Travel and lifestyle are not just verticals. They are emotional touchpoints, decision-making triggers, and high-attention environments. As the NDA Cannes roundtable in partnership with Tripadvisor made clear, these media spaces offer rich territory for brands to connect across the full consumer journey, from initial inspiration to the final booking, and even beyond. Read Part One of the discussion here.
Chaired by NDA Editor Justin Pearse, the discussion brought together a group of industry leaders: Dino Will Parrish, Chief Strategy Officer, VCCP Media; Jason Foo, Founder and CEO, BBD Perfect Storm; Dino Myers-Lamptey, Founder, The Barber Shop; Tara Hughes, VP Client Management, Jellyfish; Kenya Peters, Global Operations Manager, APM Agency; Justin Reid, Senior Director Media, Tripadvisor; Will Frappell, Chief Growth Officer, Charlie Oscar; and Tom Tootal, Co-Owner, Bandstand.
A moment of mindset
One of the strongest themes to emerge was the unique mindset consumers are in when they engage with travel content. “This is a high-stakes, high-emotion moment,” said Foo. “People care deeply about getting it right.”
As such, travel is one of the rare categories where people actively seek content. Unlike the doom-scrolling that dominates much of online behaviour, travel content is often aspirational and eagerly consumed.
Myers-Lamptey called this the opportunity to “intercept the eye gaze” with content that is helpful, emotionally resonant, and unobtrusive.
The ‘fuck it’ budget and other human truths
One of the most talked-about insights came from Parrish, who recounted a conversation with Jet2 Holidays: “Apparently, people increase their spend on pre-booked experiences by up to 300% when they see good weather forecasted. They call it the ‘fuck it’ budget.”
It was a humorous but telling example of how deeply human behaviour drives travel decisions. The group agreed that these emotional triggers are often overlooked in favour of cold targeting data.
“We need to get better at understanding those emotional moments that make people open to brand messages,” said Frappell.
Non-endemic brands have a place too
While travel operators and destinations have obvious relevance, the panel agreed that many non-endemic brands are missing a trick. As Foo explained, “Brands grow through penetration. If you over-segment, you shrink.”
Reid highlighted successful campaigns with pet care and finance brands on Tripadvisor. “It worked because the brand actually solved a real problem—like what to do with your dog when you travel.”
Frappell added, “It’s a creative brief challenge. But if the overlap is real, and you have the data to back it up, you can make a powerful case for media environments that aren’t traditionally on the plan.”
The danger of hyper-personalisation
A cautionary note was struck around the overuse of data and segmentation. While personalisation has long been a holy grail, several attendees noted it can backfire.
“If you over-target, you risk losing the shared experience of brand building,” said Foo. “We need to reconnect with collective experiences that everyone relates to.”
Parrish agreed, noting that many luxury travel clients now want to balance hyper-personalised service with broader brand equity. “It’s not either-or. You still need a strong, shared narrative.”
Creative distinctiveness matters
When attention is short, creative work must do more. Frappell referenced attention studies showing that 85% of digital ads receive less than 2.5 seconds of view time. “That’s not long enough unless your assets are truly distinctive,” he said.
Participants praised brands like Uber for their clever use of contextually resonant creative—such as “nearly there” messaging at airport arrival points. “The creative idea supports the media placement and vice versa,” said Foo. “That’s how you earn attention.”
AI and the rise of prompt-based planning
The rise of AI tools is set to dramatically reshape how people plan travel. Myers-Lamptey shared an example of using a tool called Manus to create a custom Japan itinerary. “It nailed it. Even my cousin who lives there was impressed.”
Tom Tootal also praised the growing role of AI in itinerary creation but issued a note of caution. “It’s impressive, but we risk losing the emotional serendipity of discovery. Part of the joy of travel is not knowing exactly what comes next.”
But this utility raises new challenges for marketers. As Myers-Lamptey put it, “The brand that helps you shape the prompt, or even owns the prompt, becomes the guide. That’s a huge opportunity.”
The group noted that while generative AI is useful, it lacks the emotional spark that comes from seeing real people experiencing real things. “That’s why influencer content still matters,” said Hughes. “It brings emotion and trust into the process.”
The role of community and storytelling
While few in the room admitted to personally using community features on travel platforms, the power of shared stories was undeniable. Reid called Tripadvisor “the ultimate reassurance platform,” providing a level of authenticity many social platforms lack.
“There are thousands of untold stories on platforms like TripAdvisor,” said Foo. “That’s a creative goldmine. Brands just need to unearth them.”
Myers-Lamptey added that communities come alive when travel intersects with passions. “Running a marathon, going to a gig, a film festival, those are supercharged travel moments. Brands should find ways to be part of those stories.”
Tootal added, “The most human content comes from personal stories. There’s untapped emotional depth in user-generated content—brands just need to help bring it out in the right way.”
Measuring what matters
The conversation ended with a sober reminder: marketing still overvalues short-term metrics. “Everyone’s obsessed with the conversion engine,” said Hughes. “But brand and performance need to work together.”
Mixed media modelling is starting to show just how much traditional media and creative storytelling contribute to performance. “We’re seeing that up to 80% of influencer impact isn’t captured by standard engagement metrics,” noted Reid.
A space for real impact
In the end, the roundtable highlighted travel media’s unique power to bring together creativity, context, emotion and commercial performance. For brands, the challenge is not simply to buy into travel media, but to think hard about what role they can play in the journey.
As Frappell concluded, “Don’t just follow the itinerary. Help shape it.”
In a world increasingly driven by algorithms, automation and attention scarcity, that might be one of the most human places a brand can be.
