While the Internet-based company's flagship brand made a name for itself with television ads featuring pitch man William Shatner, Priceline built itself into the world's most valuable travel company largely with precisely targeted and less splashy online marketing campaigns using Google Inc. 's search engine and other channels.
But the calculus of online ads has steadily grown less favorable as competitors like Expedia Inc. and TripAdvisor Inc. move to shore up their own brands. The contest for consumers' attention is expected to keep pushing down returns on Priceline's Web marketing efforts in the coming months, Chief Financial Officer Daniel Finnegan said.
Expedia Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi last month said the cost of reaching online consumers was generally increasing, forcing the company to target other channels, like social media, to profitably deliver new business.
