With the pandemic shattering all hope of close contact and socializing, most people have been unable to travel for nearly two years.    

But now experts suggest that the number of active Covid-19 cases and the decline during the holiday season make them addicted to "retaliatory travel" and fly across the border to reunite with their loved ones and spend their much-needed holiday.    

The common sentiment of passengers has led to an absurd increase in air traffic at the airport. This gives the brand an opportunity to increase its influence, thereby increasing investment in airport advertising.    

However, with the return of travel, we have seen increased waiting times, long queues at airport counters, flight delays, and overall chaos, which may eventually make travelers feel uneasy. They may not have the best thinking space to view many innovations and Ads displayed by the brand.    

Will this phenomenon guarantee a brand’s active brand recall or sales conversion?    

Times OOH Chief Strategy Officer Aman Nanda explained: “Currently, domestic passengers arrive nearly 120 minutes before the flight departure time, while international passengers stay for more than 240 minutes.. For some destinations such as the UAE, due to the rapid RT-PCR at the airport. According to the new regulations, passengers must arrive at the airport nearly 360 minutes before flight departure."  

Experts agree that the increase in stay time will undoubtedly allow brands to compete for airport advertisements, hoping to be seen by countless waiting passengers.    

Ambi Parameswaran, founder of Brand-Building.com, believes that long waiting times are both a blessing and a curse for brands advertising at airports and airport stores. "Waiting time may help sell more goods, but it may also cause empty browsing by passengers who have to pass the time," he added.    

Airport advertising boarding Nanda pointed out that under the new normal, the brand has been very active in airport advertising. He shared that the domestic passenger flow of Mumbai, Kolkata, Indore, Trichy and Coimbatore airports in October increased by 200% compared to June 2021. Srivastava said that he listed an important reason for brands to consider placing advertisements in the air. "Given the beautiful and safe environment and non-contact processes currently provided by airports, air transportation is regarded as the cleanest and fastest after the pandemic. How to commute."  

Times OOH also revealed that it has many channels that brands are interested in, especially after the festival.    

Speaking of how well India’s Volkswagen passenger cars perform in airport advertising, its marketing director Abbey Thomas claimed that the brand has actively increased its influence, especially at Mumbai and New Delhi airports, as it has witnessed more influx Passenger travel. However, the brand is currently focusing on outdoor venues outside the airport. Although most professionals attribute the interest rate hike to the festival, Laqshya Media CEO Atul Shrivastava believes that the prosperity indicator started even before the festival. "Diwali brings an increase in airport consumption. As part of the "Diwali Shopping Festival" held at most airports, many retail stores offer good discounts. In terms of numbers, we have reached the pre-epidemic period. 80-90% of the level," he said. The importance of OOH in the media portfolio of marketers is a key component of Apollo Tyres' 360-degree communication. The brand positions large websites as touch points to connect with its target audience. Satish Sharma, President of Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, shared that his brand created an iconic website that attracted the greatest attention from domestic and international flyers. Volkswagen also continues to regard airport advertising as a key area of ​​its marketing strategy. In explaining this strategy, Thomas said: “It is possible to attract passengers by placing advertisements in more prominent locations such as rest areas, after security checks, food courts or near the boarding gate, and increase brand recall.”    

However, Parameswaran pointed out that one of the consequences of this phenomenon may be the overcrowding of airport lounges for business class passengers. He said: "If it can be postponed, some passengers may want to postpone their travel plans. Another ripple effect is the pressure of leisure international travel." Srivastava is convinced that airport advertising should be an integral part of any media mix. He added: “After the pandemic, considering the beautiful and safe environment and non-contact processes that airports now provide, air transportation is regarded as the cleanest and fastest way to commute, so it becomes even more important.” Nanda also said, It is an unparalleled media option that provides visibility and interactivity that other formats cannot provide. Atin Gupta, Managing Director of Atin OOH, added: “Airline advertising is unique, binding, and measurable, allowing you to communicate with high-net-worth audiences. It is always an important combination, especially for certain Some brand categories, such as automobiles, real estate, consumer durables, travel, etc. Some brands only focus on aviation advertising in outdoor spaces." Innovation beyond ordinary advertising According to Sharma, simple display advertising at airports will not work because it will cause Chaos, so Apollo focuses on breakthrough innovation. He said: "We prefer innovative installations in which we can highlight our products. Having said that, we are still willing to accept the idea of ​​innovative advertising solutions in airports." He added that for low participation like Apollo Tires In the category of degrees, innovative installations that allow products to be fully displayed have the best effect. "This is why you see large tire installations at Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai airports. This is our long-term-unchanged term approach." Srivastava explained that although billboards continue to provide brand credibility, kiosks It is driven by the rate of return on investment. However, he acknowledged that the airport is a great place for innovation. He cited examples of brands such as Himalaya Health and Flipkart, where the former is developing a management plan to use all "baby feeding rooms" at airports for mothers travelling with babies. At the same time, the latter embarked on the programmed dOOH route to encourage passengers waiting at the airport to participate in its "big sale." However, Gupta believes that most brands are looking for traditional options that they believe are the safest. He said: “We have seen brand inquiries, especially inquiries about airline digital media and celebration of holidays. We believe that from January 2022, it will be fruitful.” The brand recall waiting for passengers should be asked. And how the airport timetable allows passengers to remember the advertisements they have seen, experts suggest that it will be a 50:50 mix of negative and positive brands. Speaking of the positive, Gupta said, “Brands can communicate with target customers in a relaxed captive environment.” However, he also said that some brands will rush due to the sudden influx of passengers, while others Will stay away because of distrust of passengers' ability to notice and absorb information. Depending on the nature of the advertisement, it is captured in the passenger's context or semantic memory, thereby affecting brand or product recalls, according to Thomas. Parameswaran ruled that in this case, the brand could do little, except to ensure that their display would not trigger a negative reaction.    

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