On the Beach CMO: Differentiation has moved brand away from ‘cheap and cheerful’ image
On the Beach CMO Zoe Harris says a ‘decommoditised’ brand is helping the business’s marketing spend work harder.
In a category as big and competitive as the UK travel market, it’s necessary to be both distinct and different. For On The Beach, the answer is a “decommoditised” brand.
On the Beach launched in 2004 in its founder’s bedroom and has grow to hold over 20% share of online sales in the short haul beach holiday market.
Its most recent results it reported a prompted awareness level of 88% and its “best summer ever”. It delivered record total transaction value of £1.1bn in its most recent financial year, up 26% versus the prior year.
Speaking to Marketing Week, CMO Zoe Harris says the travel brand is working to “consistently” convey its point of difference across all its channels to enable its marketing spend to work harder.
“Our whole thing is about decommoditising the brand and our holidays, so that customers know why they would book with us rather than one of our competitors,” Harris says.
“And then it’s about really thinking about how we use that message through all of our channels, whether that’s performance channels or brand channels, and being more much more consistent about it has enabled us to drive greater effectiveness in our marketing spend,” she adds.
