Generating bookingsin the German online travel market

The online marketing toolswe have chosen to be effective

without huge investment

Alexandra RieckHead of Marketing & PR lastminute.com Germany

What‘s your target in the German market?

If your targets are 2 and 3 –and you have a non-famous brand

and an unfamiliar brand name:

Bad luck!Because in Germany you‘ll need lots of money!

Growbrand

awareness?

Grow yourbusiness fast

– generatebookings?

1 2

Both?

3

The challenge of the German market

Germany –A highly fragmented market with several key cities

Growing brand awareness without having an already strong brand:demands at least 10m € p.a. - for a couple of years

Such a brand campaign will not necessarily generate immediate bookingsso the result will be a poor ROI at the beginning.

Our task: generate bookings with a smaller budget.Our decision: forget about small offline campaigns!

Focus on online marketing!

lastminute.com Germany – growth with a comparativelysmall budget within an increasingly competitive market

Brand:self-explanatory

high recallleading in Europe

Product:broad range

often exclusivedifferentiation

Technology:highly progressive

constantly optimized

Effectiveonline marketing:

search engines (PPC and SEO)white labels/online partners

e-mail newsletters

+

Why are Search Engines effective?

Search engines are the most effective mediumto invest our marketing budget

Greatreach

Users definethemselves astarget group

Instant controlof success

Greatflexibility

for promotionsand budgets

Our benefits

Our benefits

Our benefits

Ubiquitousbut frugal

Drive qualifiedtraffic towebsite

Convert trafficinto bookings

Promoteproducts

as per businessrequirements

Spending money effectively in search engines

Don‘t try to cover everything if you don‘t have the right offer –except if you want to spend your money on dissappointing users.

Define best converting products and focus money onthose to achieve better ROI.

Optimise keywords according to what users search for and book, making sure texts attract customers to increase click-through-rate.

Constantly monitor which bookings are being generated by which keywords to react in real time to ensure reasonable CPC.

Don‘t just focus on CPC – make sure you optimise your site in order to reap the full benefits of natural search.

Shift from Portal Integrations to White Labels

Portals losing relevance as integration platformsas users mature and adapt their behaviour

Then • High fixed fees no flexibility for seasonal business

• Portals as a gateway guiding users

Now• Users have grown up and are more experienced

using search enginesusing established

travel websitesusing smaller but

specialised websites

• We have switched from paid portal integrations to white labels on smaller sites

partners don‘t have to invest in technology

partners benefit from our deep product range

we increase bookingswe strengthen our supplier

relationships

But this is only possible due to the technology we have developed

lastminute.com White Labels Product XML holiday and morePartner Sites

Calculation and logic box

translation

Product mix or cross sell

Dis

trib

utio

n

consistent format

Unifying tracking

Supp

ly

Flight Hotel Car Insurance Packages Inspiration

Charter

Scheduled

Low Cost

medhotels

V2

Toursys

holiday autos

Elvia lastminute.de Activetrips

Wellness

Ski etc.

Online marketing does providebranding opportunities:

e.g. the lastminute.com E-mail Newsletter

A newsletter can be a powerful and cost effective online marketing tool to build brand understanding

So many newsletters out there –make sure users love yours and are keen to open it!

Don‘t just sell to your subscribers –show your brand and it‘s values.

Offer excellent and exclusive products to your subscribers.

Entertain and surprise them!

Give your newsletter personality –our best selling newsletter ever showed members of our team with their personal recommendations.

The challenges of a European approach

Looking at the possibilities of adapting your marketing strategy to a diverse and fragmented European market

Follow global brand guidelines but act local and adjust campaigns to the respective markets and to the customer‘s needs.

Work with local specialists who understand your market and its needs.

Travel and booking behaviour in different countries varies a great deal – every country needs different approach: e.g. German users are very security conscious – credit card bookings are not prevalent.

Every market is at different stage of development – e.g. the UK is two years ahead of Germany. What works in one country does not necessarily work in another country!

Thank you for your attention!