The Importance of Airport Brand – Branding your Airport

Susan Bond

Queensland Airports Ltd

December 2013

Executive Summary

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the importance of developing an airport brand, and the importance of its position in the market for both visitors and locals. The airport brand needs to be innovative and flexible to allow it to communicate to all stakeholders, both internal and external, locals and visitors, business to business and to the wider community. There are many advantages to developing a cohesive, leading brand which will be investigated throughout this paper, including the most innovative ideas for airport branding which speaks to each of these groups; this is not to move away from purely traditional means, however to offer an extension or progression of traditional brand ideas that add real value to aviation businesses.

Brands are important in a consumer market. They are the interface between consumers and the company, and consumers may then develop loyalty to these brands. Brand loyalty brings any company many benefits, including repeat purchases and recommendations of the brand to friends and relatives. But how does this translate to the airport businesses? While airlines are a primary service supplier to travel, airports are a secondary service supplier, by being the facilitation point to a destination. How necessary is it to clutter the environment with another branded message, when passengers are interested in the destination not the airport? I would suggest very important, there is very real financial value in airport brands, particularly for hub airports. Travellers are increasingly making their own travel arrangements with bespoke itineraries and plans. Travellers have long chosen their destinations and airlines, and now increasingly those choices are extending to airports. International route decisions often now consider the airport consumers hub through, and with international airlines aligning themselves with international hubs, the airport brand becomes synonymous with the airline brand.

Over the past 10 years there has been a step change in the way airports want to be perceived. No longer satisfied to be a facilitation point for passengers, leading airports now strive to be so much more; brand entities and destinations in their own right. Now containing market leading facilities of shopping centres, hotels, health and wellbeing retreats, valet parking services, - airports are fast becoming destinations.

This paper will present the importance of airport branding for destination gateways, competitive airports, when talking to the community, and through airlines. Investigating what needs to be offered in each market, what is currently being offered in each market, and how to take these airport brands to the next level with innovative branding ideas that leverage social media.

Understanding Brand

To understand branding, it is important to know what brands are. A brand is the idea or image of a specific product or service that consumers connect with, by identifying the name, logo, slogan, or design of the company. Successful branding is when that idea or image is marketed so well that it is recognisable to a diverse range of consumers, and identified with a certain service or product where there are other companies offering the same service or product. Branding is important not only to build corporate brand recognition, but also to build good reputations and a set of standards to which the company should strive to deliver. Branding allows companies to build their reputations as well as expand beyond the original product and service being offered.

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Taken further, branding should be the emotional response a business evokes in a customer.

Source: Branding Orlando Archives | M5 Design Studios, 2012

Historically airports have been seen as a facilitation point for the transport of people and goods from one city or country to another. This definition is now giving way to a much wider concept of the airport and the businesses, and communities that surround it, as a destination in their own right. The evolution of successful airports has been achieved with airports providing increased facilities and services, outside of pure aviation facilitation.

Airports are not the only facilitation centres that have moved to be branded entities. Shopping centres are another example of customer facilitation points with high traffic levels that have become branded entities in their own right. Westfield shopping centres have a portfolio of 38 centres. The Australian centres attract more than 500 million visits each year and it is because of this collective of customers that the global branding was born. The brand offers equity through recognition, competitive choice, service standards, community engagement, and to allow the group to grow outside of purest retail and into other service categories. The result of Westfield’s strong brand campaign is higher foot traffic in their centres and higher spend per visitor, which in turns means Westfield can charge retailers more per square meter than other shopping centres, and therefore their revenue increases exponentially.

The rise of airport branding emulates this structure. Airports want to be recognised as an entity that offers their customers something more and something unique. Airports operate in a competitive landscape where more than ever before consumers crave choice, experience and knowledge. Travellers are increasingly making their own travel arrangements, steering away from traditional means for holiday bookings such as travel agencies. This allows travellers to choose all aspects of their trips; destination, airline, and increasingly airports.

