Online travel agency conducted a three-month review
By Adrianne Pasquarelli | June 12, 2024
Priceline has selected Omnicom Media Group’s PHD as its media agency of record following a competitive review. The appointment is effective immediately, the online travel agency said.
Priceline, which is owned by Booking Holdings, previously worked with Ocean Media as its media AOR. Ocean did not participate in the review, which was conducted by MediaLink. The review lasted just over three months.
Priceline will continue working with Mirimar, its creative AOR, a spokeswoman for the brand confirmed.
Last year, Priceline spent $413 million on U.S. measured media, a 24% decline from 2022, according to Vivvix, including paid social data from Pathmatics. Its parent Booking is one of the larger ad spenders in the online travel space: It spent $1.6 billion on measured media here last year, a slight drop from $1.8 billion in 2022.
The new relationship with PHD will help Priceline “attract a new generation of travelers,” Lesley Klein, senior VP of strategy and brand marketing at Priceline, told Ad Age. In a press release, she also noted that PHD will help the brand develop “stand-out opportunities that create meaningful impact.”
One of those opportunities will be continuing Priceline’s “Go to Your Happy Place” brand platform, which debuted last year. PHD will work with Priceline to target new customers in certain traveler segments and use a “data-driven media strategy,” Priceline wrote in a release.
In business since the late ’90s, Priceline has been working to stand out in the ever-crowded travel space. Recent efforts include an AI travel assistant named Penny and a deal with Amazon for Prime Day. Last year, Priceline aired a pre-game Super Bowl spot. This year, it continued its Big Game presence with an influencer activation, “Eras to End Zone,” flying certain Taylor Swift fans from Tokyo, where the pop singer performed just before the Super Bowl, to Las Vegas, where the game was played.
Earlier this year, PHD also won media duties for Firehouse Subs. The agency has a new global CEO, Guy Marks, who was selected for the leadership role last year.
