As expected, air travel is up and continuing to grow. Statista forecasts North American air traffic/passenger growth will increase 2.7% annually through 2040 – and that’s the lowest global regional forecast. Some parts of the world anticipate nearly double that rate of increase.
In a recent blog, we noted that various industry sources predicted 2022 alone would see:
- 80% of Americans traveling by the end of the summer, half of them taking at least one flight-based trip
- A 6x increase in American travel to Europe compared to 2021
- Conferences and events driving a significant increase in business travel
Marketers are racing to take advantage of airport advertising opportunities
Excitement is so high that 22% of advertisers started investing in OOH specifically so their brand could take advantage of increasing opportunities to meet up with their target audience at the airport.
However, three-quarters of marketers fear that demand might outstrip inventory availability by the end of this year. That’s a legitimate concern, considering industry-watchers predicted last November that airport inventory would sell out over the winter as “brands bet big on a busy Christmas travel period.”
At that time, digital ads, particularly programmatic DOOH, were popular with airport advertisers thanks to the flexibility of easy scheduling and lack of required lead time compared to traditional static placements. Those benefits continue to make DOOH a good choice for airport advertisers.
There’s an airport just right for your ads
Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International airport may be the “Times Square” of airports (it is, in fact, the largest airport in the world), but there are 503 commercial airports in the US. So whether your brand advertises globally, nationally or hyper-locally, there’s an airport ideally situated to help tell your story.
Advertising at airports (or along travel routes to and from these locations) reaches virtually every type of desirable audience:
- Consumers with money to spend on leisure travel
- Business travelers
- Conference and event-goers (and continues to reach them when they go home)
That makes airports ideal no matter your marketing goal. Advertising can:
- Boost brand or product awareness
- Drive website traffic
- Inspire social media engagement
- Generate leads
- Trigger immediate sale
There are almost limitless ways to advertise in and around the airport
The very nature of airports provides a wealth of venues to connect with travelers as they arrive, walk, wait and depart. You can advertise overhead, on the walls, on the floor or on free-standing displays.
Airports accommodate all sizes of static and digital ads from enormous wallscapes and billboards to small screens in restaurants, bars, kiosks and even in-flight.
People actually like OOH and the brands that use it
According to a recent global consumer survey conducted by JCDecaux, airport advertising outranks online display, social media, TV and press advertising in both perceived value and prestige.
Nearly 8 in 10 brands plan to increase their OOH investment over the coming 12 months. Not only at airports, of course, but it stands to reason that with air traffic expected to increase steadily for the foreseeable future, airport OOH advertising will continue to be a hot commodity.