Guide to Always-On Marketing in 2020
At a glance
- Always-on marketing uses real-time data and traveler intent signals to engage potential customers continuously throughout the year, not just during seasonal peaks.
- Always-on strategies complement rather than replace traditional burst or seasonal campaigns, together improving overall performance and brand visibility year-round.
- Continuous A/B testing and performance metric analysis within always-on campaigns enable marketers to refine tactics and improve cost-per-booking and ROI over time.
- Always-on marketing addresses how modern consumers research and book travel across multiple devices at varying times, requiring continuous engagement strategies.
What the report covers
Sojern's 2020 guide examines always-on marketing strategies for travel brands, explaining how continuous, data-driven engagement differs from traditional seasonal campaigns. The report targets travel marketers including destination marketing organisations, hotels, airlines, attractions and travel agencies. It defines always-on strategy concepts, outlines implementation approaches, and explores how real-time traveler intent signals and dynamic audience segmentation enable year-round engagement in an increasingly digital travel booking environment.
Key findings
Always-on marketing represents a strategic shift from episodic burst campaigns to continuous engagement. It leverages real-time data, dynamic audience segmentation, and live intent signals to determine optimal timing and channels for reaching potential travellers. This approach responds to changing consumer behaviour: modern travellers plan trips at varied intervals and research across multiple devices simultaneously, meaning brands cannot rely solely on traditional seasonal promotional windows to capture demand.
The report positions always-on marketing as complementary to, not replacive of, seasonal and burst campaigns. When deployed strategically together, both approaches strengthen overall campaign performance. Always-on engagement keeps brands visible year-round and top-of-mind as travellers begin dreaming about trips, while seasonal campaigns then amplify impact during peak booking periods. This dual approach increases conversion rates and brand awareness across the full travel consideration cycle.
Continuous testing and optimisation form the operational backbone of always-on strategies. By deploying A/B testing and regularly analysing performance metrics throughout the year, marketers identify which tactics, ad creatives, messaging approaches and targeting strategies drive results. This iterative refinement reduces cost-per-booking, improves return on investment, and enables data-driven decision-making rather than static campaign assumptions.
Key numbers
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Core premise of always-on marketing | Continuous, proactive approach using real-time data and traveler intent signals |
Figures as published in the source; forecasts and survey results are labelled as such in the note.
Why it matters
DMOs & destinations
Destinations relying on seasonal tourism campaigns risk missing year-round demand signals. Always-on strategies enable DMOs to engage prospective visitors continuously through real-time intent data, maintaining visibility across the extended travel research cycle. This approach amplifies seasonal campaigns and improves booking conversion during peak periods.
Hotels & hospitality
Hotels benefit from continuous engagement with potential guests searching and planning trips year-round. Always-on marketing enables property-level targeting based on real-time demand signals, reducing dependency on batch seasonal promotions. Continuous optimisation of ad creative and messaging improves cost-per-booking and occupancy performance.
Travel tech & distribution
Travel platforms and distribution channels require always-on capabilities to compete. Real-time audience segmentation, intent signal integration, and continuous testing functionality become essential platform features. Providers offering advanced always-on orchestration across channels gain competitive advantage in helping brands maximise year-round conversion.
Methodology and limits
This brief is based on the publicly available summary only, as the full report is gated behind an email registration. The source text provides conceptual definitions and strategic frameworks rather than quantitative research findings, survey data or statistical analysis. No sample size, respondent demographics, collection dates or research methodology are disclosed. The report's claims reflect Sojern's strategic positioning and best-practice recommendations for travel marketers rather than independent empirical research.
Official source
The report is © Sojern. This brief is an original editorial summary by TourismIntel — it quotes only figures published in the source and never reproduces the document.
Check the official statistics on Pulse
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