August 17, 2023 | Blogs

From origin to destination, take advantage of Hivestack’s enhanced audience targeting in airports

Airports are central hubs for passenger transport and represent distinctive and exclusive environments, boasting unparalleled advantages for engaging audiences both in terms of location and context.

Airports are central hubs for passenger transport and represent distinctive and exclusive environments, boasting unparalleled advantages for engaging audiences both in terms of location and context.

In the US alone, there are 19 major air carriers with gross operating revenues above one billion USD, and 44 more air carriers, which haul goods and passengers across the US airspace. In 2022, some 178 million passengers were forecast to travel to or from the United States, representing a 79.8% increase year-over-year compared to 2021 passenger traffic estimates. When it comes to reaching audiences outside of the home, airports provide the perfect, premium canvas for brands to make authentic connections with contextually relevant messages.  

Within airport premises, there are a number of smaller environments that offer lucrative opportunities for brands hoping to engage with uniquely focused audiences that have every intention to meander and enjoy their dwell time. High impact digital out of home (DOOH) screens are strategically placed to captivate audiences at key moments of their journey whether they are strolling through Duty Free shopping, eating in restaurants, relaxing in premium lounges or waiting for their bags at the arrivals carousel. Leveraging the power of a data-driven strategy gives brands the power to take advantage of these otherwise empty moments and attract attention. 

Each environment within an airport presents unique opportunities. In Business and First Class lounges, for example, travelers have more space and time which presents an advantageous avenue for promoting high-end luxury or cutting-edge tech products. With supercharged customer travel insights at their fingertips, brands can optimize campaigns in real time. Unique travel data available within Hivestack’s suite of enhanced targeting solutions, including:

  • Flight path / route

  • Origin country

  • Destination country

  • Cabin class

  • Currency

  • Number of passengers in a party (broken into adult, student, child, infant)

  • Browser information (desktop, tablet, mobile phone)

Departure lounges, where travelers spend significant time en-route, open up unique possibilities for brand exposure and engagement within an airport setting and are the perfect location for custom-tailored creatives that brands can deliver in real-time based on predetermined environmental factors or specific events. This includes utilizing live flight and weather information to strategically time marketing initiatives and capitalize on dynamic creative opportunities. For example, a family of four might have been busy packing sunscreen, beach toys and shorts preparing for a trip of a lifetime to Bali not to realize that the forecast has changed and they are due to arrive in a tropical thunderstorm. Armed with real time weather data combined with the unique audience travel insights, a wet weather gear brand can optimize against this information to serve an ad for its new rain poncho line as this audience travels past its airport point of sale. It’s a win for the brand and a win for the family of four who can now stay dry upon arrival: “You’re headed to Bali. We hope you brought your rain poncho, it will be raining when you land." Meanwhile, arrivals and baggage claim areas offer distinct settings that enable incoming travelers to be exposed to local brands and adaptable, dynamic advertising campaigns. Implementing impactful campaigns with a focus on the audience's needs has never been more streamlined. 

Opportunities extend outside the four walls of an airport and often before passengers even book their travel. A leading Canadian airline, recently opened up a direct flight path from Vancouver to Bangkok and wanted to spread awareness amongst key airline audiences and international business travelers. Activating billboards at key locations in and around Vancouver, the popular choice for Canadian travelers secured over 2.4M bonus impressions, smashing its targets and driving success for its new direct route to Thailand. In Winter of 2022, the Alps experienced extreme, heavy snowfall and capitalizing on this, a UK package holiday company leveraged programmatic DOOH to deliver ads in real-time when the snow was falling to spread excitement of a ski holiday during everyday moments such as when audiences were waiting for a train or stuck in traffic.

Advertisers can effortlessly launch campaigns across multiple screens and airport locations, even across different territories, leveraging user-friendly, data-driven tools within a single platform. This approach ensures maximum efficiency in reaching diverse airport audiences. 

With industry-leading audience targeting solutions across over 103,000 screens in over 47 different airport environments globally, Hivestack can reach 262.9B monthly impressions.

Advertising in airports presents an unparalleled opportunity for brands to engage with exclusive audiences, exploit unique airport settings, and deploy data-driven strategies for maximum impact. By employing a strategic and dynamic approach, advertisers can make the most of this premium environment and effectively convey their message to the right people at the right time.