Luxury brand websites have seen an explosion of activity and development over the last 12 months, as reported in Marketing magazine this week…(http://bit.ly/bkEbzm).  Perhaps the culmination of this trend was Chanel in January being the first couture house to offer its products through their online portal, soon to be followed by Marc Jacobs later this year (http://bit.ly/9nYYKt).

The premise of these increasingly sophisticated websites, such as Faberge’s 24-hour “staffed” interactive site, is to create a hybrid “environment”, somewhere between a simulated retail experience (using virtual and augmented reality) and an online store.

The Airport is a real-time multimedia environment, attracting high-end passengers seeking key luxury products & retail, business lounges, interactive media & bespoke services.  The multiplicity of activities available on some luxury portals has elevated them to something approaching the complexity and luxury of the Airport environment.  

As the range of interaction in Airport is experienced in real-time (sometimes across international time-zones), and with proven high mental alertness (or “arousal”*) greater engagement and call-to action is guaranteed…  

*Airport Ethnographic Research 2007