The Importance of Airport Brands to Market Segments

Destination Gateway

An airport brand that is linked to the destination, or named after the aspirational destination, becomes the destination gateway. For travellers, this provides a sense of ease of access, and shortest distance to travel on the ground. For visitors and tourists alike, it simplifies the map. If you want to holiday on the Gold Coast, it is an easy link for consumers to make that they fly into Gold Coast Airport. Step off the plane and you have arrived at your destination. 14 years ago, Queensland Airports Ltd rebranded Coolangatta Airport (OOL) to Gold Coast Airport. Coolangatta Airport was named after the suburb in which it resides, and while this is relevant to locals and those aware of the destination, awareness is not as strong on the national and international stage. The Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast,

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and the Whitsundays are three of Queensland’s most iconic holiday destinations. The success of this change saw these destination airports follow suit; Maroochydore Airport (MCY) became Sunshine Coast Airport and Proserpine Airport (PPP) to Whitsundays Airport. Travellers have a clear gateway to their holiday destination. It is essential that an airport has a solid working relationship and partnership with the destination that the airport services. The airport becomes an advocate for the destination and the two are intrinsically linked. The success of the airport is dependent on the ongoing appeal of the destination. Likewise, the success of the destination is dependent on the airport. The airport can take a leadership role by working with airlines to maximise capacity, and be directly involved with stimulating demand by working both with the supply of airline seats and the demand of the destination. The below example is typical of advertising used to promote Gold Coast Airport. The key message is you can now arrive at your destination, with no fuss and further connections. “Straight off the plane, straight on the beach”, “Flying direct to the Gold Coast Airport means less time travelling and more time to enjoy your stay”. The colour palette is consistent with the Gold Coast message; it’s fun, relaxed, and vibrant. You’ve arrived as soon as you step off the plane.

Gold Coast Airport Advertising

Source: Gold Coast Airport Advertising Bank 2013

Destination branding for airports talks to visitors and tourists and leverages the strength of the destination; therefore it is important that the airport embodies the brand credentials of the destination. If it is a business destination the airport requires fast processing, short queues, fast and consistent internet access, and sleek design. Leisure ports require a fun spirit, room for family groups, and references to the leisure activities the destination is famous for. However it is often not black and white. Of course most airports have a passenger mix of both leisure and business travellers, each with their own needs. The strength of an airports destination brand extends inside the terminal to the overall customer experience. Priority queues at airports have been developed to assist in the fast processing of frequent business travellers, but this can be extended to have separate processing lanes for different market segments. Queensland Airport Ltd’s internal research

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shows that passengers can feel anxious at screening points, particularly if they feel like they are a burden to other passengers in the queue. If these passengers can be facilitated easily with their peers, they will feel welcome at the airport, and satisfied by their airport experience. Those travelling in large groups or with prams can be processed in lane 1 for example, with extra wide walkways, security staff trained to deal with families and small children, special bins for special travelling companions (soft toys), with coloured walking feet tracks to assist young people to stay on direction. Lane 2 could be for those with mobility issues and those with metal implants, with seats for removing shoes and jackets. Lane 3 is for business travellers, for quick laptop screening and a bin to throw out their used coffee containers. Moving through processing, departure lounges can also be tailored to the segment travelling. Airport lounges are typically more structured for business travellers as these are often the most frequent travellers, however business travellers and frequent flyers also take family holidays, and therefore the offer could be extended to specific family lounges. Loyalty programs could be built around the use of airport facilities, much in the same way airline loyalty programs reward frequent use of their brands. Gates and waiting areas can be tailored also to travelling segments. Power points to charge phones, tablets, and laptops, predominantly single and double seating, quiet pods, coffee stations, and work spaces are important for business travellers at the gate, while leisure gates can be decked out with play areas, larger table and seating configurations and bright and playful displays. An innovative approach to marketing a destination gateway is to take the relationship between the airport and the destination to another level by leveraging the strengths of both the airport and the local tourism bodies to create unique events and partnerships to promote the region. A fantastic example of this is the ongoing naming rights sponsorship of the Gold Coast Airport Marathon. The Gold Coast Airport Marathon is staged annually on the first weekend in July, and attracts more than 28,000 participants, with more than 15,000 of those coming from interstate and international destinations. These 15,000 participants often bring family and support crew with them. As you can see the benefit to both the destination and to the airport is immense. They are working together to maximise visitor tourism which increases passenger throughput at the airport. Not only does the airport benefit from increased passenger flows it is also signalling its commitment to the local community, and showcasing the value of giving back. As the relationship between the airport and community grows, the community support for the airport grows. Gold Coast Airport Marathon

