The UEFA European Championship 2024 is in full swing, and the quarter-finals are already scheduled for this week. Whether it's Germany, Spain, England, or others – soon it will be clear who emerges as the winner of the tournament. Apart from the exciting matches, the football tournament is also an ideal advertising space for brands and companies. In this regard, Booking.com's advertising stands out as well.
For those following the Euro 2024, Booking.com's pitch-side advertising may have caught their attention. As in previous years, the holiday platform advertises with the claim "booking.yeah." In the past, this comparison site has even enlisted Hollywood greats like Idris Elba as a spokesperson for itself.
The idea behind the campaign is clear: The ".yeah" symbolizes the feeling of joy that customers experience with great anticipation after making a booking. But is this type of advertising suitable for purely pitch-side advertising without much explanation?
The issue is: Viewers might mistake "booking.yeah" for a domain name due to its misleading presentation. It seems as if Booking.com has secured a domain under a new TLD. HOWEVER: .yeah does not exist as a TLD. For the customer journey and user-friendliness, this is rather suboptimal.
Typing booking.yeah into the browser does not lead to the website but redirects to Google search results. And as a consequence: Users need to make more clicks to reach the intended website. Not ideal from a domain and marketing point of view.
This campaign might work for Booking.com, given that the platform is internationally established and well-known. For smaller brands and companies, this type of advertising could have a negative impact on user experiences and the brand itself.