Airport is one of the favorite channels for marketers to reach their consumers. It is no doubt that airport can be a great place for marketing with a captive audience, waiting, bored, with nothing to do except eat terrible overpriced food.
I traveled to Atlanta over the past weekend, and as I was passing by the airports, I paid extra attention on the advertisements and marketing that dominate every space in the airports. Many companies invest heavily on them, and they are at every corner of the airport in the form of banners, wraps, spectaculars. They can be on the wall, as the overhead of escalators, in the rail system, inside the gate bridges, and even on the luggage carts. However, are all these supposedly 'eye catchy' billboard type of advertisements really getting the results they intend? From my own experiences and my observation, the answer is 'no'. Most travelers probably don't even remember the very last advertisements they walked by a minute ago. The airports are so overloaded with these ads that they become as irrelevant as background color to the travelers. I did not see a single traveler who stops to look at these banners or spectaculars through my observations.
I traveled to Atlanta over the past weekend, and as I was passing by the airports, I paid extra attention on the advertisements and marketing that dominate every space in the airports. Many companies invest heavily on them, and they are at every corner of the airport in the form of banners, wraps, spectaculars. They can be on the wall, as the overhead of escalators, in the rail system, inside the gate bridges, and even on the luggage carts. However, are all these supposedly 'eye catchy' billboard type of advertisements really getting the results they intend? From my own experiences and my observation, the answer is 'no'. Most travelers probably don't even remember the very last advertisements they walked by a minute ago. The airports are so overloaded with these ads that they become as irrelevant as background color to the travelers. I did not see a single traveler who stops to look at these banners or spectaculars through my observations.
There are a few of these banners do catch my attention as they are more sensorial using color and design, such as the beach view on Chase's widescreen spectaculars that really brings the beach experience, however, majority of the ads are not so appealing and have no connection with the viewer whatsoever. If the new way to reach people is to create an experience with a powerful message, as Gobe says in his book, the marketers apparently miss the great opportunities airports offer in achieving that. Rather than pushing undifferentiated or unappealing ads at travelers with no interest of how they will use this information, marketers should seek for more interactive ways to reach the travelers that can actually create an emotional bond between the travelers and the brand.
One successful concept of experiential marketing is introduced by Zurich Land at Heathrow and Frankfurt airports in Europe. Passengers traveling through these airports benefit from the interactive stands as part of ZurichHelpPoint campaign, which provide passengers with customized advice, services and practical solutions to a range of travel-related queries. Among the many services provided are internet access, phone and laptop charging facilities, maps, and advice on restaurants and hotels. The general feedback is very positive from the traveler and the message of the campaign 'Zurich delivers when it matters' is well received.
One successful concept of experiential marketing is introduced by Zurich Land at Heathrow and Frankfurt airports in Europe. Passengers traveling through these airports benefit from the interactive stands as part of ZurichHelpPoint campaign, which provide passengers with customized advice, services and practical solutions to a range of travel-related queries. Among the many services provided are internet access, phone and laptop charging facilities, maps, and advice on restaurants and hotels. The general feedback is very positive from the traveler and the message of the campaign 'Zurich delivers when it matters' is well received.
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