Source: www.goldcoastmarathon.com.au

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So how can Gold Coast Airport further leverage this event through social media and new mediums? Online tools are critical for events from bookings, race packs and course information, to sharing and uploading race day pictures. The Gold Coast Airport Marathon has an active presence on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram, and markets the hashtag #GCAM14. With a collective database of locals and visitors alike, through the online interactions, the passenger can provide further information about themselves and their travelling habits. This opens the opportunity for the airport to offer additional promotions and market directly to their needs. With direct flights to Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Tokyo and Osaka, Gold Coast Airport is able to market through social media to travellers in these destinations to come to the Gold Coast and attend the marathon. Linking with online communities is important to target the message, and the biggest most effective online community is one’s “friends”. Event and participant photos must be pushed out to social media to be shared among participants’ online communities to promote the event and the region. Through these products and tools, the Gold Coast is able to market its destination brand which is synonymous with the Gold Coast Airport brand. The Gold Coast Marathon Facebook site has 24,880 likes; these are members of our community that can be spoken to directly about flight offers and holiday packages year round. Promoting the Gold Coast with a “Welcome Back” offer for the off season, a pre marathon training session, or simply offering “get in early” flight specials around the time of the marathon. Through Facebook, Gold Coast Airport can send out example training guides through the Gold Coast’s iconic beach tracks in the lead up to the marathon event, and should extend to training camps around the track. This will truly maximise participants connection to the destination, and maximise their usage of Gold Coast Airport, not just on marathon weekend, but throughout the year. Competitive Environment When there is short distance between ports and consumers can make a conscious choice between airports, we have a competitive environment, and airport brand is particularly important. The airports in London, England are a great example as there are five airports that service the city, (albeit a very large city), and each offer unique services and positioning, catering to the flying population. London Airport Map

Source: Taxi London airports; www.londontransfers.net

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Established brands allow airports to showcase their unique selling points and therefore promote their competitive advantage. Consumers can then make their choice based on which facilities and services are most important to them, and which airport offering is the best fit for them. In a competitive environment, brand refers to difference and what sets one airport apart from another. It is important to establish brand values and branded messages that cut through to consumers. What sets London’s airports apart?

1. Heathrow Airport - London's hub for long distance flights, busiest airport in the UK, and London’s main airport “making every journey better”.

2. Luton Airport – Base for easyjet, Monarch Airlines, Thomson, and Ryanair. Vast majority of routes are within Europe. “London Luton” a favourite with budget travellers and within easy reach of Central London by public transport.

3. Gatwick Airport - Is the second base for British Airways, serving Europe and the Caribbean. Gatwick is Europe's leading airport for point-to-point flights.

4. Stansted Airport - Stansted is a base for a number of major European low-cost carriers, being the largest base for low-cost airline Ryanair with over 100 destinations served by the airline.

5. London City Airport – Services London’s financial industry. London’s airports need to work with their airline partners and community to establish and grow their branded identity to allow consumers to choose them. Consumers cannot make an informed choice without understanding what your brand stands for. The Schiphol Group’s director of Corporate Affairs, Paul Luijten, understands the importance of airports creating their own unique brands as well as the importance of choice for the customer when he spoke to Joe Bates of Aviation World in 2012; “I cannot speak for other airports, of course, but we are very proud of our Schiphol brand. It represents our brand values (Reliable, Efficient, Inspiring, Hospitable, Sustainable) and is a guarantee for quality. “We would like passengers to make a conscious decision to fly from or via Schiphol, and we would like all our customers to have a preference for our airport. In order to obtain that goal, we need to have a clear identity so that we are top of mind when it is relevant.” Marketing through this competitive environment is about establishing your unique selling points and communicating these effectively. Traditional advertising works in your local catchment in press and radio, however leveraging social media is vitally important as you need community to have a personal relationship with your brand. Social media works both ways, giving you a voice to communicate with travellers, but also gives travellers a voice to communicate with you. The secondary and tertiary airports within the London competitive set need to be talking to their passengers through social media. Of the London airports, outside of Heathrow, Gatwick Airport has the strongest social online presence. Through Facebook Gatwick Airport has an Instagram promotion running to get passengers involved (#gatwick). It is the most integrated and comprehensive of the sites, offering prize promotions which showcase airport retail and destination marketing, has links to their official newsletter which is run through the company website, a link on the front page for airport parking options, and a live Instagram feed.

