Travel Media Networks Extend Retail Ad Opportunities: Publicis’ Cruz – Beet.TV

The travel industry is undergoing a significant transformation, with new opportunities emerging for brands to connect with consumers at various touchpoints throughout their journey.

With airlines launching their own travel media networks, Jill Cruz, EVP of Commerce Strategy at Publicis Commerce, says it is an exciting time for advertisers.

But, she says, those networks are just the tip of the iceberg.

The Power of Segmentation and Personalization

One of the key advantages of travel media networks is the ability to segment and personalize messaging based on rich audience data.

For example, a network might know when someone is traveling with family or for business, allowing brands to tailor their messaging accordingly.

“There’s just so many different touchpoints,” says Cruz. “And that’s really what a media company or an advertising company looks for is how can I really surround the person that I’m trying to reach with different messages, maybe sequential messaging at different parts of that journey to really get them then to lean into my brand.”

Travel Connects Buyers

United Airlines recently launched Kinective Media, an ad offering using traveler data to target video ads to in-seat screens and United’s mobile app.

Cruz says she had “quick hand raisers” from brand clients for the United offering.

Cruz  says the deprecation of cookies and the need for first-party data has driven companies to get closer to the purchase, the customer, and the audience. Travel turns out to be one way of doing that.

But Cruz sees a space to connect a traveller network with a retail media network. She sees opportunities for different media networks to connect and dovetail together, particularly in the travel and entertainment space in which consumer experiences like attending a concert in Las Vegas involve multiple touchpoints like flights, hotels, and transportation.

“There’s really a lot of opportunities for different media networks to almost kind of connect together,” says Cruz. “And so we see that a lot and I’m putting together some playbooks for clients … many people shop when they’re on a vacation.”