At the recent Florida Governor’s Conference on Tourism, our Chief Marketing Officer Kristina Canada and Chief Analytics Officer Brett Hughes delivered an insightful segment titled “Evolving Marketing Disruptions: Rethinking Strategy & Measurement in the Age of First-Party Data Dominance and Social Media.” In their session, they discussed the seismic shifts in marketing brought on by evolving consumer behavior, privacy regulations, and the rise of AI. The presentation explored strategies to help marketers stay ahead of these changes by building a solid first-party (1P) data foundation, embracing the role of social media, developing a durable measurement framework, and continuously experimenting to adapt and improve.
Let’s take a closer look at the key insights and how Net Conversion’s MORE methodology (model-centric, omnichannel, results-driven & experiment-based) is a solution for navigating these disruptions and maintaining a competitive edge.
The Shift to Model-Centric Marketing
Why It’s Important:
As consumer expectations for personalization grow and data privacy concerns rise, it’s critical to build marketing strategies based on robust models. According to Salesforce, 73% of consumers expect better personalization as technology advances, while 78% are more protective of their data.
The Solution:
Kristina and Brett emphasized that success begins with a strong 1P data foundation—data that comes directly from customers. By leveraging this foundation, brands can respect privacy while also optimizing for personalization. Effective modeling involves gathering audience insights and applying the right key performance indicators (KPIs) that are tied to business outcomes.
Net Conversion’s Model-Centric approach empowers travel brands to create a data-rich environment that enables smarter decision-making. By building a durable model, marketers can continuously refine their methodology, ensuring their campaigns are always tailored to the customer and the business’s bottom line.
Embracing Omnichannel Excellence in Strategies
Why It’s Important:
The consumer journey has grown increasingly complex. Google research showed that in 2014, an average consumer interacted with nine touchpoints before making a purchase; today, that number can range from 20 to 500, depending on the product or service. The challenge is compounded for travel marketers, as Expedia found that travelers view an average of 141 pages and spend 303 minutes on travel content before booking a trip.
The Solution:
Kristina and Brett emphasized the importance of adopting an Omnichannel approach. This means understanding the role that each marketing channel—whether social media, search, or email—plays in the customer journey. A seamless omnichannel strategy bridges gaps between touchpoints, ensuring that messaging is cohesive and that consumers are guided through their journey efficiently.
In today’s market, social media plays a vital role as a discovery tool, especially for younger travelers. With 75% of travelers using platforms like Instagram and TikTok for inspiration, marketers must integrate these channels into their broader strategy. AI can further enhance omnichannel effectiveness by creating personalized traveler personas and lookalike audiences, driving more effective targeting.
Results-Based Marketing and Measurement
Why It’s Important:
With marketing budgets tightening—dropping from 13.8% of the overall budget in 2022 to just 10.2% in 2024—marketers are under pressure to demonstrate bottom-line results. Search advertising, a fundamental tool in travel marketing, has seen conversion rates decrease by 2%, while cost-per-click (CPC) has increased by 10%.
The Solution:
Brett and Kristina discussed the importance of shifting focus from short-term results to a holistic view that includes both short- and long-term impact. Net Conversion’s Results-Based methodology ties every marketing effort to business outcomes, helping brands track the full business impact and not just immediate conversions.
By creating a durable measurement framework, marketers can future-proof their campaigns even as third-party cookies depreciate and privacy concerns intensify. First-party data remains king, and investing in tools that prioritize this data ensures more accurate and valuable audience insights. A multifaceted measurement strategy—combining AI, testing, and real-time adaptation—is essential for navigating the evolving advertising landscape.
Experiment-Driven Innovation
Why It’s Important:
The fast-paced nature of today’s marketing landscape demands continuous experimentation to keep up with evolving consumer behaviors and technology. Companies that embrace a test-and-learn mindset see 30% better ad performance than those that don’t.
The Solution:
Kristina and Brett highlighted Net Conversion’s Experiment-Driven philosophy, which encourages constant testing to uncover new opportunities. Every campaign is an opportunity to learn, whether by analyzing creative performance or measuring the marginal return of different channels. This approach is particularly valuable as the industry moves toward a cookieless future and AI-driven targeting.
By embracing experimentation, marketers can stay ahead of disruptions, adapt quickly to change, and drive sustainable growth. The key is to focus on incremental improvements rather than chasing flashy new trends. Consistent testing and refinement are the real drivers of innovation.
The Bottom Line
Thus, the marketing landscape is constantly evolving, but by embracing the MORE methodology, marketers can not only survive but thrive.
- Model-Centric strategies ensure that brands stay connected with their audience through a strong 1P data foundation.
- Omnichannel approaches allow marketers to engage consumers across multiple touchpoints.
- Results-Based frameworks tie marketing efforts to long-term business success.
- Experiment-Driven innovation keeps brands ahead of the curve.
At Net Conversion, we help brands turn disruption into opportunity, enabling marketers to drive meaningful results in an ever-changing world.
If you’re interested in finding out more about how Net Conversion can help your business grow despite evolving disruptions, reach out, and let’s start a conversation.
