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The research found that both print and digital advertising play strong roles in influencing consumers along their path to purchase. Specifically, 53 percent of consumers, and 70 percent of parents, learn about local activities and events through direct mail ads and information. Nearly 60 percent of consumers – and 77 percent of parents and millennial parents – said they often search online for entertainment ideas and discounts. After seeing an interesting television commercial for an entertainment activity or location, more than half (55 percent) of consumers will search for a coupon or discount; this jumps to 78 percent for millennial parents. As for travel, 43 percent of consumers will book a trip or research a destination after seeing a direct mail piece and 41 percent will make a purchase due to an email or digital ad.

“With Prosper Insights & Analytics finding that one in five consumers is planning major vacation travel within the next six months, travel and entertainment brands have a major opportunity to capture these consumers during their planning and research journeys,” said Curtis Tingle, Chief Marketing Officer, Valassis. “Beyond big-ticket items, consumers are also planning their trips to the movies, attending concerts or visiting casinos. Knowing shoppers’ preferences and engaging with them through both print and digital advertising, brands can get in front of their target audience – from awareness through activation.”

For advertisers to effectively capture consumer attention across print and digital channels as they plan for entertainment and travel, they should consider the following consumer preferences and behaviors:

Planning approaches vary by activity and life stage.

• Boomers tend to plan earlier, whereas parents and millennial parents typically take a more short-term approach.
• For a paid concert, most people start weeks or months ahead. Almost half (48 percent) plan at least one month ahead, but again we see a unique divide by audience with 69 percent of boomers planning a month ahead while only 29 percent of millennial parents agreed.
• On the other hand movies are a much more spontaneous event; 91 percent of consumers who attend movies plan a week or less in advance.
• For out-of-state and international trips, more than half of consumers say they would plan more than two months in advance.

• Consumers will travel less than two hours to attend most entertainment events.
• Only 16 percent of those visiting an amusement/water/theme park are willing to drive over four hours – with one catch: an overnight stay.
• A quarter of consumers are only willing to travel less than 30 minutes to visit a casino or live theatre.

• Where they research:
• 59 percent of consumers go directly to the websites of hotels, airlines, parks, etc.
• Half explore trip-planning websites such as TripAdvisor, Kayak, Expedia and Travelocity.
• Where they book:
• Among consumers who booked travel, they typically did so directly on the websites of hotels, airlines and theme parks, however, trip-planning sites were more often used when booking a cruise.
• Overall, boomers seem to favor booking directly; parents and millennials are less likely to book directly.

About the Study
The Valassis Awareness-to-Activation Study is an ongoing study fielded in conjunction with The NPD Group, Inc., a global market research company. The sample was derived via an online survey, and all participants were at least 18 years of age and living in the contiguous United States. Approximately 10,000 respondents are surveyed annually. The specific data included in this report is from the research wave fielded June 1, 2018 through July 24, 2018 to over 1,700 respondents and is balanced by age and gender to U.S. census demographic profiles.

About Valassis
Valassis helps thousands of local and national brands tap the potential of industry-leading data through intelligent media delivery – understanding, engaging and inspiring millions of consumers to action with smarter cross-channel campaigns. We’ve been a part of consumers’ lives for decades, introducing new ways to deliver offers and messages that activate them — whether via mail, digital, in-store or the newspaper. NCH Marketing Services, Inc. and Clipper Magazine are Valassis subsidiaries, and RetailMeNot Everyday™ is its consumer brand. Its signature Have You Seen Me?® program delivers hope to missing children and their families. Valassis and RetailMeNot are wholly owned subsidiaries of Harland Clarke Holdings.

Media Contact:
Valassis
Mary Broaddus
734-591-7375