There are many options for out-of-home advertising today. So many choices make it more difficult to determine which is best or find the right one that can deliver the values you need.
The question you want to ask first is what makes airport marketing different? As business and brand owners, airport advertising may look niche compared to mall advertising or online marketing, but the secret to growth lies in that niche.
The best place for guaranteed exposure to an international audience is with airports. Airports are the most significant hubs with people of different nationalities, cultures, and backgrounds. The diversity presents many opportunities you will only find here, especially in business-to-business deals.
According to studies conducted by HSBC and JCDecaux, where they interviewed 4,500 Business Executives, 95% consider flying an integral part of their job. The same report stated that four out of five executives would likely engage with B2B advertising in the airport. Imagine a business owner flying to your country for the first time, seeing a brand ad and getting enthralled by it. That's where the brand’s playing field can change.
At first glance, advertising in an airport might have little to differ with mall advertising as they both advertise in high-traffic commercial spaces. Mall advertising can target a wide range of people from all walks of life, though the crowd in malls are usually from the same locations. Airport advertising can target a large scale of people as well, with the variety of nationalities and cultures, all similar as travelers, but never from the same locations.
The pass-through rate of travelers in airports is high and the people passing through are always different - every hour, every single day. This presents the advantage of reach in every marketing goal.
Consider also that the airport crowd has a travel mindset, enhancing that important marketing impact of audience retention. According to a 2017 study conducted by Nielsen, audiences recall 40% of what they see in the airport. The bustling atmosphere creates excitement in passengers. And for most people, flying to another country doesn't frequently come, resulting in a more receptive mood and mindset that takes in all the visual stimuli.
Can there be anything better than advertising on the internet?
According to an Internet Advertisement Bureau UK study, "86% of consumers ignore internet ads as they are interruptive, distracting or irrelevant." How often would you click "skip ad" rather than watch an entire ad on YouTube? Advertising online can also prove difficult with a myriad of options that can bury advertisements without ever reaching the intended audience.
With that being said, there's an advantage to advertising in a highly condensed and contained space with millions of easily excited travelers and people just waiting for excitement.
The great thing about airport advertising is that there's no "Skip" button. The ads are fixed in place where people are just waiting to absorb the catchy ad or message.
For a long time, airports have been associated with the high life. Think Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman’s classic airport goodbye in Casablanca or Leonardo di Caprio’s “Catch Me if You Can” with the string of glamorous air hostesses.
Even though airports today have evolved to become more casual and consumer-friendly, the perception that airports are places for luxury remains.
ResearchBods conducted a survey in which six thousand consumers participated. The reports stated that "advertising in the airport is perceived as more prestigious when compared to other advertising locations."
That perception can also carry through to your brand, as airport advertising declares that you're ready to take your brand to the global level.
There are many ways that airport advertising can be beneficial. It can change brand perceptions, bring opportunities that seemed impossible, and it can even help boost a country's economy through tourism. However, describing it in its purest form, it's all about making connections. Like many other places, an airport is where people with different stories meet and make something of greater value. It builds sturdy bridges to other cultures and nationalities that broaden the horizons of those who set foot in it. There is a bigger and brighter future that starts where people make their most important journeys.