Intent media opens UK office to meet demand for profit optimisation platform

Intent Media, which helps travel sites increase revenues by operating like a search engine, has set up a European base in London.

Intent Media, which helps travel sites increase revenues by operating like a search engine, has set up a European base in London.

The New York technology firm was co-founded by a trio of former senior executives from Travelocity: Richard Harris, chief executive; Josh Feuerstein, chief product and strategy officer; and Damon Tassone, chief revenue officer.

It has appointed Nick Morley, who previously led Adobe’s media optimisation and audience management business in EMEA, as vice-president and European managing director to spearhead its international expansion from its new London office.

Intent Media works with some of the biggest names in travel in the US, having devised a new type of pay-per-click advertising platform aimed at monetising the 97% of traffic that does not book.

This has seen US travel sites display offers on rival retailers’ sites in search results, Intent’s analytics-driven technology ensuring there is no cannibalising of business but an increase in profit per visitor.

Harris said: “We brought this initially counterintuitive idea – that the travel industry should let competitors advertise on their websites – to some of the largest online travel agencies in North America.

“A number of these sites, having experienced considerable revenue growth as a result, have asked us to expand our services to their Europe-based brands.”

Morley added: “Establishing a base in London enables us to develop a deep presence where there are fantastic opportunities for growth.

“Having a dedicated team in Europe will allow us to both better serve existing clients and cater to the tremendous demand we’re already seeing in Europe.”

Intent Media has been named a “Best Place to Work” by Crain’s New York for three years running. For more information, email nick.morley@intentmedia.com.