Europe takes center stage in the latest Orbitz marketing campaign, featuring both an interactive contest and a significant advertising component promoting the continent.
The Passport2Europe promotion brings together partners from across Europe to promote the region as a travel destination.
The partnership group comprises the
European Travel Commission (ETC), a non-profit dedicated to promoting tourism to Europe via its 33 member National Tourism Organizations,
Eurail, the worldwide agent for Eurail passes, and the
Visit Europe portal.
The aim of the partnership is to increase the visibility of European destinations in North America by taking advantage of Orbitz's significant reach.
Eduardo Santander, executive director of European Travel Commission:
“Orbitz has proven to be a hands-on, full-service media partner that leverages a broad spectrum of solutions to bring our message to the right consumer at the right time.
’MyPassport2Europe’ is an entertaining way to engage with ETC members, and the match program will significantly broaden our members’ reach to North American travelers who are excited to experience the wonders of European travel."
The website, MyPassport2Europe.com, is an interactive portal to knowledge of the European continent.
Would-be travelers can create an account in order to start filling their passport with stamps by correctly answering country-specific trivia.
By learning about 3 countries, users are entered into a giveaway of a dream vacation to Europe for two people, as well as the runner-up prize of ten "Ultimate Backpacker Sets."
And for those not into learning, the tests have to be passed in order to receive the passport stamps needed to participate in the dream trip giveaway. Otherwise, failure is a very clear path on this journey:
The promotion extends beyond the Web to a guaranteed advertising match across ETC's member nations, in addition to event participation by Orbitz executives at industry events.
The guaranteed advertising match doubles any advertising that ETC members deploy across Orbitz properties, including CheapTickets, eBookers, and HotelClub. The match can be applied to any Orbitz-related campaign, to co-promotions, social media, e-mail marketing, lead gen and others.
Josh Winkler, VP of partner marketing at Orbitz, said in the announcement:
Orbitz is perfectly positioned to support the ETC's goal of driving North American travel to Europe. We have a proven track record of implementing creative initiatives that inspire travelers and drive bookings to a wide range of global destinations.
In further comments to Tnooz, Mr. Winkler shared some more about the campaign.
What is the significance of this partnership and marketing campaign to Orbitz?
As the exclusive OTA partner for this initiative, Orbitz will enjoy broad exposure across all Passport2Europe social media and marketing channels, including Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and the contest website itself.
Last year the ETC launched an initiative called "Destination Europe 2020," which is a long term strategy to promote European tourism across all ETC member organizations — and Passport2Europe is one in a series of initiatives designed to educate travelers about the activities and attractions that Europe has to offer.
Why Europe?
Europe is a significant market for Orbitz Worldwide, and our portfolio of consumer sites is a powerful tool for driving travel bookings to Europe because of its global reach and brand recognition.
Through other partner marketing programs such as the "Orbitz Originals" series of online videos, Orbitz has had great success driving travel to international destinations including Qatar and the Cayman Islands. This is another example of a creative campaign with Europe as the focus.
What partners is Orbitz working with on the project?
Aside from the ETC, Orbitz is also working with individual ETC member organizations that want to take advantage of the advertising match program – whereby Orbitz will match their advertising investment dollar-for-dollar, in effect doubling their initial investment.
Please speak about the significance of the advertising match program.
The advertising match program allows any ETC member organization to have their advertising investment met dollar-for-dollar by Orbitz, in effect doubling the amount of their spend and also doubling the reach of their ads.
This program is available on all Orbitz Worldwide consumer sites, including ebookers, Orbitz, HotelClub and CheapTickets.
Finally, please speak about the structure of the Passport2Europe marketing campaign, and the thought process behind the dynamics of the contest.
The Passport2Europe campaign and the contest itself are designed to educate travelers in the planning stage of a trip, illustrating the attractions and activities they might enjoy across Europe.
By asking participants to first identify three main travel interests, the subsequent questions can be tailored to fit activities the participant might want to undertake in any given country. At the end of the contest, potential travelers will have a great idea of the possibilities available to them over the course of a European holiday, and they also will have earned a chance to win that vacation for free.
The promotion lasts until August 31st.