12 FEB 2019: With the growth of its curated social media service for Travel Advisors, BranchUp has acquired Collingwood-based Travelwatch Inc. The strategic acquisition serves to support the company’s North American growth plans as a provider of travel marketing content.

BranchUp is a free service that provides Advisors with inspiring travel content directly to their Facebook business page. “Our mission is to help Travel Advisors grow their business and customer base by providing personalized and relevant travel content at no cost,” says BranchUp Founder Michael Drever, the industry veteran best known as founder and former CEO of Expedia CruiseShipCenters.

“By supporting the relationship between Advisors and their clients, our engagement reports show that BranchUp outperforms paid advertising by a significant margin”, adds Drever.

Travel Suppliers are also enthusiastically onboard as BranchUp connects travellers and their personal Travel Advisor in real time through Facebook messenger, email, or telephone. Companies already using BranchUp include cruise, tour, hotel and destination marketing boards.

While BranchUp becomes the sole brand, Travelwatch principals Frank Orlando and Michelle Pinard will continue their roles in supplier relations and content production within the BranchUp team. “The travel community has really embraced the Facebook content program,” says Orlando. “More than a thousand advisors joined during the beta period and more are enrolling every day as the word spreads.”

To learn more or sign-up for a free BranchUp account go to www.facebook.com/branchup