Expedia to star in a first for Sky

Expedia to star in Sky’s first ever contextually relevant cross-platform partnership

Thursday 1st of January 2015

In a deal created by Sky Media and Expedia’s media agency, PHD, Expedia is to air multiple pieces of copy that have been developed to align with individual programmes across Sky channels.

Expedia’s current creative approach ‘Travel Yourself Interesting’ plays to a key insight: that sharing travel knowledge is a huge part of what we all love about the travel process. These experiences have become a core part of our social capital.

To arm people with this kind of ‘water cooler’ content in a style which would achieve stand-out and interest for the Expedia audience, PHD proposed a partnership with Sky. Contextually relevant ‘Travel Yourself Interesting’ idents were created to align with a selection of ABC1 Sky content.

“Through alignment with key programming Sky and PHD have created a unique and compelling way for Expedia to engage our audience, at the time of year when everyone’s thoughts turn to their holidays and breaks” says Mel Stonier, Senior Marketing Manager at Expedia.

Key programming has been handpicked across Sky channels, and multiple pieces of copy have been developed to align with individual programmes. The Expedia brand copy will run at the start of the break, with the contextual fact running last in break to precede the show’s return.

For example, a fact about New York will run in the break for ‘Girls’ which is located in the city; and an Icelandic-based ident will appear in the break of highly-anticipated new Sky Atlantic show Fortitude, set in an Arctic town. Idents will also surround key sporting events (UEFA Champions League and Australian F1 Grand Prix) and blockbuster movies (Grand Budapest Hotel and Wolf of Wall St).

The idents invite viewers to enter a competition to win £1,000 of Expedia vouchers, or claim a £100 discount off their next holiday.

The partnership was negotiated by Expedia’s media planning and buying agency, Omnicom Media Group’s PHD.

“Through alignment with key programming Sky and PHD have created a unique and compelling way for Expedia to engage our audience, at the time of year when everyone’s thoughts turn to their holidays and breaks” says Mel Stonier, Senior Marketing Manager at Expedia.

Richard Kitto, Sky Media’s Creative Solution Manager says “We’re absolutely delighted to be partnering with Expedia on this exciting campaign. It taps into the escapism mentality of our users across a plethora of platforms. By seeding thought-provoking facts on locations related to Sky programmes, and offering exclusive travel discounts to Sky users online, we hope to shorten the consideration path between imagining and booking.”

The Expedia campaign is the latest in a series of creative initiatives involving Sky Media. Other examples celebrating the chemistry between high quality programmes and ads include the Series 5 Mad Men ad break featuring products and ads from the early 1960s, and the 24: Live Another Day ad break which was styled to echo the editorial flourishes of the programme – notably the split-screen technique, showing different events and angles simultaneously.