Expedia, Marketing Strategy
Dugyu Cin,18 December, 2010
1
Table of Contents
1. Introduction 3 2. Company Overview 3 3. Strategic Marketing of the Company 5 3.1 Mission and Vision 5 3.2 Business Strategy 5 3.3 SWOT Analysis 5 3.4 Supply and Demand 7 3.5 Definition of Objectives 8 3.6 Market Selection and Targeting 8 3.7 Choice of Positioning 9 3.8 Marketing Strategy 10 4. Conclusion 16 5. References/Bibliography 17
2
1. Introduction
This paper has been produced for the Marketing course and deals with the company profile of Expedia, Inc and its marketing strategy. Expedia, Inc is a totally Internet-based distributor of travel products and services, offering everything from flights, accommodations, car rentals, cruises to travel packages, thus encouraging customers to use their facilities to book the requisite services for an entire trip. Hence, the company has taken on the roles both of tour operator and travel agencies. The company owns; besides expedia.com; websites such as hotels.com, hotwire, TripAdvisor and now also venere.com. The web-based mega-agency is the world’s largest online travel group by a wide margin and we will have a closer look of why and how the company has been so successful over the last couple of years, which was certainly greatly influenced by its marketing strategy.
2. Company Overview
Expedia Inc Headquarters Regional Involvement Sector Involvement World Travel Retail Products Share (2009) Value Growth (20082009) USA Global Travel RetailProducts 3.0% -2.2%
Only 14 years ago, in 1996, a small division within Microsoft launched online travel booking site Expedia.com, which gave consumers a revolutionary new way to research and book travel. Three years later, Expedia was spun out of Microsoft, becoming a publicly traded company on NASDAQ under the symbol EXPE. Meanwhile, the other brands in the current day Expedia, Inc. portfolio were independently established and began their respective courses of development. In the first few years of the new
1
Table of Contents
1. Introduction 3 2. Company Overview 3 3. Strategic Marketing of the Company 5 3.1 Mission and Vision 5 3.2 Business Strategy 5 3.3 SWOT Analysis 5 3.4 Supply and Demand 7 3.5 Definition of Objectives 8 3.6 Market Selection and Targeting 8 3.7 Choice of Positioning 9 3.8 Marketing Strategy 10 4. Conclusion 16 5. References/Bibliography 17
2
1. Introduction
This paper has been produced for the Marketing course and deals with the company profile of Expedia, Inc and its marketing strategy. Expedia, Inc is a totally Internet-based distributor of travel products and services, offering everything from flights, accommodations, car rentals, cruises to travel packages, thus encouraging customers to use their facilities to book the requisite services for an entire trip. Hence, the company has taken on the roles both of tour operator and travel agencies. The company owns; besides expedia.com; websites such as hotels.com, hotwire, TripAdvisor and now also venere.com. The web-based mega-agency is the world’s largest online travel group by a wide margin and we will have a closer look of why and how the company has been so successful over the last couple of years, which was certainly greatly influenced by its marketing strategy.
2. Company Overview
Expedia Inc Headquarters Regional Involvement Sector Involvement World Travel Retail Products Share (2009) Value Growth (20082009) USA Global Travel RetailProducts 3.0% -2.2%
Only 14 years ago, in 1996, a small division within Microsoft launched online travel booking site Expedia.com, which gave consumers a revolutionary new way to research and book travel. Three years later, Expedia was spun out of Microsoft, becoming a publicly traded company on NASDAQ under the symbol EXPE. Meanwhile, the other brands in the current day Expedia, Inc. portfolio were independently established and began their respective courses of development. In the first few years of the new
References: Bibliography − http://www.expediainc.com − http://www.expedia.com − “Internet in Travel and Tourism – Part II: Expedia”, by Rob Law and Freddy Chen, Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, Vol. 9(4) 2000 − Datamonitor, Expedia, Inc., Company Profile, 5 Aug 2010 − Mintel Oxygen Database, European Leisure Travel Industry - Europe - September 2009 “Online Travel Groups” − Euromonitor International, “Expedia Inc in Travel and Tourism - World April 2010” − Mintel Oxygen Database, Ticketing and Distribution in the Airline Industry - International March 2009 “Online Travel Agents” − Mintel Oxygen Database, Online Travel Intermediaries - International - August 2009 “Global Online Travel Intermediaries” − Expedia, Inc., “Company Overview”, Q3 2010, www.expediainc.com − R. Masterson and D. Pickton, “Marketing an Introduction”, 2004, Mc Graw-Hill Education − http://www.entrepreneur.com/encyclopedia/term/82408.html, Definition of Private Label Sales 17