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Gatwick Airport Facebook

How can Gatwick Airport take this further? What if the administrator behind the Facebook page was a qualified travel consultant who could recommend destinations, holiday tips, and give advice to their travellers about travel to and from Gatwick Airport? This would really set the airport apart from its competitive set by giving a voice to the airport, opening up two-way communication, and by talking directly to passengers. The airport’s recommendation would seem without prejudice from airlines and more of a community voice for their local travelling population. One of the major considerations of airport choice in London is transportation to the airport, the cost of that transportation, and factoring that into the total trip cost. Through the new social media travel consultant, passengers could be assisted to make the right decisions for them about airport transportation. Travel agents do not offer assistance on getting to the airport, but the airport travel consultant can help with a tailored solution, as the expert on transport options to Gatwick Airport. Example Questions Passengers Could Ask:

What is the fastest way to get to the airport from Croydon? What is cheaper – the bus or the train? How much time should I allow to switch between terminals? How long does it take to get to gate 4? Can I check in online? Do you have direct flights to Amsterdam? What is the best time of year to visit Amsterdam?

The consultant can load aspirational pictures of travel destinations, recommend favourite restaurants, blog on their travels, offer “did you know” advice, and then actively ask travellers what they would like to know and show that they are there to help facilitate and make their Gatwick Airport experience as pleasant as possible.

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Community Engagement Community engagement is very important for our airport properties. The economic impact of airports to the local community is immense from employment, infrastructure investment, and facilitation of tourism. It is vitally important for the airport to build a brand presence in the community, and speak to community through branded messages. An airport brand helps give a face, an entity, for consumers and community to talk to and interact with in case of questions, confusion, or complaints. The airport becomes an entity that is aware and responsible and accountable, which in turn builds trust. Trust builds loyalty, and loyalty is key. Economic Impact

Source: Gold Coast Airport Economic Impact Study 2012

Key airport personnel need to join the community through representation on tourism bodies, community boards, and advisory groups. This is an effective way to brand the airport as part of the community, and ensures the airport family are across local issues and projects. Airports have traditionally spoken to their community through open consultation groups, a process that is still used today. Interactive websites are a strong selling point for most airports, and more and more we are seeing the rise of social media as a platform to talk with their community. Live updates on traffic flows, and passenger movements are just the start. Software has been developed and implemented in some airports that allow passengers to log on in advance and check live queue times at key busy processing points in the terminal. Airports can utilise new information technology products and combine these with social media to give a really unique customer experience. Online flight tracker products are available on many websites, it would be great to see a “my flight” application developed that personalises these products. Passengers load up their itinerary, and receive alerts through the application on traffic conditions to their airport, availability of carparks, check in and processing times, passenger flows through the airport, special retail and food and beverage offers specific to the time of day, live flight tracking to show when their plane arrives, currency conversion offers, updates on gate allocation and changes, travel alerts and warnings. The application could then offer arrival information for their destination, booking transport, weather reports, and updated visa information. This application can be built and branded by the home airport, as a competitive advantage, a tool for passengers to use, and as a way to up sell airport products; carparking, retail, food and beverage, and related services. The airport can build community mindedness, and increase foot traffic, by building a campaign around “the big welcome”. Making events around when local sports teams are leaving or returning from away matches, welcoming home local heroes. The community can be notified of these events through social media and radio campaigns. The community is encouraged to come out to the airport to show their support. This not only increases carparking and retail spend, but elevates the sense of community and belonging towards the airport. As the messages are coming

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from the airport itself, inferring that it is giving locals the inside word on what’s happening, the community trusts the airport brand. Online newsletters are a great way to talk to your local catchment. Online research is an extremely valuable tool to build an understanding of the needs of your passengers, but online research also gives community a sense that the airport is serving them by canvassing their ideas and opinions. Consumers want to be heard, and to have a voice, therefore increasing the amount airports talk and “ask” community through online research is an extremely positive way to build a lasting and trusting relationship between airport and community. Airport vs Airline Role Strong branding helps define the separation of roles between airport and airline, which in turn allows clarification of service expectations and deliverables. An airline can be held responsible for their on time delivery, and an airport can be held responsible for passenger flows and processing. It is important for travellers to have clear delineation of the roles and responsibilities of their service providers. Travellers can have loyalty to both airline brands and airport brands, and due to airlines choosing international airport hubs, these are very interrelated. For example a Qantas Airways Frequent Flyer, through Qantas’ international alliance with Emirates, is likely to connect through Dubai International Airport for long haul travel. As they are a frequent flyer, the traveller is likely to develop a relationship with the Dubai International Airport brand, and connect to that brand through their website and social media. While Dubai International Airport is a brand in its own right, it is the traveller’s relationship with Qantas that got them there; therefore they cannot be seen as completely standalone. It must be noted also that if the passenger switches allegiance from Qantas, for whatever reason, Dubai International Airport also loses that customer. So it is extremely important that airlines and airports work together on delivering first class customer service and seamless travel options, so customers keep coming back to their brand collective. Instagram - Changi Airport and Jetstar Airways

