Ruairidh Roberts, industry head, travel, at the search engine told delegates that “more and more TV ad-break time is becoming phone time”, with consumers using the period during ads to watch videos online – especially YouTube, which is owned by Google.
When asked by conference moderator and TTG editor Sophie Griffiths if travel firms were taking advantage of YouTube and online video platforms effectively enough to market to millennials, he said: “Some are and some aren’t, on the whole though as an industry I would say no.”
Roberts said that according to the Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board, 43% of consumers in the UK who do not currently own a television are millennials – evidence to support a shift in viewing and browsing habits moving to online channels and view-on-demand content. This he said, gives travel firms a chance “to be a lot more creative” with their marketing.
Roberts highlighted hostel search engine Hostelworld’s use of celebrity-focused adverts, which he said were “incredibly effective” for boosting brand awareness through YouTube.
