eBay Advertising announce deal with Octopus Travel

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eBay have struck a partnership with Octopus Travel to offer over 50,000 hotel room listings on eBay. The offers will range from independent hotels to global chains and will include auction auctions from £0.99, fixed price deals, hotel upgrades and special offers as well as a microsite dedicated to hotel bookings.

To mark the partnership, eBay is launching with a special charity auction in aid of youth charity, The Prince’s Trust. During January 30 InterContinental Hotel Presidential Suites will be sold on 99p no reserve auctions with 100% of the final price being donated through eBay for Charity.

The Octopus Travel shop will be promoted on eBay through a combination of paid search and targeted advertising across eBay.

eBay Advertising

eBay Advertising is a program where brands can offer compelling messages to the eBay community. The proposition is that as eBay users are primarily visiting the site to buy and sell, in general they are are more receptive to commercial messages than nearly anywhere else on the web. As a side bonus many of the campaigns also include an element of fund raising through eBay for Charity.

Previous campaigns have included The Sun Help The Heroes, which delivered 100 million banner impressions in 10 days, 7 million home page banner views, 712 thousand auction views and raised over £80,000 for the charity.

Mercedes promoted the Mercedes Benz E-Class and achieved 28 thousand opt ins to receive further marketing messages and finance brands such as Experian and Cetelem say that the click through rates for eBay media campaigns are much higher than adverts on other venues.

If you’ve been wondering what proposition eBay was selling to companies who have been purchasing banner ads on eBay then the eBay Advertising page is well worth a read. Do you think co-branded adverts with eBay and advertising partners are good for the site and will making eBay a great destination for hotel bookings increase sales for eBay sellers?

Possibly the most interesting question has to be whether the advertising partnerships are more important to eBay from a revenue perspective, or is the overriding aim to increase the value proposition of eBay to buyers and make the site more sticky?

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Posted at: Wednesday, January 20th, 2010 at 1:52 pm
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10 Responses on "eBay Advertising announce deal with Octopus Travel"

  1. 1
    whirly says:
    January 20, 2010 at 2:20 pm

    I actually need a hotel for this w.end, had a peek at shop, I don’t get it? eg 220543609317
    Am I missing the obvious, or is it just early days.?

    • 1.1
      Chris Dawson says:
      January 20, 2010 at 2:22 pm

      It’s a classified ad so they just want you to contact them – not to buy from that listing. Muppets probably picked the most expensive room in peak season just so the actual price is lower when you come to pay and you’re not disappointed.

      Try from http://ebay.octopustravel.com, be interested to know how you get on :-)

      • 1.1.1
        whirly says:
        January 20, 2010 at 2:29 pm

        I appreciate it’s a classified etc. but £1000 for what exactly? they will have to try a bit harder if they want to be taken seriously, its the most uninspiring advert I have seen in a while.

        Will let you know how I get on with that link.

  2. 2
    JD says:
    January 20, 2010 at 2:39 pm

    Why would I look at a booking agent via eBay for a hotel?

    Am happy for the hotel to make a little bit (not too much mind, its tough out there) but I don’t want to pay too many others.

  3. 3
    Rich Brady says:
    January 20, 2010 at 2:55 pm

    Just booked one…

    Booked a hotel near Cardiff the night before an international for only £55, Bargin.

    Hotel.com want £122
    Expedia & Thomas Cook £143

    Will definitely use again…

  4. 4
    hitch says:
    January 20, 2010 at 7:40 pm

    I always use Laterooms, plus get extra 7% through quidco, have looked at Octupus before but rate never good enough to book.

  5. 5
    northumbrian says:
    January 20, 2010 at 8:06 pm

    google
    and direct phone call to the hotel works every time

  6. 6
    travelay says:
    January 26, 2010 at 9:57 am

    Am I missing something here? Looking on the Octopus eBay site, it seems just like any other conventional hotel booking website. Is there any auction/bidding aspect to this? If not, what’s the point?