TURESPAÑA's advertising strategy is based on the following pillars:

 

- Firstly, advertising is used in a coordinated and complementary manner with inbound marketing strategies, depending on the communication objectives, markets, and audiences.

- Secondly, digital channels take precedence over traditional media (print advertising, out-of-home advertising, radio, and TV). 

- Thirdly, it is based on the "full funnel" principle, meaning it aims to reach users at every stage of the sales funnel, using different advertising models depending on the stage the user is at.

- Finally, TURESPAÑA's advertising strategy emphasises its commitment to integrating destinations under the umbrella of the Spain tourism brand, promoting cooperative or co-marketing campaigns.

 

We will be taking a closer look at these aspects; regarding the digital ecosystem where we focus our advertising efforts, social media advertising and online visibility (VOL) stand out. Programmatic display advertising is losing ground to direct agreements with certain publishers, as we understand that brand building is best achieved through content pieces that are consumed in different ways (videos, editorials, and image galleries). We continue to buy programmatic audiences in non-display formats, mainly editorials that are integrated into the content in a more organic and less invasive way (native advertising).

With regard to campaign types, depending on which stage of the sales funnel the user is in, we have defined three types of campaigns:

 

1. To reach users at the top of the funnel—from the perspective of the customer journey in the inspiration phase—we use branded content campaigns, which we arrange with internationally renowned publishers of various types (major newspapers, lifestyle magazines, travel magazines, etc.). These campaigns allow us to build up the brand in a visible way and highlight the lesser-known values and attributes that we want to position, such as sustainability or culture and heritage.

2. To reach users in the consideration phase, we plan reminder campaigns that target users who are already familiar with us and are in the planning phase, but haven't yet purchased their trip. These campaigns are conducted on digital channels, especially on social media, and are also planned through buying audiences (programmatic advertising).

3. Finally, to impact users who are already in the final stage of the funnel and to “encourage conversion”, we run campaigns with operators who have specific inventory and offers, mainly OTAs and airlines, and to a lesser extent, tour operators. We call these campaigns conversion campaigns or "sales support".

 

Finally, after a few years of reduced advertising investment, we have resumed collaborative campaigns with destinations, in any of the three types mentioned—branded content and sales support—although destination participation has intensified most in the latter.

 

We believe that, in international markets – especially in long-haul and emerging markets – joint advertising under the umbrella of the Spain tourism brand is more powerful and adds value. It allows for unifying messages, reducing advertising noise and generating greater visibility. 

 

As for BRANDED CONTENT cooperative campaigns, we work with renowned publishers who create content specifically for us (primarily digital, but also print), which is then amplified on their own channels and those of TURESPAÑA and the partner destinations. Production is financed by Turespaña and the media plan is financed proportionally by Turespaña and the collaborating destinations, obtaining significant discounts (up to 45%) from the platforms.

 

Finally, in sales-oriented cooperative campaigns, which we call CO-OPs, we work with OTAs, metasearch engines, and other internationally established intermediaries using a model that allows us to triple the destinations' investment, improve reporting and results measurement (through a tracking pixel), and guarantees us access to a qualified target audience already in the purchase phase. 

 

In addition to these "generic" campaigns, we develop specific campaigns to intensify our advertising efforts to position certain destinations or tourism products and experiences.