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Have brand loyalty, will travel

February 12, 2004 |

Online travel sites have discovered that where there's a brand, there’s traffic. Marketers can take their brands farther by recognizing the different reasons why users approach these sites.

Online travel sites have discovered that where there’s a brand, there’s traffic. Marketers can take their brands farther by recognizing the different reasons why users approach these sites.

Brand equity plays a vital role in driving traffic to travel sites like Travelocity and Expedia, the two most recognizable brands in the category, says ACNielsen.

A new study, based on data by Nielsen//NetRatings, shows a strong correlation between brand equity (the effect that brand knowledge has on consumer response to marketing activity) and the number of unique visitors to a travel site. As difficult as quantifying brand effectiveness is, ACNielsen has managed to establish a way of measuring brand equity with its proprietary Winning B(r)ands model, which analyzes survey, retail, media and other research data.

“Strong brand messages that resonate with consumers are very important to the online travel industry, and can make a big difference in the success of a travel Web site,” says Deepak Varma, senior vice president at ACNielsen International Research. “Online travel marketers need to better understand their brand equity so that they can either strengthen their already strong brand positions, like Travelocity and Expedia, or take actions to boost brand equity and drive more traffic to their sites.”

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