Bypassing the murky mid-funnel with digital identity

By Ben Collier, Director, Business Development, Epsilon

In-market moments are rare in travel, so when people begin planning a holiday, brands clamour to win attention. That has long made the ‘murky’ mid-funnel a focal point, where intent flickers but never fully settles and signals are rarely straightforward.

Yet the ground is shifting as paid search becomes increasingly expensive with more advertisers entering auctions and Google’s matching logic widening the field. The time is ripe for marketers to explore other routes forward.

How AI reshapes the research phase

AI-driven discovery is adding a new layer of disruption. More travellers are researching holidays through LLM tools, which means advertisers are bidding on search terms that fewer people are searching for. Even when traditional search is used, Google’s AI Overview increasingly sits above the links, contributing to click-through rates dropping by as much as 50%.

People will still search for a brand rather than type in the URL, meaning branded search remains necessary. Adoption of LLM searches is not universal either, with under 45s far more likely to use them according to YouGov. But the direction of travel is obvious. ABTA’s latest Travel Trends report shows 8% of people now use AI tools for inspiration, up from 4% the previous year, and YouGov notes that 39% say they would consider using AI to help choose a location.

It’s hard to tell how Generative Engine Optimisation will change this picture. It will undoubtedly become an interesting space, but for now marketers cannot tactically influence it in the way they can with search.

So what tactics and channels are available?

The answer lies in brand building; creating consideration and preference at scale at the upper end of the funnel while maximising what can be done with first-party data and website visitors to drive conversion.

At the upper funnel, effectively reaching the right audience means a small amount of well-timed inspiration can create a preference for a brand. Bringing people into market sooner, or at the very least forming the neural pathways for when they do, reduces reliance on search or AI to be found.

At the lower funnel, recent site visitors and those who have shared first-party data, from newsletter sign-ups to catalogue requests, become even more valuable and need active nurturing to encourage the booking.

Paid channels with full funnel influence

Paid social remains a strong option because it provides inspirational formats in logged-in environments where people can be recognised, understood and reached with relevance. Performance can then be measured at the individual level, whether the audience is lookalikes, loyal customers or recent browsers.

Digital display offers similar creative flexibility, and the size of the opportunity is clear when considering that 76% of the time UK adults spend online is outside social platforms. High-quality display inventory can deliver inspirational ads across the open web and unlock brand recognition at meaningful scale.

However, the open web brings a challenge. People are not logged in, and identity is highly fragmented, with multiple browsers, devices and email addresses representing each individual.

How to solve open web advertising waste

Wasted impressions on the wrong person or multiple versions of the same person are exactly why digital identity networks matter. They allow marketers to recognise an actual individual across the open web, CTV and audio regardless of the device or browser being used, almost as if the person were logged in.

These networks connect a person’s disparate digital identifiers so brands can reach more customers, prospects and site visitors and be more efficient with media spend by controlling the number of impressions each individual receives. Some do so better than others, so make sure to do your homework! It’s easy to claim coverage but that’s very different to how many people can actually be matched and reached in campaigns. Look for networks rooted in first party cookies that are connected to a postal address (like Epsilon’s CORE ID) as these will give you much better accuracy at scale.

The power of identity in meeting growth goals

Strong digital identity allows marketers to exclude existing customers during acquisition campaigns and to match and activate first-party data when the aim is to encourage repeat purchase.

Whatever channels are being activated, whether display, CTV, audio or a combination of all, person-first identity enables programmatic buys that reach the people who matter most wherever they are. It also makes it far easier to demonstrate ROAS by connecting a new lead or booking back to the audience messaged at an individual level.

At a time when changing consumer behaviours have wrestled some control away from performance marketers, identity presents a way to reclaim it. By starting the conversation earlier with top prospects and past bookers and ensuring valuable recent visitors can be reached efficiently and at scale, marketers gain a clearer path to influence in a world where the mid-funnel is becoming harder to steer.

Who is Epsilon?

Epsilon is part of the Publicis Groupe and empowers travel brands to build meaningful, lasting connections with their customers through data-driven, personalised marketing. Leveraging cutting-edge programmatic media, onsite personalisation, CRM and loyalty technology alongside market-leading identity (COREid) and deep consumer insights, Epsilon helps brands understand, identify and reach individuals with the right message at the right time across channels to create seamless, engaging experiences that drive loyalty and growth.

To find out more about Epsilon please click here