IRELAND/INTERNATIONAL. Aer Rianta International (ARI) has hailed the capture of four industry awards that were presented during TFWA World Exhibition in Cannes. The Irish state-owned travel retailer won two awards for its Guinness Export House concept with Diageo at Dublin Airport T2, one each at the Frontier Awards and Drinks International Awards. Inflight Retailer of the Year at the Frontier Awards and Delhi Duty Free won Marketing Concept of the Year for the Whisky Luxe Festival at the Drinks International Awards.
The double award-winning Guinness Export House opened earlier this year, offering travellers the opportunity to experience the drinks brand that was born in Dublin.
ARI Global Marketing and Strategy Director Nicola Wells said: “We are thrilled with the awards. It highlights and strengthens our commitment to working with suppliers to create innovation that enhances the customer experience.”
Diageo Global Travel Managing Director Dayalan Nayager said: “Diageo is honoured to receive this award with our partner ARI. Consumers are increasingly looking for something special – unique experiences that allow them to better engage with our brands. Partnerships are a key way to create real stand-out brand experiences and we are thrilled that our colleagues on the Guinness Global and Brand Licensing team brought this exciting concept to life. Together with ARI we’re delighted with the strong results this initiative has achieved.”
Muscat Duty Free and Oman Air together run the Oman Air inflight business, which captured a Frontier Award. In 2016, with declining passenger spends across all duty free revenue streams, the partners put in place a new strategy based around an improved onboard guest experience. Aided by several campaigns and other initiatives, this drove improved spend per head, increased sales and average transaction values.
Muscat Duty Free General Manager Martin Mullen said: “Oman Air and Muscat Duty Free work very closely to enhance the customer onboard shopping experience and the success of the partnership has proved to be a commanding factor in the development of the inflight programme.”
Delhi Duty Free’s campaign was created to highlight the wide range of premium whisky and single malts available in the stores. It developed a new retail experience, with a premium bar highlighting 25 labels across the collection.
Delhi Duty Free CEO Luke Gorringe said: “This award is a great testament to our continued dedication at Delhi Duty Free to drive the business forward. It highlights our commitment to innovation, leading by example and providing Indian travellers with a world-class airport retailing experience in India. We are absolutely delighted with the award.”
