Priceline has entered the second year of its "Go to Your Happy Price" campaign with actress Kaley Cuoco. Senior editor Jamie Biesiada spoke with Lesley Klein, Priceline's senior vice president of strategy and brand marketing, about the campaign, its reach and her mission to rejuvenate the brand. Klein, a 20-year marketing veteran, came to the OTA two years ago from WeightWatchers, where she oversaw brand strategy during its modernization.
Lesley Klein
Q: What drew you to Priceline?
A: I saw an incredible opportunity. Priceline has an iconic legacy in not only the marketing industry but also as the creator of the OTA category, and we have developed excellent sophistication in performance marketing, product and feature development, tech. There was an opportunity to re-energize the brand after such an amazing and incredible history.
Q: Tell me about the campaign.
A: The "Go to Your Happy Price" brand platform in its inception was inspired by a simple truth: There is tremendous research from recognized institutions that the happiest people on Earth are those who travel. However, all too often, we see that price and complexity get in the way of booking that trip. Our ambition is to make Priceline the ultimate destination to help people go to their happy place, for their happy price.
Q: Everyone is talking about the increased cost of travel today. I would imagine that's striking a chord.
A: Think about 2024 as the year that revenge travel is out. People have done their revenge travel, and now people are evolving to still seek out really meaningful travel experiences. People are still going to be watching their wallets this year. We want to help them find great value, and that's what our campaign and our marketing strategy is all about.
Q: How did you decide where you wanted ads to appear? Last year, it started with the Super Bowl.
A: Every year we look at the marketplace and we devise the best strategy to get our consumers' attention and to achieve a connection with our audience. This year, our strategy was actually to enter the market earlier than ever before, so we intentionally launched during the NFL playoffs starting on Jan. 20, highlighting key moments that resonate in culture such as the NFL playoffs, the Grammys, etc. We're intentionally leading the pack to circumvent some of the noise that bubbles up during this time and to get some attention. Over the course of the next couple of weeks and months, you'll see some really exciting activations to come that will also intentionally break through and around what tends to be a very cluttered media time period.
Q: One of those more unique activations was sending an influencer and her husband from Taylor Swift's "Eras Tour" in Tokyo to Las Vegas in time for the Super Bowl. Her posts got millions of views. What was the thought process behind that?
A: We are always looking for authentic ways to get people talking about Priceline during big moments like the Super Bowl, without actually spending the hefty dollars on ads during the game. This year, music and stadium travel has been a huge driver of domestic travel. We chose to break our ads at the NFL playoffs and Grammys to pre-empt the noise surrounding the Super Bowl.
Q: How has the campaign performed so far?
A: Overall brand lift, we've seen a lot of momentum in terms of increased consideration, perceptions of Priceline as innovative and standing apart from competitors. We also get a lot of recognition from the industry that we're making the right moves and that our creative and our strategies are connecting. We won a Bronze Cannes Lion last year for the "Go to Your Happy Price" campaign for best use of social commerce. So we see that we are making the right moves and heading in the right direction for the brand.