Centerlines - April 2008 - (Page 22) REVENUE ARENA and reach out to corporations that make sense and have them sponsor whatever’s appropriate: recycling stations, blood pressure stands, art walls, a business center. Look for a sponsor that adds services and amenities in exchange for brand presence—and pays for that privilege. “Be willing to bring your advertising contractor in and explore ideas,” urged Forsythe. “A perfect example—when it’s time to renegotiate your ATM contracts, include an advertising element where the provider has to buy an ad package as well. Package it as part of your bid process. The financial institutions want the ATM contract, but have lots of other services they can advertise to your traveler. It means departments in your airport that don’t typically work with your ad contractor will have to think outside the box with you, but in the end its solid revenue from a reliable, longterm source.” Forsythe offered one cautionary note: be certain that your advertising contractor knows how to sell branding or sponsorship packages. “Because they are likely going to be working with a division of a corporation or ad agency that isn’t within the day-to-day media buying area, you can’t go in and sell these packages like you sell the tried and true backlit advertising packages.” Instead, let the airport’s representative or display advertising contractor be creative. Will that space accommodate a floor display of some sort in front of the backlit sign? Will you allow product sampling or interactive elements? interactive, or sampling, it doesn’t do any good to install the advertisements if there is no one there to see it. Then, understand that one location with heavy foot traffic can be great for a non-interactive display area, but interactive needs to be where people dwell. Be flexible—can the approved location be moved to better meet everyone’s needs? Don’t create a bottleneck, but let the advertiser have access to customers, or they won’t come and won’t pay premium dollars. John Hatanaka, the deputy executive director of Bob Hope Airport, worked with Alliance to create a unique “first” in Burbank. Vegas. com understood the value of the air traveler as a target audience. The entertainment broker wanted to go beyond advertising to the outbound Las Vegas traveler, and offer concierge services. This amenity was placed in an unused area in the concourse, between two gates that were used extensively for Vegas outbound and inbound flights. Vegas.com designed and built a booth that is staffed during peak hours, or operated via a computerized site in slower periods. Reservations are made for shows, rooms and entertainment while the traveler waits for his flight. “This was an advertising buy that included signage in the airport plus the desk,” explained Hatanaka. “It didn’t fit into the typical concessions contract mold, or the typical advertising mold. By charging a set price for the entire package [booth and signage] we coordinated the tenant approval process and construction process much as with the signage build outs. We worked through a few unusual details, and were able to bring far more revenue per square foot than would have been possible with a retail or food concession in that particular area. In exchange, we offered a category exclusive to the entertainment firm.” Wishing Won’t Make It So Be realistic. Just because one airport gets a certain amount of revenue, it might—or might not—be the same for other airports with the same passenger count. Connecting hub versus origin and destination (O&D), passenger profiles, key feeder markets and demographics all play a part in the formula. “Printing on the backs of parking tickets can be great in markets with a high volume of locals parking on airport, but fails miserably at a hub airport or an O&D with the emphasis on ‘D&O’,” Forsythe said. “Targeting locals, a restaurant or attraction might put a discount or offer on the stub the traveler retains. Additional advertising signage should be packaged to promote the offer within the airport and build awareness of the program. Don’t be afraid to package it up in one ad buy.” Another up-and-coming revenue source is sponsorship of free WiFi in airports that have launched a free service. The trend appears that more and more airports are going to move to free service, as municipalities do and as travelers carry devices that don’t need an airport’s service. But free might not result in lost revenue. Package up a sponsored Wi-Fi program and replace connection fees with sponsorship dollars. The world of advertising has changed tremendously in the past few years. Our society is geared to touch, feel, interact and get immediate feedback or information like never before. Advertisers scramble constantly, looking for bigger, better and more effective ways to get their message— their brand, their product, their service—to the public. “I want to break out of the clutter” is a mantra. Yet, if not done right, the goal of breaking out of the clutter can in fact, create more clutter. There’s revenue and satisfying partnerships to be made. Just be flexible. It’s All About Eyeballs Another pitfall on the airport’s part is offering up dead space that is tucked away and not in the pedestrian flow. The rule is simple: advertisers want to be in front of eyeballs. Whether static, digital, 22 CENTERLINES | APRIL 2008 http://Vegas.com
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