Mumbai: From a total of 29,000 passengers, the day flights resumed on May 25th, to 2.25 lakh passengers a day right before Diwali, air travel has certainly seen exponentiall growth. Travelers are showing greater confidence in flying, and with the festival season witnessing a rise in the number of flyers, brands are bouncing back with airport advertising. The Runway restart 2.0 shows a surge in demand and is thus a key moment for brands for whom advertising at airports has been an ideal medium to reach the premium NCCS-A audiences of the country over the years.
Challenging the status quo, ŠKODA Auto recently launched their all-new Superb &Karoq at the Mumbai Airport in association with Times OOH, The Max, and PHD Media. The brand created a stunning, immersive experiential display to allure travellers.“As we are launching a series of new cars in 2020 and 2021, airport displays are a great way to showcase the new cars to the prospects and generate enquiries”, says Tarun Jha, Head of Marketing – ŠKODA Auto India. “With Unlock 5.0 and the increase in the number of passengers following the reinstatement of premium and business travellers at Mumbai airport, it was a strategic call for us to have our presence at the Mumbai airport to showcase our products.”
With the growing emphasis on hygiene and touchless technology, Somany Ceramics Limited also chose Mumbai Airport to target niche flying travellers and promote their Germ Shield tiles powered by Germ Shield Technology.
Times OOH further rolled out new offerings under the DOOH domain such as real-time Cricket updates on the Digital screens at Mumbai and Indore Airports, in order to catch passenger attention with compelling content. In partnership with brands like Delta Faucet, Elica, MCX, and NCDEX, these screens showcased real-time score updates, team standings and upcoming matches, while catapulting the brands out to the major chunk of cricket-loving travellers.
In a first, Tamil Nadu Tourism in association with Times OOH has brought its famed temples and picturesque tourist destinations to the screens of India’s major airports. With travel and tourism gaining momentum, the state tourism brand has taken to airports to target the growing leisure air-travellers across the country.
Considering flights to be a safer mode of travel now, people are getting more and more comfortable with the idea of flying.
Vistara’s recent passenger survey indicates increased passenger confidence since the first survey in June 2020and claims two out of every three customers think flying is the safest mode of travel. As per the ‘Restart Feedback Survey’ conducted by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, 99.6% found air travel to be the most reliable mode of transport, given the current pandemic. Furthermore, the study divulges that passengers are happy with the safety measures undertaken by the airport and are even ready to fly twice a month.
Given the current scenario, in comparison to other modes of transportation, flying seemed safer. Right from the security gates up to the airplane, I was amazed by the steps taken to make me and my family feel safe while travelling for a holiday”, says Manish Srivastav, Director – Anandrathi Wealth Services Ltd flew from Udaipur to Delhi.
The PPE gear, sanitizers, and other safety measures in place at airports made my decision to travel home for Diwali much easier”, says Vineet Talwar, Director- Rave Fabtex who flew from Mumbai to Chandigarh and back.
One of the seasoned Bollywood actors shared his experience while travelling with his wife as well – “Boarding in Mumbai was super smooth, queues moving along quickly, all documents on phone, QR codes scanned, contactless!! Was actually a pleasure”.
Along with leisure trips, business travel is also on a rise. “I took my first business trip after 8 months from Delhi to Indore. Though I was cautious and vigilant, however, I was impressed and felt safe after looking at the layers of safety procedures followed at the airport and airline”, says Rajat Mittal, VP – Alliances & AAI Airports, Times OOH.
While, addressing the Deccan Dialogue event organized by the Indian School of Business, Minister of Civil Aviation, Hardeep Singh Puri says, “I am confident that by December 31, or soon thereafter (a week or two into January) we will return to pre-COVID levels”. This is backed by the increase in the number of domestic flights by DGCA indicating an uptick in the demand for air travel. Passenger traffic data shared by Airport authorities also reflects a jump in traffic over the last month. For example, Mumbai Airport passenger traffic grew by almost 45% in October as compared to the previous month. Furthermore, the travel booking websites also observed a surge in advance bookings ahead of festivities.
To complement this growing traffic, advertising at Airports has been amplified, and more and more brands are coming on board to leverage this. The festive season has always been important from the overall OOH perspective and brands are keen on tapping into the increasing number of travellers, to receive greater visibility and wider reach via their campaigns.
With domestic travel set to touch 80% of pre-COVID levels in the coming months and complete revival by the summer holidays, suggested by Civil Aviation Secretary, Mr. Pradeep Singh Kharola, the future of air travel and airport advertising surely looks promising.
