SherpaBlog: Ads in Airports: Top 3 Ideas From India & Nepal

By Anne Holland, Content Director

Approximately 27 million Americans traveled over this past Thanksgiving holiday; and, all that time everyone spent standing in various lines (check-in, security, coffee, baggage claim) was pretty much a wasted marketing opportunity.

Aside from airline magazines and airport wall posters, very little marketing targets this captive audience, many of whom would be more than happy to seek a momentary mental escape. Here are my top three ideas based on my recent trip via India to Nepal, where I’m now living for the winter:

#1. Wi-Fi -- Although TradeinIndia.com sponsors all the baggage carts in the New Delhi airport and The Times of India’s email opt-in offers are promoted on huge billboards in the departure lounge, frustratingly, there’s no Wi-Fi, sponsored or otherwise, at that airport.

This may change soon. When Delhi officials invited potential sponsors to submit proposals to sponsor free Wi-Fi in several downtown locations, they were stunned at the deluge of more than two dozen would-be advertisers.

#2. Video monitors -- I didn’t mind long visa lines when we landed at Kathmandu’s International Airport because the gorgeous ads that played on oversized Samsung LCD monitors positioned around the room were a delight to watch ... and even hear. The ads, presented on a continuous five-minute loop, featured tasteful local background music and glowing shots of regional crafts, scenery, restaurants and retailers. It was all put together by a local advertising entrepreneur.

#3. DVDs -- Two of the airlines I took en route to Nepal offered free newspapers as you boarded the plane. Frankly, after sitting in waiting rooms for several hours beforehand, the last thing I wanted was yet another newspaper to read. But I would have been thrilled to get a free DVD.

Are you already sponsoring or creating compelling video content or an interactive game as a brand-building exercise? (For example: Grey Goose vodka’s ‘Iconoclasts’ TV series or Lunesta’s ‘The Art of the Story’ events.) Why not offer free DVDs to airline movie-weary travelers with PCs?

The point for all three of these ideas is not to bombard travelers with ads but, rather, to build a warmer relationship during a time when they are likely bored and a little exhausted. If you’ve already invested in entertaining content for your website, microsite, viral game or online video, why not repurpose this to make people’s trips a little more pleasant?

Like many women my age with a job and a family, I’m too busy in my regular life to pay attention to most sponsored websites or even regular TV shows. But when I’m traveling, I’m a captive and grateful audience. Reach me -- I’ll thank you for it.