Expedia Media, the advertising sales division of global online travel leader Expedia, Inc., announced efforts to provide marketing support to destinations impacted by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
During July, August and September 2010, Expedia Media will offer a three to one media matching program for destination marketing organizations (DMOs) and tourism boards located in the Gulf states of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi. Organizations in these areas will receive three dollars in marketing value for every one dollar spent with Expedia Media. The matching program will allow destinations in need of tourism to stretch their promotional dollars and further increase their visibility among travel shoppers visiting the Expedia, Inc. sites.
"Expedia stands behind our destination and supply partners throughout the Gulf states," said Doug Miller, Global Vice President, Expedia Media Solutions. "We hope we can help minimize the economic impact of the oil spill and help Gulf state destinations overcome challenges in consumer perception that have kept travelers away even from unaffected areas."
In addition to the media matching program, Expedia Media will donate one full-day "homepage takeover" campaign on Expedia.com and hotels.com for each Gulf states. A separate campaign will run for each state and will utilize Expedia's premier Homepage Wallpaper advertising product, providing highly visual, exclusive placement on the Expedia.com and hotels.com homepages. Together, the two sites are the most highly trafficked online travel agency marketplace, offering prime marketing visibility for the Gulf states to reach a very large, relevant audience of travel shoppers when they need it most.
Expedia Media plans to support each homepage takeover campaign with an additional $50,000 worth of online media that will appear as display ads throughout Expedia.com. Additionally, Expedia Partner Services Group (PSG), the division that manages Expedia's relationship with hotels, airlines and other supply partners, is working with travel suppliers in the Gulf states to deliver special offers for consumers during the homepage campaigns. PSG's team of hundreds of employees in local markets across the globe works closely with the lodging, airline and destination services partners to ensure travelers have access to the best travel selection.