Thomson is set to spend a seven-figure sum on its summer advertising campaign, more than ever before, and as much as it spent during the January peaks market.
A spokesman for the vertically integrated operator said the campaign uses the Holidays Built With You In Mind advert on TV and in print, and will be complemented by a second advert launched on June 8, showing Thomson staff changing the daytime beach scene into a night-time one.
Head of brand strategy Andrew Laurillard said: “This summer, we will continue the great work we started at Christmas of repositioning Thomson as a service-obsessed business.
“With our new day-to-night TV spot, we have a fresh take on how our staff go the extra mile to build the perfect holiday for our customers.
“We’ll be spending as much as we did during our January campaign and significantly more than we have ever spent during the summer booking period, so everyone should get the chance to see our fantastic new ad.”
The spokesman said that while the campaign is being used to focus consumers on the increased service element the operator offers, he agreed the operator was hoping to capitalise on the lates market, which has become increasingly strong this year.
He said: “We know that customers are looking to book slightly later than they have before, and thanks to our flexible business practices, we still have holidays on offer.”
The spokesman also denied Thomson has more holidays to sell due to this year’s weaker bookings market, citing the recent interim financial results, which showed the operator had cut capacity by 17% for summer.
The average selling price is 10% up on last year, so it is hoped this will allow pricing to remain strong throughout the lates market.