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Millennial Parents Opps: Vrbo debuts new campaign, sharply increases digital ad spend

Crispin Porter + Bogusky, "Your Together Awaits" rolled out across TV (including ABC, NBC, AMC, Bravo and Food Network), Hulu and YouTube.

According to global brand VP Lish Kennedy, vacation home stays have surged despite the global pandemic and the general travel hesitancy it caused.

**Note: Since we cannot yet confirm an email address for Kennedy, reach out to other DMs for now.**

Vrbo, owned by Expedia, connects travelers and homeowners in order to aid travelers in a search of alternative hospitality to hotels. 

According to iSpot, Vrbo's national TV commercial spend dropped off after Q1 2020 but picked back up in Q4 2020 with this new campaign. This year's commercials targeted parents with a male skew, with top targeted programs including College Football, Dr. Pimple Popper, PGA Tour Golf, European PGA Tour Golf and Saturday Night Live. So far this year, Vrbo has spent roughly $21.3m on this channel, down 32% from the roughly $31.2m spent within the same 2019 timeframe. Its full 2019 spend rose by 6% to around $33.2m from around $31.3m in 2018.

So far this year, Pathmatics reports the brand earned ~6.7b digital impressions via desktop video (86%), desktop display (8%), Instagram (3%) and Facebook (2%) ads. 91% of desktop video ads were placed site direct onto youtube.com. An estimated YTD spend of $83.8m more than doubled the estimated $40.9m spent by this point last year; Vrbo allocated approximately $44.5m toward this channel in 2019, around 22x the approximately $1.8m allocated in 2018.

Additionally, Magellan reports the brand aired 136 podcast ads within the past year.

As you can see, lower national TV spend has allowed higher digital ad spend. This campaign targets parents, 82% of whom are already planning trips for 2021, per Vrbo. This campaign's (and the brand's general) focus on YouTube, paid social and podcast ads leads me to believe this target demographic has a millennial skew. To reach this audience, Vrbo may also utilize OTT advertising. Considering this campaign's partnership with John Legend, the brand will likely invest in similar celebrity influencers in the future.

Agency & martech readers - I see no signs of upcoming agency reviews anytime soon, so read elsewhere for more immediate opportunities. Crossmedia handles Vrbo's media remit.