It’s a quote from a focus group we conducted several years back that probed passenger spending habits at the airport. I’m sure it’s a sentiment with which we’re all familiar. We all behave differently when in that departure lounge compared to how we’d conduct ourselves in “everyday life”. We almost feel obliged to spend as part of the holiday/travel experience. Speaking personally, you’d rarely find me contemplating high-end Swiss watches in the jewellers of Bond Street, and yet that’s exactly what I found myself doing the other day on one of my fairly regular trips out to Heathrow. It’s still a special experience even for me, and, as you might imagine, I’m there more often than most.

All of which perhaps goes to explain why retail at the airport is bucking the economic trend. We’re all aware of the squeeze that the economic downturn and corresponding VAT increase has put on our propensity to spend on the High St. We’re still spending of course, but only at or around the level we spent last year. And yet in the first six months of 2011 recently released figures from BAA show that our spending in the shops at Heathrow has increased by a staggering 16% year on year. If anyone ever needed evidence to support the fact that airport behaviour is different then they should look no further. And anyone involved in marketing brands on sale at the airport should look very closely indeed.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

There's an interesting article in a recent Marketing Week on luxury retail at airports. At a time when we're all supposedly tightening our belts and still reeling from government cuts, rising fuel and food costs, and distant memories of payrises it perhaps comes as no surprise that we're spending less on the High Street. And yet recent research from BDRC Continental suggests that airport retail sales will increase by an average of 6 percentage points a year between 2008 and 2012. So clearly there's something about the airport experience that makes us behave differently from the more routine way we shop in "everyday life". One of our focus group participants once said "At the airport I feel like a millionaire". Now presumably this respondent wasn't talking about the way they felt on the 06.20 from Heathrow to Edinburgh, but the fact remains that 68% of airport users spend money at the airport, and 6% spend it on luxury items. So that's 4 million luxury purchasers a year at Heathrow, the airport that, for the second year running, has just scooped the "Best Global Airport for Shopping Award". 11,000 people every day spending on high value items in retailers such as Tiffany, Bulgari, Cartier, and Chanel.
 
Our AER research tells us that our frame of mind is very different in airports. They're exciting, visual and innovative places - portals to many of most memorable experiences we'll ever enjoy. And this clearly has a bearing on our purchase behaviour. For 51 weeks of the year we'd never dream of browsing on Bond Street, but in that lounge we're moving in a different world. We are high-flyers, and for the 90 minutes before we're called to the gate we'll behave accordingly!

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

In the six months since taking on the role of Marketing Director at JCDecaux Airport I’ve noticed there’s a tendency to think that “business flying”, “luxury retail”, and Heathrow Airport are synonymous – and of course, to a degree, they are.  Heathrow is the world’s number 1 international airport, with 23 million passengers flying annually on business. But Heathrow does not have the monopoly on UK business travel just as the South-East of England doesn't have the monopoly on successful UK businesses.  Recently posted figures from BAA show that in October passengers through Edinburgh Airport rose 3.5 percent to 854,000 - the encouraging performance attributable at least in part to an increase in business traffic. Over half of all Edinburgh airport users are social class AB, making it every bit as viable a business proposition as Heathrow’s four terminals. In addition, the airport is currently benefiting from a huge degree of investment in the lounge areas, transforming the environment into a location reminiscent in many ways of Heathrow Terminal 5 with its exceptional retail concessions.  This has been accompanied by a corresponding upgrade in the luxury retail proposition. In the last week alone World Duty Free (WDF) has opened three new stand-alone stores at the airport – Jo Malone, MAC and Sunglasses.

Edinburgh Airport Managing Director Kevin Brown says: "The response from passengers on the way the new departure lounge is developing is fantastic. Key to this is the range of high quality retailers including the new additions from WDF. We're committed to giving our passengers a great choice of routes and great airport in which to start their journeys. Working in partnership with WDF allows us to go a long way to achieving that."

