Google has figured out a way to grab some more share of the print advertising market in travel -- a co-op advertising program with Visit Florida.
Starting January 3, Visit Florida, in partnership with Convention & Visitors Bureaus in the state, will get premium placement on Google platforms for targeted tourism ads.
The online ads will be co-branded between the CVBs and Visit Florida and will run on the Google display network, YouTube and Google's AdMob mobile platform. Participating CVBs so far include the Palm Beach County Convention & Visitor Bureau, the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Florida Keys & Key West Tourist Council.
Under the program, Visit Florida provides matching dollars for the CVBs' advertising spend, which enables them to get ad placements that they wouldn't otherwise be able to afford, says Will Seccombe, chief marketing officer at Visit Florida.
Google provides scale for the ads and its destination marketing expertise at a "pretty exciting" price point, says Sarah Travis, head of travel, Google online sales.
Unlike Visit Florida, Google doesn't contribute any advertising dollars for the program.
Co-op advertising is traditionally a print phenomenon where retailers or manufacturers provide advertising materials to business customers and help foot the advertising costs.
"Travel seems like a natural place for some of these offline dollars to move online," says Travis, adding that such co-op advertising will be a focus for Google as it expands the program to other destinations in 2012.
Travis says the co-op program in travel marks the first time Google has embarked on such a comprehensive programs across its multiple ad platforms.
Seccombe of Visit Florida says the initiative will drive traffic to VisitFlorida.com, although the individual partners will control their own brand messages.
While the first phase of the Visit Florida co-op advertising program focuses on CVBs, a second phase, slated to run from April to June 2012, is geared to expand to hotels, attractions and airlines servicing the state, officials say.