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Changi Airport has a very strong integrated social media presence across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube, all linked with the @fansofchangi handle. Changi Airport engage travellers with exciting prize promotions, and have gone a step further to cement their destination airport brand by running a SpongeBob Square pants promotion throughout the terminal. The promotion includes walk throughs of SpongeBob land, meet and greets with the characters, and gives consumers an abundance of reasons to visit the airport, even those who are not flying. This is a fully integrated promotion with co-branding of Spongebob Squarepants, which is really quite remarkable. There are Spongebob toys being given away for purchasing at retailers in the terminal, in a bid to grow passenger spend rates. This is a great example of airport brand marketing, and really makes the airport the destination, regardless of what carrier you are using. Changi Airport – Christmas Promotion

www.changiairport.com

Thinking outside the box – Gold Coast Airport “The one with the koalas” Gold Coast Airport is considering the option to build a live koala display near the international arrivals area of the airport. This project is one component in a suite of tourism industry initiatives being considered by Gold Coast Airport. This initiative combines the resources of Gold Coast Tourism, Tourism Queensland, Tourism Australia, Gold Coast Airport and Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary and addresses the decline in Japanese arrivals not only on the Gold Coast but Australia wide. A major component of this initiative is the identified need for an impressive arrival

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experience for Japanese visitors who arrive from direct flights originating in Osaka and Tokyo landing at Gold Coast Airport.

The current air capacity from Japan to the Gold Coast consists of 10 weekly flights originating in Osaka and Narita. The destination has identified the absolute need to maintain this capacity in the face of rising competition for the Japanese traveller. The potential to grow this capacity depends on the ability of the destination to generate demand for the Gold Coast. The proposed koala display is an attraction unique to the Gold Coast and one that ties in with Gold Coast Tourism’s “Koala Capital” of Australia strategy. Gold Coast Airport Koala Enclosure

Source: Draft Enclosure Images – Gold Coast Airport Ltd

This demonstrates true innovation in branding, by identifying a need and delivering a product that speaks directly to the target market. Gold Coast Airport becomes “the one with the koalas”, not just for the Japanese market, but for all visitors, international and domestic, to the Gold Coast. Instagram will be a great tool to promote this exciting new feature at Gold Coast Airport. Creating a hashtag for visitors to use such as #gcairportkoalas, and promoting this through Facebook, will help put the Gold Coast Airport koala’s on the world map. A Facebook page needs to be created to take this to the next level, complete with koala updates, news and events. When visitors get their photos taken with koalas, the photos can be accessed via Facebook and Instagram. To access

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the photos, visitors to the enclosure simply have to “like” the Facebook page, tag themselves in the photos, and share it with their friends. By driving visitors to the Facebook page, which links to Gold Coast Airport of course, the Gold Coast Airport koala enclosure has an online, international community. Example of a Branded Instagram Picture

Mock Up

Above is a mock up of an Instagram picture that could be uploaded to Facebook and Instagram when visitors come through the enclosure. The pictures are branded with the airport logo, website, and the hashtag. To access the photos visitors must visit the page and tag themselves for their friends and family to see. The koala enclosure is an innovative solution to a localised issue, however the use of social media will catapult the enclosure to a global social stage and raise the brand of the Gold Coast Airport accordingly. In Summary Contemporary airports have worked hard to build tangible and financially viable brands that speak to locals, visitors, and all stakeholders. Airports have been successful in adopting a branded approach to their operations. The form and speed of communication between airports and stakeholders has kept pace with the rate of technological advancements and the rise of social media. The way brands interact through social media is vital to conveying the intended message to the intended recipient. Brand is about communication and the way to move to the next level of branding to communicate more often and more effectively with stakeholders by offering personalised services and bespoke interaction and communications.

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References:

London transfers: Taxi London airports; www.londontransfers.net

Branding Orlando Archives |M5 Design Studio

www.m5designstudio.com

Martha Garzon - Orlando Branding Agency: What is branding? The emotional response a business.

What We Do - Integrated Branding

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All in a Brand Written by Joe Bates

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Gold Coast Airport Master Plan 2011

QAL Research Passenger Surveys 2013

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