Travel Advertising Success With SideStep

SideStep Inc., search engine for travelers, has had success with travel leaders such as Independence Air and Best Western International.

Low-fare airline Independence Air has leveraged SideStep’s geo-targeting capabilities to build awareness and drive sales from consumers searching for flights from the airline’s key cities, such as Washington D.C. “Independence Air is in the midst of the biggest introduction of new service in the history of the airline business,” said Eric Nordling, Senior Vice President of Marketing for Independence Air, “and SideStep has played a key role in our marketing efforts. By summer’s end, we will have made Washington Dulles International Airport the country’s largest low-fare hub, and SideStep’s ability to deliver our message to large numbers of travelers who would prefer to use Dulles has helped to make this possible.”

While some advertisers have focused on SideStep’s targeting capabilities, others have turned to SideStep to expand their reach. Hotelier Best Western International, for example, has combined a broad scale campaign on the SideStep search engine with email advertising via SideStep’s TravelFinds Specials(SM), a weekly opt-in email newsletter focused on time-sensitive travel bargains. “More than 3.5 million travelers turn to the SideStep search engine each month for travel values,” said Ric Leutwyler, Best Western’s Senior Vice President, Brand Quality and Member Service. “In addition, 1.3 million travelers receive the TravelFinds Specials newsletter each week. Through this multi-faceted campaign with SideStep, we are reaching numerous qualified prospects and driving them directly to our most efficient sales channel — the Best Western Web site — to book their travel.”

“Our aim is to offer travel advertisers a diverse mix of effective advertising options,” said Brent Stewart, SideStep’s Director of Advertising Sales. “We then work with each partner to craft an advertising package that meets their strategic objectives. Whether we are building a new travel brand, promoting a fare sale, driving national sales for a hotelier or sparking regional growth for a mid-sized rental car company, SideStep has advertising solutions that help our clients reach the Web’s most active travelers.”

Jeremy Muncy is a staff writer for www.murdok.org