Audience research
Part of A practical guide to audience research for travel creator campaigns
Travel creator campaigns competitor research explained
A practical checklist for UK tourism teams comparing rival travel creator campaigns, covering where to find evidence, what to record and when to stop digging.
What to take away
Yes, you can research rival travel creator campaigns from public sources alone. Name three competitors, give each a single question, and log only what you can open yourself.
- Competitor research means capturing public evidence about how rival UK tourism brands choose creators, brief them and report results.
- Work a fixed orderset the question, check disclosure, capture patterns, decide.
- Name your sourcesMeta Ad Library, Google Ads Transparency, TikTok's ad library and creative research tools, plus the ASA rulings library.
- Compare briefing patterns such as creator count, trip length, format and cadence, never one viral post.
- Stop when every question has an answer, then write a one-page summary for the budget holder.
Set the question before you collect anything
Pick no more than three rivals per planning cycle and give each one question. A destination board might ask whether a rival reuses creators across seasons. A hotel group might ask whether rivals test winter content at all.
Write down the decision each answer will inform. If nothing you brief or fund would change, drop the question. Keep it narrow enough to answer from public posts within four weeks.
Before you gather evidence:
- Name three rivals and the single question each one answers.
- List the public sources you will accept, such as Meta Ad Library and creator feeds.
- Set a cut-off date, for example four weeks from today.
- Agree who receives the summary and when.
Set the comparison first
- Pick no more than three rivals
- Write one question per competitor
- Give each question its decision
- Accept posts, ad libraries, trade press
- Reject undated screenshots and anonymous claims
- Log each item on capture day
If your own audience baseline is not yet defined, read the audience research guide for travel creator campaigns first, because a gap only means something against a stated baseline.
Work through evidence in a fixed order
Public evidence comes in five kinds: ad entries, creator posts, campaign pages, privacy notices and trade coverage. Work them in this order.
- Check disclosure before you judge creative. Confirm the rival's creators label paid promotion, since YouTube's paid promotion disclosure rules set the standard on that platform. A competitor that ignores them is not a model to copy. Public ad entries usually show the advertiser name, the creative and the dates it ran.
- Record only material that is public. Take audience claims from campaign pages and privacy notices. The ICO's online safety and data protection guidance explains the duties attached to services creators and audiences use. Privacy notices name the categories of data a campaign collects and the lawful basis it relies on. Never try to obtain private analytics.
- Capture briefing patterns. Log creator count, trip length, content format and posting cadence. Five creators over three months says more than one viral reel. Where a rival's intent is unclear, the customer interviews method for travel creator campaigns shows how to test your reading with your own audiences.
- Date every entry on the day you capture it, because posts get edited and deleted.
Where to find named evidence
Meta Ad Library shows ads running across Meta platforms and filters by advertiser. Google Ads Transparency lists ads from verified advertisers, including video on YouTube. TikTok's ad library and creative research tools show which paid travel creative is live.
The ASA codes and rulings library records upheld complaints, including against travel advertisers. A pattern that breaches the CAP Code is a warning, not a template.
Ground comparisons in real campaigns. VisitEngland's Escape the Everyday and VisitBritain's GREAT Britain marketing are public destination campaigns worth studying for channel mix and structure. Check their ad entries yourself rather than relying on blog summaries.
Turn gaps into tests you can afford
Each gap becomes one action, ranked by cost and by how quickly you can evidence a result. Write it on one line: what you will test, who runs it, the number you will watch.
Action
- Rival dominates one platform
- Test a second platform
- Rival publishes undated results
- Ask creators directly
- Your audience differs from theirs
- Run your own interviews
- Budget under £5,000
- Two small tests
Trap to avoid
- Rival dominates one platform
- Copying the same creator list
- Rival publishes undated results
- Treating claims as data
- Your audience differs from theirs
- Reading a gap as weakness
- Budget under £5,000
- One long campaign
Decide with a table
Rival dominates one platform
Test a different platform
Copying the same creator list
Worked example on budget
A team holding £4,000 for testing could fund two short trips at about £1,800 each and keep roughly £400 aside for reshoots. These figures are illustrative. Confirm every creator's fee directly, and add 20% VAT if the creator is VAT registered.
Use the benchmark research method for travel creator campaigns to compare published rate figures rather than adopting a rival's rate card as your own.
Common questions
How many competitors should I track?
Three per planning cycle is usually enough. Tracking more than five rarely changes the decision and slows the capture.
Can I use a rival's creator rates in my budget?
Only when the figure is published and dated. Otherwise treat it as illustrative and confirm rates with creators before you commit spend.
How often should I repeat the research?
Once per campaign cycle, or sooner if a platform changes its promotion rules.
