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The start of summer means that we’re in peak travel season, and as people head out to resort getaways and work conferences, they are also embarking on multi-pronged advertising journeys. From the moment they book their trip to the ride back home, travelers engage with numerous media channels that offer valuable ad sales opportunities for travel, transportation, and hospitality (TTH) companies. 

Travel transforms consumer psychology, and once the trip begins, travelers enter a heightened state of openness, inspiration, and willingness to spend across categories. Research shows that 85% of travelers make unplanned purchases outside of their initial travel budgets. Pre-trip excitement drives preparation purchases, transit unlocks attention, in-destination moments fuel indulgence, and return flights cement long-term brand beliefs. 

That’s a lot of reasons to advertise on a travel media network, and some of the biggest names in the industry like Marriott, United Airlines, and Uber have all developed their own travel media networks to tap into this ad revenue stream. As these networks grow, they need a unified CRM that can support ad sales, planning, and execution while optimizing their data for AI activation. 

Agentforce Media (formerly Media Cloud) supercharges travel media networks with automated, intelligent, real-time data across every aspect of advertising operations, giving TTH companies the information they need to align advertising to a traveler’s goals. Keep reading to learn what’s driving the growth of travel media networks and how Salesforce solutions set companies up for success. 

Travel media networks follow the traveler

A travel media network impacts a person’s decisions at every part of the travel process. 

It starts with the research and booking that happens before the trip, where travelers are served advertising that changes depending on what they search for or request from their booking site, airline, or travel agency. Once a reservation is made, ads related to a specific destination or event can be pushed out to capitalize on pre-trip purchasing.  

If you use a rideshare, there’s advertising getting pushed to you on your mobile device or on display screens in the car. Passengers in flight are the ultimate captive audience because they are trapped in a metal tube thousands of feet in the sky and cannot escape what the little screen in front of them is showing. 

When you get to your destination, there are screens in the elevator and a TV in your room where ads are playing. A virtual concierge might show you events and attractions for any last-minute travel planning. And then you have things like social media across the board. People are constantly checking their feeds and seeing new ads based on their location. 

A travel media network can hit you at all different points of the journey with different types of offerings or services, and TTH companies are investing in these media networks to drive purchase behavior.

Tap into a wealth of first-party data

Travel media networks can track where travelers are at in their journey and what they are trying to do because TTH companies have access to a wealth of first-party data: 

  • Web and app data reveals what the traveler is looking for and where
  • Reservation data indicates when and where a person is traveling
  • Point of sale systems provide insight into the products and services travelers are purchasing in on their trip
  • Personal data enables targeted messaging based a traveler’s specific preferences and milestones
  • Customer support systems surface where there have been issues with a traveler in the past
  • Loyalty programs reinforce confidence, with 75% of consumers trusting their top travel provider’s recommendations and advertising

Agentforce Media allows companies to collect and securely manage traveller data from booking/loyalty channels and segment it for ad targeting. Loyalty channels are especially valuable here, as frequent travelers are more affluent and likely to engage with brands aligned to their preferred travel providers.  

Understand how situational context informs actions

A single traveler might fit multiple personas that dictate the types of advertising they see, so travel media networks need to understand the context around the customer. Let me introduce you to Sam, a mom who travels for work, her kids’ soccer tournaments, and family vacations: 

  • When she travels for work, Sam’s hotel preferences are locations in the downtown core of major cities, and she uses rideshare services frequently to get around. She’s interested in higher-end restaurants or events for hosting clients.
  • When she’s in soccer mom mode, Sam’s travel preferences will include cost-effective locations with amenities like free breakfast. She’s also interested in local attractions and restaurants to fill time between games.
  • As the main family vacation planner, Sam is also looking for all-inclusive international locations that are kid-friendly. Her family loves to learn about local cultures by attending museums and other attractions wherever they travel.

Each of these personas has different purchasing priorities, and the types of ads Sam sees will change depending on what she is doing. By being able to capture this information and understand it, travel media networks can show a lot of value to their advertisers and charge premiums.

Develop your travel media network with Mphasis Silverline

As proven experts in the media space, we have helped TTH organizations build effective travel media networks thanks to our Salesforce experience, industry perspective, and the prescriptive nature of our solutions. 

We start by establishing a strong foundation focused on high-value quick wins, and once the team is comfortable, we expand the use cases and integrate with downstream systems. Finally, we prepare companies for scale by leveraging self-service applications and extensive automation to close deals faster, drive more pipeline, and provide the best client experience possible.

Want to hear how our travel media network solutions can directly benefit your organization? Book time on my calendar for a quick chat.