Comments on: Sign of the Times for Kayak as it braces itself for branding WIN or marketing FAIL

By: SideStep is still in our thoughts says Kayak | Tnooz

SideStep is still in our thoughts says Kayak | Tnooz — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 16:54:25 +0000

[...] SideStep? With all the focus on Kayak with its TV ads, possible IPO and the intermediary saga, many would be forgiven for forgetting about the rival [...]

By: Skyscanner turn into geeks for first ever TV commercial | Tnooz

Skyscanner turn into geeks for first ever TV commercial | Tnooz — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 10:51:56 +0000

[...] site Kayak launched its controversial TV ads for the US market in October 2009, six months after hiring Robert Birge as its chief marketing [...]

By: Brian Hayashi

Brian Hayashi — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 22:35:28 +0000

The old saying in TV advertising was that the empty cereal box makes the sale. Kayak, like other OTAs, have a customer database that enables them to detect when their best customers are more likely to be making their travel decisions…while the economy has made it easier than ever to place ads in key travel markets without paying a usurious penalty for last-second placement. It’s like having your own in-house Nielsen people meters!

While I was skeptical when I first saw the story on Kayak, after reading more about their agency (Goodby Silverstein) and their media plan, I’m much more sanguine about their prospects.

By: BL

BL — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 16:42:31 +0000

We find this absolutely an offensive advertisement. Humor of this sort while the country is at war and a mocking of “The Greatest Generation” then shame on the marketing team. At first I thought the add to be a serious gesture where a Korean War Era vet was using the site to go face a location of terrible memories to make peace with it. That would have been a wonderful ad but instead it was a parody and a shallow joke of terrible things that our vets endured. Shame on you Kayak. Shame on you.

By: Lastminute.com says the most useful thing to spend marketing money on is analytics | Tnooz

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 16:29:22 +0000

[...] Some might be considering whether to put their marketing spend into new areas (social) or sticking with the tried and tested (PPC) or simply having a crack at TV. [...]

By: Austin Bah

Austin Bah — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 20:34:18 +0000

The “Storming the Beach” ad itself is offensive. The speaker in the ad is old enough to be of a generation which stormed a beach in Korea, or to have seen combat in Vietnam, and with a stetch of the imagination, maybe he’s old enough to be someone who could have stormed a beach during WW2 when beach landings were common, but it is hard to imagine that someone that has experienced combat, or especially, has stormed a beach would base a parody on such, so the viewer eventually realizes that the speaker in this ad is someone that despite his age, avoided serving in our worst, most recent wars. Is he a draft dodger, or one of the elite who won’t serve but find the service of others something to make fun of? While they stormed beaches under fire, was he partying as the ad suggests. It’s in bad taste, at best.

By: I Love TV Advertising troop expands, Skyscanner says Me Too | Tnooz

I Love TV Advertising troop expands, Skyscanner says Me Too | Tnooz — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:20:38 +0000

[...] Edinburgh-based firm has followed its US rival Kayak by announcing plans to run its first ever TV ad campaign in [...]

By: uberVU - social comments

uberVU - social comments — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 08:32:23 +0000

Social comments and analytics for this post…

This post was mentioned on Twitter by db: Sign of the Times for Kayak as it braces itself for branding WIN or marketing FAIL http://bit.ly/232LIa...

By: Joe Buhler

Joe Buhler — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:04:06 +0000

One of the elements that made Priceline TV advertising noticeable besides the approach was the sustained effort. To get noticed in this saturated medium requires more than brief campaigns but months, even years of exposure. Much too early to tell if Kayak can pull it off.

As for the character in the Cancun ad, he has to be of that “greatest generation” age group as he talks about a WWII “storming the beach” experience. What the actual connection with Cancun is, remains for the audience to interpret – maybe he remembers a conquest of another kind, who knows!

By: Valyn Perini

Valyn Perini — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:21:00 +0000

Priceline has been advertising on TV for years (at least here in the States) mostly using bizarro ex-Star Trekkie William Shatner as its spokesperson.

It would be a difficult argument to make that Priceline’s TV ads did not have an impact on its branding, and ultimately on its business. They took something as obscure as opaque merchandising and made it understandable and weirdly funny at the same time.

Done well, TV advertising could be a massive boost for Kayak. We’ll see how it works out for them.

Personally, as an American, I understood the Cancun reference, although the actor struck me as a bit old (he was the actor whose grandfather-character just dropped dead on Mad Men) – when he was in his 20s, Cancun was just a bunch of shacks on a beautiful beach.

By: Those Kayak TV ads in full - might need a second viewing | Tnooz

Those Kayak TV ads in full - might need a second viewing | Tnooz — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 10:29:11 +0000

[...] Metasearch engine Kayak clearly sees its new TV ads as a pretty big step for the company, as Tnooz outlined last week. [...]

By: Steve Hafner

Steve Hafner — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 14:06:57 +0000

For anyone interested in seeing our new ads, the first one airs during the 4:15pm EST NFL football game on Fox. They should be available on youtube shortly thereafter.

By: uberVU - social comments

uberVU - social comments — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 21:50:21 +0000

Social comments and analytics for this post…

This post was mentioned on Twitter by kevinlukemay: Sign of the Times for Kayak as its braces itself for branding WIN or marketing FAIL | Tnooz http://bit.ly/2ibHpG...

By: Pete Meyers

Pete Meyers — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:21:11 +0000

It’s important to see this as one tactic within an overall communication strategy, and not make a direct comparison to PPC campaigns (just as comparing reach of PPC ads to TV would be similarly fruitless.)

Personally, I think this is a brilliant move given Kayak’s largest challenge is explaining to consumers what they actually do. TV gives them a platform to articulate their benefits and value proposition in a way that 2 lines of text on Google simply can’t provide (not to compare TV and PPC again, of course…)

By: Dennis Schaal

Dennis Schaal — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:42:16 +0000

Kayak apparently has search volume on par with major travel brands like Orbitz, but Kayak’s brand recognition pales in comparison. The offline ad campaign is geared to rectify that disparity.

And, hey, the exposure shouldn’t hurt Kayak’s IPO prospects, right?

By: Tweets that mention Sign of the Times for Kayak as its braces itself for branding WIN or marketing FAIL | Tnooz -- Topsy.com

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 22:52:12 +0000

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by bencolclough, Kevin May. Kevin May said: Sign of the Times for Kayak as its braces itself for branding WIN or marketing FAIL | Tnooz http://bit.ly/2ibHpG [...]

By: Ben Colclough

Ben Colclough — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 22:27:11 +0000

Is advertising on tv really a risky strategy? From a brand awareness point of view it is only good. From a brand perception point of view yes, it can be bad, but surely only rarely.

It is fairly critical that online platforms such as kayak build some kind of lasting interaction with the public. (I’m classify anything which doesn’t have a physical product or a tangible service interaction as a platform). If not, as soon as the next best solution comes along there is little loyalty. IMHO this is why traditional companies survive for decades whilst online platforms (e.g. friendsreunited, yahoo and arguably now myspace) seem to have extraordinary success followed by waning popularity in such a relatively short time.

Whether TV advertising does the job for online platforms, I don’t know. If anybody has any stats it would be fascinating to see. It is certainly my experience that offline advertising converts poorly to online action. Done properly though, brand building could work.