaign should be worth the investment.

One of the revenue-based KIPs is the cost per acquisition (CPA). CPA is identified by dividing the total cost of a marketing campaign by the total number of new paying customers. A lower CPA favors a marketing campaign (Schwarzl & Grabowska, 2015a). Since Expedia maintains a channel and social media pages that support free advertising, the CPA is low. Another important revenue-based success metric is the customer lifetime value (CLV). The longer a business retains a new customer, the higher the CVL. Expedia’s marketing campaign CVL may not be clear, but customers tend to stick by the company if history is something to go by.

Social KPIs used to rate the campaign’s success include the engagement rate. The engagement rate of a social media campaign is reflected by the number of likes or impressions created by the campaign. A higher engagement means that the audience relates to the marketing message. Expedia’s campaign received many likes and shares across all social networking sites, indicating the campaign’s success.

Moreover, Expedia’s campaign achieved a great feat when it comes to brand mentions. Brand mentions refer to whether people mention a brand after undergoing a marketing campaign. Expedia’s marketing campaign received unending praise from local magazines such as marketing weekly on top of the awards for effective marketing. So well was the campaign received by the public that the company created a replica follow-up campaign-Trips Together.

Finally, audience growth also shows whether a marketing campaign has been successful or not.

Audience growth can be tracked by calculating the number of new followers who join a channel/social media page or the number of viewers. Both long and short versions of Expedia’s Let’s Take a Trip marketing campaign have achieved about 20 million viewers on YouTube.

Target Audience

The ‘Let’s Make a Trip’ marketing campaign’s target audience is young travel enthusiasts who have been prevented from traveling due to the COVID-19 mitigation travel restrictions. Being one of the largest online travel agencies, Expedia has a variety of clients, such as luxury travelers. The latest studies by the company show that 21% of its audience falls in the range of 21-54 years and earns an average income of more than $100,000 per year. Affluent travelers look for outstanding travel experiences, and that is what Expedia promises to offer from the video.

Conclusion

Expedia’s ‘Let’s Make a Trip’ marketing campaign is just an example of how digital marketing has taken the marketing function by storm. Companies can now easily connect with their global audiences through online avenues, something that was almost impossible before the onset of the internet. With digital marketing, companies are now able to reach targeted audiences effectively. Videos on digital platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram appeal to the target audience’s emotions, thus likely transforming them into paying customers.

References

Dwivedi, Y. K., Ismagilova, E., Hughes, D. L., Carlson, J., Filieri, R., Jacobson, J., Jain, V., Karjaluoto, H., Kefi, H., Krishen, A. S., Kumar, V., Rahman, M. M., Raman, R., Rauschnabel, P. A., Rowley, J., Salo, J., Tran, G. A., & Wang, Y. (2020). Setting the future of digital and social media marketing research: Perspectives and research propositions. International Journal of Information Management, 59, 102168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2020.102168

Expedia. (2020, September 4). Let’s Take a Trip | :30 | Expedia. Www.youtube.com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoWZrI8tZWg

Rahal, A. (2021, April 28). Council Post: Measuring Success: Six Digital Marketing Metrics And KPIs For 2021. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescommunicationscouncil/2021/04/28/measuring-success-six-digital-marketing-metrics-and-kpis-for-2021/?sh=2fbb4f516172

Schwarzl, S., & Grabowska, M. (2015). Оnline marketing strategies: the future is here. Journal of International Studies, 8(2), 187–196. https://doi.org/10.14254/2071-8330.2015/8-2/16

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In a paper of 1,000-1,500 words, identify a successful direct marketing (direct mail, catalogs, and/or telephone marketing) or digital marketing (email, Internet advertising, and/or social media) campaign recognized within the past 18 months.

Analyzing Success- A Case Study of a Recent Direct or Digital Marketing Campaign

Provide an overview of the media and messaging strategies and the metrics used to define success. Also, explain who the target audience for this marketer is in terms of media usage and demographics.

The paper must be supported by appropriately cited research.