This is surely yet another a sign that at long last we’re emerging from the grip of what has been a painful economic recession, and the fact that these developments are UK-wide and not just focused on the affluent South East are clearly cause for great optimism as we move towards 2011.

- Steve Cox 22nd November 2010

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

It never ceases to amaze me how easily media owners forget what they’re really selling. TV sales companies talking about two minute ads, magazine sales companies enthusing about the fabulous colour reproduction of their DPS opportunities, cinema companies waxing lyrical about HD projection or 3D. And of course in the world of outdoor media sales we’ve been as guilty as the next salesman – maybe more so? For decades we’ve spent fortunes on improving the quality of our panels, and rightly broadcasting this quality to advertisers and their agencies.

But let’s not forget that the panels aren’t the product. What we’re selling is access to an audience, and the potential to influence what’s going on in their heads. The panels are the means to this end, but the end is the audience. These people are exactly the target group with whom the advertiser is trying to connect, and we can deliver them in a frame of mind susceptible to the message being communicated.

For us at JCDecaux Airport our audience is affluent, educated, and exclusive flyers, many of them flying on business. Which is why it’s hugely encouraging to see this audience increasing. In October BAA Ltd posted a 3.4% increase in total passenger numbers, boosted by a recovery in the level of business travel. This was driven by a 7.2% increase at Heathrow. Key routes with substantial increases included Geneva up 59.9%, Milan up 30.1%, Moscow up 27.5% and Berlin up 25.6%.  Long haul trips between Heathrow and China and Hong Kong increased by 16.1%, up by 23,000 from 150,000 to 173,000.

We’re working hard to make sure our panels are as effective as possible at engaging the business flyer – but it’s the flyers that are the product, not the panels. So it’s great to see this increase in the value of our product.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

It can’t have escaped anyone’s attention that recent years have seen an explosion of what might be called “non-traditional” media. Online, experiential, word-of-mouth and a variety of other new communications channels have proliferated offering an alternative to the display advertising that has dominated our media world for decades. New media have emerged, and so-called old-media have expanded their offering to incorporate appropriate elements of the new. As arguably the oldest of the old media outdoor is no exception to this trend. At its most straightforward (and often most effective) outdoor offers a truly effective platform to build brands through highly visible display advertising.

The recent study from the OAA “Outdoor builds brands” proves this beyond a shadow of a doubt. However, we also increasingly offer the opportunity to augment this branding power with experiential activity, interactivity, or even sponsorship. At JCDecaux Airport we’re currently taking to market a truly spectacular advertising and sponsorship opportunity – the chance to brand the Heathrow Express trains. This could incorporate external train wraps, internal branding, and on-board wifi sponsorship. With over 5 million global businessmen using the service annually the basic branding opportunity is undeniable – it’s what outdoor does so well. But by becoming part of the transport system infrastructure an advertiser also has the opportunity to benefit by association with the brand values of Heathrow Express itself – whether that’s speed, certainty, professionalism, or any of the other many strong associations that come with this successful global business brand. It’s truly an Impact advertising proposition, but one that comes with a whole extra layer of potentially positive brand associations.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

A good example of the synergy between Online and Airport appeared in today’s Marketing magazine http://bit.ly/aNJfCK.  

 RBS are seeking to promote their “semantic website” which offers their customers a personalised online experience by tailoring webpages to their individual needs.

To illustrate a relevant business environment that offers a personal experience, it is interesting to see an image of the Heathrow Express RBS Train Wrap had been selected.  This train sponsorship shows how global finance brands are continuing to look for association with services that offer a premium experience by "owning" a real-time, non-virtual environment.

Through this coveted attribute of "experience" and real-time interaction, Airports can promote positive engagement and therefore brand consideration.   And further interesting to see RBS, a continuing advertiser with JCDecaux Airport on Heathrow Express, now developing the interactivity of their website in order to "strengthen relationships with existing customers" - (prospective) customers that Heathrow Express easily reaches.   

