First Choice plans to expand digital activity

First Choice is to expand its digital marketing activities and has appointed specialist media planning and buying agency Media Contacts to help develop online plans.

First Choice

The tour operator, part of TUI Travel, says that it is to step up its digital campaigns beyond just Pay Per Click.

Media Contacts won the business from incumbent Searchworks. The agency already had an established relationship with TUI Travel stretching back before the merger of TUI AG and First Choice in 2007.

Paul Frampton, managing director at MPG and Media Contacts says: “We…look forward to growing First Choices’ digital market share and evolving the brand in new spaces such as social. With our model of specialist services such as mobile and social media and our unique data and technology platform, Artemis, we are in a strong position to do this.”

Nathan Timmins, head of online marketing at TUI Travel adds: “It’s great to have Media Contacts on board, and we are really excited about evolving the digital strategy for the brand. We were particularly impressed with Media Contacts’ strategic insight and recognise the benefits of having Thomson and First Choice housed in one digital agency.”

At the Abta travel convention in Barcelona last week, TUI customer director Tim Williamson told Marketing Week that the company was trialling software that allowed it to monitor online conversations about the brand on social forums, such as Tripadvisor and “to engage where appropriate.”

First Choice works with Beattie McGuiness Bungay for its offline advertising and is planning its annual Christmas television campaign.