Maximising Impact: Do’s and Don’ts in Airport Advertising
Airport advertising offers a unique opportunity to engage with diverse audiences. However, expertise in knowing what works - and what doesn’t - impacts the success of an airport media plan. We’ve developed a quick guide of the essential dos and don’ts of airport advertising to maximise meaningful results.
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The Dos of Airport Advertising
1. Do Prioritise Strategic Placement
Location is everything in airport advertising. High-traffic areas provide the opportunity for capturing attention with larger-than-life, high-impact branding. Consider dwell time—locations, where passengers spend more time, are prime spots for delivering slightly more personalised messaging. Take time to determine which passenger demographics or location-based targeting could be essential for your brand's success - if a premium audience or specific flight destinations best fit a client's objectives we hand-pick media opportunities located along the passenger journey for cost-effective planning.
2. Do Design for High Impact, Lasting Impression Ads
Airports are busy and passengers can be distracted. Ensure ads are concise, with easy-to-read messaging. Large fonts, clean visuals, and well-placed text ensure your message is clear and memorable.
3. Do Utilise Digital and Interactive Features
Digital screens and interactive displays allow for dynamic content - take advantage of this! Flexibility to tailor messages based on flight schedules, weather, or events builds stronger connections and trust with audiences. Interactive campaigns, such as touchscreens or QR codes, encourage audience engagement, as well as allow for clearer measurements of KPIs.
4. Do Understand Your Audience
Airports attract a mix of business, families, leisure, and transiting passengers. Tailor your messaging to meet the demographics. For instance, luxury product branding may have more success targeting individuals with high disposable incomes, while experiential campaigns alongside a call to action to encourage social media sharing might resonate more with a younger demographic.
5. Do Include a Clear Call-to-Action (CTA)
Scanning a QR code, visiting a website, or making an in-store purchase… a strong CTA gives passengers a clear next step. Make it easy for them to interact with your brand and tailor this to the above steps - we have an easy-to-follow guide linking passenger mindset within each airport zone to help our clients with this.
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The Don’ts of Airport Advertising
1. Don’t Overwhelm with Clutter
A cluttered design can dilute your message. Avoid cramming too much information into one ad. Focus on one clear memorable idea that passengers can absorb quickly.
2. Don’t Ignore Cultural Sensitivities
Airports are global hubs, and ads will likely be seen by people from diverse cultures. Allow extra time in the creative process for feedback from airport authorities when approving or adjusting artwork - we help our clients through each stage of this process.
3. Don’t Neglect Maintenance and Monitoring
Outdated ads or damaged sites can decrease the ROI and can negatively impact brand image. Regularly monitoring campaigns to ensure all screens and displays are functioning and delivering the correct content is vital. Fortunately, we’re passionate about conducting site inspections on behalf of our clients, alongside gathering photography and play-out reports, we ensure all of our booked media plans are executed to our high standards.
4. Don’t Use Generic Messaging
Passengers are exposed to a huge amount of messaging during their travel and airport journeys - think about the huge mix of functional, way-finding, and advertising signage we encounter. Generic messaging that doesn’t connect emotionally is less likely to be memorable. Focus on delivering the campaign objective in a way that aligns with the unique mindset of an airport passenger - executed correctly it is an incredible opportunity to connect with consumers.
5. Don’t Overlook ROI Metrics
Without clear goals to measure success, you’ll miss out on valuable insights. There are several ways to track metrics within data-driven airport environments - we suggest a variety of tools for our clients, dependent on the initial planning and objectives.
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Key Takeaways for Maximising Airport Media Opportunities
Our key recommendations based on years of expertise, experience and following the data are:
- Focus on strategic placement;
- Simplicity,
- Relevance.
Work with the unique features of the airport environment - from dwell times to global audiences - to make an impact and connect with highly desirable audiences, while avoiding cluttered designs or delayed artwork approval by airport authorities.
For in-depth tailored advice on how to maximise airport media planning specifically for your brand and objectives, reach out to claire@outlookmedia.co.uk .