Airport Advertising

Airport advertising represents a chance to communicate to a captive audience.

This means that airports (both local and international) are increasingly popular areas that advertisers are choosing, targeting business travellers and holidaymakers. The waiting times and lack of activity involved in being at an airport mean that these travellers are often open to prolonged exposure to adverts whilst they’re excited and preparing for new experiences.

It is a fairly new marketing medium, but one that enjoys success amongst a variety of socio-economic demographics. Airport advertising also allows exposure to new audiences that wouldn’t necessarily experience your brand in their day-to-day lives, as well as frequent flyers. This means that airport advertisements can help grow your business and brand in a new direction, and market it to people who may otherwise be unreachable at other times of the year.

At Billboard Advertising, we offer various advertising options at airports across the UK and internationally. Contact us to learn more.

What is Airport Advertising?

Airport advertising is simply marketing to travellers and workers at airport terminals.

Airports present a great many outdoor advertising forms and options for brands to convey their marketing messages to a captive audience. The size and ‘blank canvas’ nature of airport structures allow for adverts on many surfaces, both inside and outside the terminal buildings, including walkways, toilets, escalators, car parks, and more.

For more information, read on or send us a message, and one of our team will contact you.

What Are The Benefits of Airport Advertising For My Company?

There are many benefits to this form of advertising; mainly, it engages passengers during long periods of waiting. They are, therefore, extremely open-minded and susceptible to marketing messages.

Most travellers need to be in an airport for at least two hours, with at least half of this time free before they must queue at a gate for departure. During this time, the in-terminal activities come at a premium: luxury shops and expensive or over-priced restaurants do well, even with those travelling on a budget.

As many are waiting around for prolonged periods, airport adverts present a welcome distraction from boredom.

This allows for brands to really benefit by filling this time with a clear call to action and preferably some kind of interaction to engage the consumer truly.

Messaging within airports should remain consistent enough with your company’s branding so that it is easily recognisable (even if this is a consumer’s first view of you, to identify you again later on when they see further marketing messages) but clarity is key: as many of your audience may not have English as their first language. There is a fine line to be drawn between ‘dumbing down’ and patronising, and remaining accessible to as many people as possible. Our marketing experts can help you with this, keeping your messaging on point but easily understandable and with a clear call to action where required.

make an enquiry today

What is the Cost of Airport Advertising

The costs of ads in airports changes depending upon various factors as outlined below:

The time/season
The cycle of a campaign
Type of advert

Holiday seasons generally cost more since the adverts will get maximum exposure.

Additionally, the cost will generally be higher if you keep the ads up for a long time (increased cycle). However, ads placed during busy periods are a great way to promote products and services to a mass audience quickly.

Smaller airports normally have fewer options than larger, but larger may require repeat adverts to be posted.

The management company of advertising space and placements within an airport depends on who owns the airport and how they have chosen to approach their marketing and revenue strategy. This does, unfortunately, mean that every airport is different, but we can manage these relationships for you and make sure your placements and locations are spot-on.

For a more in-depth analysis of the cost of outdoor ads in general, read here.

Airport Marketing Options - A Full Range To Consider

Advertising in airports comes in many forms, with lots of options for you to choose from. These include, but are by no means limited to:

Poster-boards inside terminal buildings
Digital advertising boards inside terminal buildings
Poster-boards or billboards outside of terminal buildings
Digital advertising boards outside of terminal buildings
Poster advertising in public toilets
Escalator ‘wrapping’
Walkway ‘wrapping’
Lift and elevator ‘wrapping’
Printing on airline tickets
Hanging boards from the ceiling.

The large size of these adverts gives a sense of prestige to brands who use them, elevating them to a platform alongside household names and ‘big’ brands.

Target Audience and Creative Advertising Options - Stand Out!

The approach you take should be determined by the audience and your marketing campaign, and not just by your budget. We will be able to advise you on which platforms will work best for your brand and campaign, ensuring your message is delivered as effectively as possible.

For example, airport walkway ads can convey longer messages than standard posters, making them suitable for a more technical or complex brand. For a swifter and more easily read message, airport terminal advertising can work just as well and better repeat, reiterate and reinforce a brand.

There’s also the freedom to get creative with your advertising and stand out from the crowd when utilising airport terminal advertising, so your visions of innovative and outrageous marketing messages can come to fruition!

We can manage your campaign from start to finish, from designing your initial concept to delivering a lucrative campaign that gives a great return on marketing investment and promotes your business positively.

Frequently Asked Questions

"How much does it cost to advertise in an airport?" Costs naturally vary depending on the advertising opportunities you are looking to pursue, the size of the airport, and the time of year. With its ability to hit business travellers and holidaymakers, it's worth thinking about your target market to maximise your return on investment.
"Is there a minimum spend?" There isn't and we can put a few costed ideas together to give you an idea on what you can achieve.
"Which companies and industries use airport advertising - is it just big brands?" No, it's not, airport advertising is used by a wide range of industries, although it is popular with luxury brands and global brands, as all recognise these.

Airport Advertising - Summary and Final Thoughts

A modern form of out-of-home advertising that takes advantage of consumers whilst they’re in one place for a long time with only expensive distractions available, marketing in airports strikes while consumers are feeling open-minded and prepared for new experiences. Many millions of passengers can be exposed to a range of advertising opportunities.

The large number of options available to marketers in airports allows for the freedom to try and error in finding the most valuable marketing method. It also allows for the opportunity to get creative and try new branding strategies.