Airport Branding. Creating a Sense of Place in Airports
Times when airports were just faceless transport nods with an efficient processing of passengers and baggage as their prime “raison d’etre” are passé. Today airports are becoming destinations in their own right, quickly rethinking the whole concept of transportation customer experience and treating travelers, business and leisure, as their guests. New generation of airports heavily invests in the destination concept recognizing a new reality determined by social changes and technological evolution. The role of customer experience in the airport’s value chain has grown exponentially in the last decade.
Today airports are complex transport and service ecosystems comprised of a wide variety of stakeholders with a clear understanding that a seamless and stress free travel experience opens a wide window of opportunities for non-aeronautical revenues. Research shows that calm and unstressed passengers are willing to spend more of their time and money in the airports.
No one argues that efficient and safe services, related to the journey itself, remain the top priority. Airports are heavily investing in new technologies towards more automated processes which are able to offer speed and convenience (remote check-ins, electronic passports and bag tags etc.) as well as advanced management solutions such as queue management. Dublin Airport has recently started displaying the queue time through the security search, which will help passengers to manage their time better.
The huge chunk of future revenues, to be shared between the service providers and airlines, comes from a new demand driven by the future’s passengers needs: sense of belonging to a community and minimised anxiety from passenger routine. These findings have recently lead to rethinking of the whole airport experience.
State of art swimming pool and top notch gym facilities, golf courses and skating rinks, museums and exhibitions, haute cuisine restaurants or immaculate shopping areas — you don’t need to be a passenger anymore to experience the diverse airport offering and you are even not meant to be. Airports are actively evolving their “destination” status with all its visitors treated now as guests regardless their purpose of visit.
Photo: Christmas market in Munich Airport
The evolving “destination” status helps to validate airport’s essential impact on local economies and to strengthen airports’ role as an important place stakeholder. Furthermore “Airport City” status and attraction of new customers are calling for completely new marketing measures which can be naturally developed under place branding umbrella of the local destination.
Creating a sense of place in the airport is a popular concept as airports are the natural gateways and a first point of contact with the local destination for the majority of visitors. Showcasing the local essence through design and creating a feeling of physical and social connection with surroundings are some of the points helping to celebrate the place atmosphere.
Recent Amadeus Survey showed that by the year 2025 56% of the airport visitors will vote for further personalisation of the airports and for creating of more culturally sensitive and authentic experience tied to the location.
Airports are really great places to exhibit the local values and the spirit of destination. Scandinavian airports promote local values through creating a memorable experience using local design and motives — airport services, retail and F&B concepts tie in with current national trends such as “Sense of Place”, “The Sharing Economy”, “Sustainability” and “Transient Spaces”.
The decoration of the Relaxation Area at Helsinki Vantaa Airport reflects elements of Finnish nature, such as ice and snow.
Gastronomy has always been one of the strongest trademarks of Denmark. Nordic Dining concept is reflected through the whole Kastrup Copenhagen Airport’s F&B offering and presented on every level from Foodmarket deli to a Michelin-level pop-up restaurant, giving travellers a taste of the very best of what Copenhagen and Denmark have to offer.
Tallinn airport would top the list of the world cosiest airports if there was one. With the passenger turnover of nearly 2 mln Tallinn airport community comprising 2000 workers takes customer satisfaction seriously declaring it as one of its main values.
The sole shareholder of AS Tallinn Airport is the Republic of Estonia, which has set an objective to the Tallinn airport to be an example for Estonian companies in terms of good management, corporate social responsibility and outstanding business culture.
Indianapolis International Airport, named the best in North America for the four consecutive years, created a sense of place inside the Colonel H Weir Cook Terminal. Civic Plaza, an ample space with curved ceilings and glass walls is a perfect stage for installations by local artists, jazz performances supporting the local Indy Jazz Fest and race cars exhibition promoting the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The new Terminal building is also a remarkable example of a sustainable airport building. The roof has channels for the rainwater collection with water further used inside the terminal. Construction of the terminal recycled 7.000 tons of old taxiway and roadway material by using it as site fill. More than 90 percent of the materials came from within a 500-mile radius of the site. A natural convection heating and cooling system is projected to save 21 percent in energy usage by only supplying cool air to the space occupied by passengers.
Article was first published in the Place Brand Observer, international place branding thinktank
