Skift Take
The pandemic waylaid Expedia Group’s 2019 vow to decrease its dependence on marketing through Google. If Expedia seeks to resume working on that goal, it now has a crucial member of Google’s travel marketing management to help lead the effort.
Dennis Schaal
Expedia Group for a number of years has been trying to minimize its reliance advertising on Google to gain customers, and Expedia has actually signed on Google’s handling director of advertising and marketing to plot method.
Expedia Group revealed Monday that Rob Torres has actually been appointed as senior vice president Media Solutions, which is its travel marketing program. He changed because role Wendy Olson Killion, who left for “individual reasons,” according to a spokesperson for Expedia.
Torres worked for Expedia prior to his more than 15 years at Google, as vice president of strategic accounts. In that function from 1999 to 2006, he worked “carefully with hotel partners,” Expedia stated.
In a Skift interview Monday afternoon, Torres was asked what appeared like an unexpected job transition from Google to partner/competitor Expedia Group and whether he had a noncompete provision in his Google agreement.
“I really can’t speak about that however I can share this is something I’ve been thinking about for some time,” Torres stated. “This wasn’t simply some quick relocation … It’s something I have actually been thinking of for a long time. In the last two years, I’ve been thinking about what do I want to do next and how do I really want to support the market in other ways.”
Torres decreased to discuss whether he could assist Expedia Group lower its standard reliance on marketing through Google.
He said he likes the travel industry and really wants to support it. Torres included that he welcomes the chance to operate at a business that is exclusively concentrated on travel. Google, naturally, is involved in lots of industries.
Torres said there’s a chance to help Expedia Media Solutions better leverage first celebration information in a period when privacy issues are increasing, and to take knowings in this location from retailers such as Amazon and Target.
“I don’t understand if they are fully benefiting from that yet,” Torres stated, referring to Media Solutions’ usage of very first celebration information.
He said there are also opportunities to enhance automation, to streamline things, and to take Expedia’s marketing business to the next level, like Google did.
Online travel bureau advertising has actually traditionally concentrated on the hotel market, and Torres said there are incredible chances to assist sub-sectors such as locations and cruise bring in new visitors or consumers.
Inquired about Torres’ departure, a Google spokesperson said: “Rob was an important part of the group for several years, and we want him well in his future ventures.”
Torres is a Seattle local, where Expedia Group is headquartered.
The announcement didn’t offer a factor for Torres leaving Google and signing up with Expedia.
“After almost 16 years far from Expedia Group, I’m delighted to go back to the business with a focus on delivering imaginative and insights-led campaigns for advertising partners and adding to industry growth,” stated Torres said in a declaration. “The travel and marketing industries have gone through transformational change throughout the previous two years, from shifting customer behaviors and expectations to the growing importance of first-party data and the increase of commerce media. It’s an essential time for destinations and take a trip brand names, primed with opportunity to motivate travelers in new methods and capture bottled-up demand, and I anticipate dealing with the Media Solutions group and our partners to drive meaningful results.”
In 2021, Expedia’s advertising and media vertical produced $152 million in profits, an 85 percent dive compared to 2020.
Like other big online travel business in 2015, Expedia Group leaned into performance marketing on Google to record travel demand. In 2021, Expedia Group’s selling and marketing was $4.2 billion, a 67 percent jump.
Note: This story was upgraded to consist of an interview with Torres and a remark from Google.