Performance Marketing Trends in 2024

As the digital landscape continues to evolve at an unprecedented pace, marketers should be constantly adapting their strategies to effectively reach and engage with potential travelers. Let's jump into the exciting trends that are set to redefine how advertisers forge connections with their audiences and fine-tune their campaigns.

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1. Artificial Intelligence

Amidst privacy shifts and the demise of third-party cookies, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming the advertising industry, and DMOs can leverage its power to reach new and relevant audiences more effectively. Google's Display & Video 360 (DV360) utilizes AI-powered audience solutions to identify and engage with new, relevant customers. Advertisers adopting optimized targeting on Google Display ads experience a remarkable 50% increase in conversions, maintaining a comparable ROI.

Google's extensive use of AI extends beyond audience targeting. It plays a pivotal role in setting the right bids, reaching the most relevant searches, and creating compelling ads for consumers. The introduction of natural-language conversational experiences within Google Ads streamlines campaign creation, allowing advertisers to leverage their expertise combined with Google AI. To take this innovative approach, simply add a preferred landing page from your website and Google AI will summarize the page. Then, it will generate relevant and effective keywords, headlines, descriptions, images and other assets for your campaign.

As generative AI gains traction, from customer support to product recommendations, new advertising opportunities are expected to emerge, enabling advertisers to target highly qualified users with detailed answers.

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2. New Media

Linear, or Live, TV viewership is declining as consumers increasingly shift to subscription-based and ad-supported streaming services. Advanced TV/Connected TV advertising will continue to surge, with projected revenue reaching nearly 26 billion U.S. dollars in 2023, marking a 13.2% increase from the previous year. 

DMOs need to adapt their advertising strategies to reach this growing audience, investing in advanced TV/connected TV advertising opportunities. Demand-side platforms, like the one that Tempest utilizes — DV360 — have access to top connected TV providers like YouTube TV, CBS Interactive, Roku, ESPN, ABC, Marvel and Fox News, to name a few, allowing DMOs to purchase ad spots effectively.

The explosive growth of TikTok, with a staggering audience of over 2 billion users, is another significant trend for DMOs to leverage. TikTokers spend an average of 61 minutes per day on the app, surpassing platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Embracing TikTok as a marketing channel offers the potential for brands to captivate diverse demographics, including the 23% of Gen X travelers who are active on the platform. 

Capitalizing on TikTok's popularity involves creating engaging content that resonates with both Gen Z and Gen X travelers. Short video content used for TikTok marketing could also be deployed across other short video services, like Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts. Keep in mind content should be a little bit more playful, fun and casual than other platforms; think less traditional commercial and more amateur. 

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3. New Audience Strategies

In 2024, the era of cookie-based advertising strategies takes its final bow as browsers like Chrome, Safari, and Firefox limit the use of third-party cookies. Privacy-centric regulations (think: the EU’s GDPR and California’s CCPA, among others) further emphasize the need for first-party data. 

Advertisers who have invested in developing subscription offerings, newsletters, and tools to collect consumer data and build sophisticated content taxonomies to deliver meaningful contextual offerings are set to reap the rewards in 2024. First-party data is now King and becomes indispensable for building audiences. Google Analytics 4 (GA4) simplifies the process, allowing advertisers to create audiences based on the content that they’ve looked at, and apply that to your digital marketing campaigns to retarget with the right message.

Utilize existing permission-based CRM data (attention IDSS users!) by uploading CSV files of client records (preferably first, last name and email address) into your preferred ad platform like Google Ads or Facebook. Leverage this data not only for retargeting but also to craft compelling messages, reaching lookalike audiences with the right message at the right moment. This option has been around for awhile, but it's often an overlooked strategy and, in light of the growing importance of 1st party data, can really be an effective method to reach out to driving incremental Visitors Guide requests or meeting planner RFPs.

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To learn more about Tempest's performance marketing capabilities and discover how we can tailor these trends to elevate your unique destination experience, contact our expert team today! Your path to reaching and engaging your audience begins here.