Travelocity.co.uk started 2004 as a little-known travel brand, overshadowed by its higher spending rivals. But the company saw an opportunity for differentiation by targeting regular online travellers who had been neglected. Travelocity was able to corner the market by stressing its own expertise and by using the ultimate travel ‘Aficionado’, Alan Whicker, to convey this positioning and give the brand an engaging and relevant personality. Nothing allows a brand to converse creatively with its target market like TV: it provides a rich visual impact that no other medium can deliver, and this was well demonstrated here by some funny and memorable creative. In the media mix, TV was used to drive awareness and reach quickly and radio was deployed to multiply the effect. After 15 months, Travelocity had boosted brand awareness by 54%, visits by 123%, sales by 135% and market share by 44%. All with the lowest acquisition cost and a return on investment of £5.60 for every £1 spent. Famous advertising has been responsible for an overnight success story and allowed the brand to reap the rewards of its communications investment. It’s a compelling story of how to achieve a rapid journey to fame.

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