Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL) recently announced that it has entered into an exclusive arrangement with Winstar Interactive Media to sell advertising on continental.com.
Marketers will now be able to place their advertising message directly in front of the 10 million unique monthly visitors currently utilizing the resources of continental.com to research and book travel plans to destinations throughout the world.
According to the U.S. Travel Association, at least 76 percent of all U.S. travelers are using the Internet to make travel plans. Frequent travelers are even more likely to make their travel plans online.
"Advertisers on continental.com will have the opportunity to engage business and leisure travelers during a crucial time in their travel planning process when they are making specific purchasing decisions about their upcoming trip," said Winstar Interactive CEO Adam Guild. "This is an ideal opportunity for advertisers to put their marketing message directly in front of a valuable and highly targeted audience."
This move represents a natural extension of the advertising opportunities offered by Continental's other media platforms which currently allow marketers to engage Continental's audience during the trip itself.
Winstar Interactive will also be able to facilitate integrated exposure onto Continental's various other media platforms.
"We chose Winstar Interactive as the exclusive sales agent for advertising opportunities on continental.com because of their excellent reputation for creating and delivering well-crafted online advertising programs with integrity," said Mark Bergsrud, Continental Airlines senior vice president, marketing programs and distribution. "Our initial interaction with our customers often begins on our Web site, and we know that Winstar will be exceptional at creating online advertising solutions for marketers whose message complements the user experience at continental.com."
Winstar Interactive Media (http://www.winstarinteractive.com/) was launched in 1996 as a site specific representation company with online advertising experience dating back to the early days of the Internet. The firm specializes in creating customized ad packages for some of the top media brands on the Internet. Winstar sells Internet advertising for well-branded Web sites like Fodors.com, NASDAQ.com and Zagat.com among others. A wholly owned subsidiary of Mission Media Group Inc, Winstar is headquartered in New York City and has offices across the country.
