How Visit California Used Expedia Travel Shops to Connect Inspiration With Booking Intent

At a Glance

Organizations: Visit California and Expedia
Featured Creator: Nom Life
My Role: Global Marketing Manager and Expedia relationship lead
My Responsibilities: Partnership strategy, team oversight, budget allocation, creator vetting, destination and messaging approval, storefront direction, stakeholder communication, and industry relations
Paid Channels: Meta and Pinterest
Results: 11.3 million impressions, more than 16,000 pageviews, and a 6.2% year-over-year increase in California searches on Expedia

The Opportunity

Expedia approached Visit California about joining the beta launch of Travel Shops, a new feature designed to help travelers move from destination inspiration to trip planning and booking.

Because the product was new, there was no established playbook. We needed to determine what California stories belonged in the storefronts, how to make them useful to travelers, and how to support the launch with paid media.

My Role

As Global Marketing Manager, I managed the Expedia relationship and oversaw the three-person internal team that developed the collection concepts.

Expedia proposed Nom Life as a creator partner. I vetted the creator and approved the final selection based on audience fit, content quality, and alignment with the culinary travel concept.

I determined the campaign budget and approved the recommended media mix across Meta and Pinterest. I also held final approval over the featured locations, how those destinations were described, what appeared in each storefront, and the strategic direction of the campaign.

An internal colleague recommended destinations using her knowledge of California’s tourism industry. The Shipyard recommended the paid platforms and handled campaign execution and reporting. I oversaw industry communication, partner relationships, internal feedback, and final approvals.

The Approach

The internal team developed five themed California collections designed around different travel interests. Each collection gave users a more specific entry point into California than a traditional destination landing page.

One collection was created with food and travel creator Nom Life, using culinary experiences to introduce travelers to destinations across the state. The storefront combined creator credibility, destination recommendations, and Expedia’s booking environment in one experience.

Paid support ran across Meta and Pinterest. Meta brought creator-led content into social feeds, while Pinterest reached travelers during the early planning and inspiration stage.

How the Work Came Together

My Responsibilities

• Managed the Expedia relationship

• Oversaw development of the five collection concepts

• Vetted and approved Nom Life as the featured creator

• Determined the campaign budget

• Approved the Meta and Pinterest media recommendation

• Held final approval over featured destinations, messaging, and storefront content

• Directed internal feedback and stakeholder approvals

• Managed tourism industry communication and partner relations

Collaborators

• Two internal colleagues supported concept development

• An internal destination expert recommended locations and experiences

• Expedia provided the Travel Shops platform and proposed Nom Life

• The Shipyard developed the channel recommendation, executed the paid campaign, and produced reporting

• Nom Life contributed creator-led culinary travel content

Results

• 11.3 million impressions delivered, reaching 108% of goal

• More than 4.2 million unique users reached

• More than 16,000 storefront pageviews

• 2:17 average time on page

• Creator and Meta Ambassador content achieved click-through rates above 2.8%

• Pinterest delivered 67% of campaign impressions with a 0.49% click-through rate

• California searches on Expedia increased 6.2% year over year following the launch

The combination of strong page engagement and increased California search activity showed that travelers were doing more than passively viewing the campaign. They were spending time with the storefronts and continuing to explore California within Expedia.

What This Demonstrates

This campaign required strategic judgment inside a product that was still being tested. The team had to translate a broad platform opportunity into useful storefront concepts, select destinations and creator partners carefully, and build a paid strategy around an unfamiliar customer experience.

It demonstrates my ability to lead platform partnerships, guide collaborative concept development, make budget and media decisions, and maintain strategic control across internal teams, agency partners, creators, and industry stakeholders.

Work completed in my role as Global Marketing Manager at Visit California. Expedia and the other partner organizations featured in this case study are not affiliated with or endorsing my independent consulting practice.