If you haven’t seen it on your TV screens already, the Trivago girl has taken a hiatus as the company heads in a different direction with their new campaign. The much-loved ad was replaced earlier this week with a new, more modern campaign.
In the lead up to their new campaign launch, B&T spoke to Diana Vidovic, regional manager for Trivago, on what this new campaign means for the company.
“Trivago Girl, played by Australian Gabrielle Miller, has been phenomenally successful in building brand awareness and encouraging travellers to visit our website so that they can compare the different hotels on offer.
“However, over the last year we have been moving towards a more holistic approach focusing on the complete travel experience, rather than just price comparison, and these new ads have pre-tested highly for audience engagement,” she said.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k46al9h2Ui0
The new campaign encompasses just that: the complete travel experience.
“That price sensitivity that we really focused on in the beginning where Trivago Girl would say ‘come to Trivago and find the rate that suits you’, now it’s more about ‘come to Trivago and find your ideal hotel’,” Vidovic said.
The campaign took a relatively short three months to produce, and was done in house, rather than through an agency.
“The whole concept was created by a kiwi guy who works for Trivago called Johnathon Laing,” Vidovic explained.
“When he first showed me the draft and I was listening to is and I was like ‘oh this guy’s voice is amazing we should totally have his voice in the spot’. So I contacted Johnathan because I thought that it would fit the Australian market.”
Laing, who works in Trivago’s creative production team in Dusseldorf, produced and voiced the campaign, which is set in Thailand.
According to Phocuswright research, four out of five people participate in a tour, activity, ticketed event or attraction during their trip and two out of five people research these before they book their flights or accommodation.
The new ad campaign, which aired July 1, shows how travellers can personalise their search using trivago’s filters – not just the obvious ones like free wifi, air conditioning, close to beach, or swimming pool – but also by typing in features like ‘sailing’, ‘hiking trail,’ ‘honeymoon,’ or even ‘party people’.
Australia is a test market for the ad campaign – which will run for a month on Aussie TV screens before being aired in other markets.
“We’re seeing people using metasearches to find other factors like wanting to find the best experience they can get. So that was the main reason for the shift,” Vidovic said.
“That doesn’t mean the Trivago Girl is gone. We are always testing different options to see what resonates best.”
