Travel companies are putting their faith back in TV with new advertisements running over the peak booking period for the first time in several years.
Thomson and Thomas Cook have been joined on the small screen by Kuoni (pictured) and Shearings, which launched their first national TV ads this year. Virgin Atlantic, Monarch, P&O Cruises, Royal Caribbean, Butlins and Miles Morgan Travel are among others using TV.
Steve Dunne, Brighter Group executive chairman, said: “The big change for 2013 compared with the last three years is companies are making new ads.
“Companies have rediscovered what worked in the past, but there is also an element of needing to up their game because people get fed up with recycled ads.”
Gary Grieve, managing director of industry training organisation Capela Training, said the reduced cost of TV advertising relative to online
was also a factor.
“It’s become more cost effective to go back to TV although you don’t get the same penetration as you used to. I detect a bit of a return to the old ways, but it doesn’t guarantee it will work.”
Sales messages tend to be more aspirational or brand specific with “virtually no price messages”, he added.
Miles Morgan, managing director of Miles Morgan Travel, said optimism about 2013 sales, in part due to poor weather, had prompted his decision to double his marketing spend to almost £100,000. This includes advertisements on regional TV channels. He said: “TV is so powerful and so credible – it allows a company like us to punch above our weight.”