Experience and therefore engagement, it would seem, are becoming increasingly important for brand health.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

Some would argue that it’s not enough these days to use standard format advertising and that there are increasingly new ways to showcase your brand through innovative experiential campaigns.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

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

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

JCDecauxAirport teamed up with Burger King to conduct a proximity marketing trial campaign at London Luton Airport. This was part of an ongoing JCDecaux Airport project to develop this Bluetooth technology for use in outdoor advertising. This campaign allowed the opportunity for airport visitors to receive 15% off their Burger King meals at the airport. By activating their Bluetooth and accepting an invitation from the fast food outlet, passengers could then enjoy this discount within the campaign dates. Starting on the 17^th of December and finishing on the 16^th of January this campaign saw a massive response in the airport. The Burger King Voucher has been downloaded by 2,265 passengers from just one 6 sheet (site 660) - approximately 75 downloads a day, proving that the airport can easily outperform other outdoor environments.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

“… when I spend money (or eat food) in an airport it bears no reaction to money (or calories) in the real world. In fact when credit card statements come in after a holiday or trip, I often stare at them with an incredulity that never fades…” 

 - Dawn Porter, Stylist magazine

It’s an experience everybody’s familiar with. You’ve arrived at the airport, whisked yourself through check-in and security and now find yourself with a few hours to spare. In this situation, there’s only one natural reaction: shop.

Since its opening in March 2008, Heathrow Terminal 5 has established itself as something of a retail Mecca. Where else can you find high end retailers such as Gucci, Prada, Paul Smith and Mulberry and jewellery specialists like Tiffany & Co. and Mappin & Webb all within touching distance of one another – in an airport?

On top of all this, T5 also acts as a gateway to the rest of the world. People travelling to luxury events such as Basel World are constantly passing through. Taking place between the 18^th and 25^th March, Basel World is the one of the most renowned events in fashion, attracting over 2000 leading luxury companies and over 100,000 visitors. So when TAG Heuer wanted to target affluent fashionistas, only one advertising venue made sense.

TAG’s last minute, short-term 4 day advertising campaign on Terminal 5’s Digital Airport Panels goes live today, and will ensure their brand is engaging with key industry professionals and the high AB profile passenger that T5 delivers in droves. For TAG, this will help guarantee not only brand recognition but also provide the perfect point of sale environment.

Whether travelling on business or taking a holiday, the airport is a place where people become more relaxed, more receptive to advertising and more willing to splash the cash. The concept of saving money temporarily goes out the window and we often feel, not to mention spend, like we are millionaires!

When asked about watches, the Heathrow business passenger said… 

• “A watch can say so much about your success as a business person”
• “The quality of the watch you wear is like the car you drive. It says something about the caliber of the person you are”
• “My style, my statement…my attitude” 

Capturing passengers in a receptive frame of mind…

• 27% “Often treat myself to expensive goods at the airport” 
• 44% “Like to look at watches at the airport”
• 58% “often browse the luxury goods shops at the airport”

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

We have decided to take advantage of the growth of social media, and share with you our views, news, marketing and any other interesting airport information!

With 2010 marking the start of a new decade, Twitter seemed the obvious choice to communicate to you what’s new in Airport advertising. Staff from all areas of JCDecaux Airport will be contributing to this blog, keeping you updated on our thoughts and views and any upcoming events, research pieces and marketing. Heading up the blog is our Marketing Director Richard Malton, updating us on current Marketing projects, ground-breaking research and events. Alan Sullivan, Sales Director will be logging-on to showcase exciting opportunities across our whole JCDecaux Airport portfolio. Kevin Miller knows it all when it comes to airport research; and last (but by no means least!) Jess MacIntyre our Marketing Executive will be adding in all the Airport extras!

Our main focus in creating this blog is to create a conversation with everyone we work alongside with. We see this as crucial in looking forward and your opinions really are important to us. We are looking forward to interacting in an innovative (and hopefully!) useful way.

That’s all for now – hope you follow our blog and you will be hearing from us very soon!

Permalink | Leave a comment  »