GERMANY. Frankfurt Airport has introduced a pioneering marketing package, launched with inaugural client, Swiss luxury skincare brand La Prairie. Mark Lane talks to Fraport Vice President Jens Paul to uncover the thinking behind the concept.
Swiss skincare house La Prairie is the first brand to take up an ambitious new ‘360 degree’ marketing and communications package at Frankfurt Airport.
Media Frankfurt, in conjunction with Fraport’s Retail & Properties Unit, is offering the omnichannel programme, aimed at the 17 million passengers passing through the airport each quarter.
The package, which combines on-site promotion, conventional advertising and online tools, is described by Fraport as “the most comprehensive and holistic in airport retailing to date”.
That’s quite a claim, but Fraport Vice President E-Commerce, Jens Paul, stands by it.
He says: “The challenge was to take an overall view of all of the available channels and effectively network them – from the perspectives of both La Prairie and the marketers. For developing this integrated campaign, La Prairie, Media Frankfurt, Frankfurt Airport Retail, and Fraport therefore all sat down together for the first time around the same table.
“And this effort has paid off. All passengers will encounter the brand, either in the terminals, in stores at the airport, when planning their trips on the airport website, in the Frankfurt Airport App or on social media sites or even inside the plane with advertisements in onboard magazines and First Class amenity kits. All of these channels will converge to create an enormous impact.’’
He explains that the driver behind the package was the trend among top brands to move away from conventional advertising toward omnichannel approaches.
“In other words, brands are no longer limiting themselves to occasional promotions or banner advertising on high-traffic. Instead, we’re seeing a shift to channels with which their customers have a strong affinity, like Instagram or WeChat.
“Frankfurt Airport’s thoroughly networked physical and online infrastructure makes it possible to digitally target customers even before they embark on their journeys and guide them to an e-boutique that is appropriately designed to match a brand’s image.’’
Once in the e-boutique, the customer can get information and reserve products. When they reach the airport, the digital campaign is extended to include physical stores and promotional stands. The in-store promotions can also be combined with brand presentations in the passenger areas. To this end, tailored concepts to address different customer groups can be developed and presented via the network of digital media.
“So, on-site physical and digital advertising media merge in a consistent omnichannel approach,’’ says Paul.
The concept is one thing, but it took some time to put the package together and Fraport first began discussing the idea with La Prairie in 2017.
“Then La Prairie showed the products it wanted to advertise to the Fraport project team so that the scope of the omnichannel campaign at the airport could be determined,’’ recalls Paul. “Fraport then organised a joint workshop at which all of the responsible individuals sat down together at the same table: La Prairie, Media Frankfurt, FAR [a joint venture of Fraport and Gebr. Heinemann] and Gebr. Heinemann Hamburg.
“During the workshop, the entire campaign was discussed in detail from an implementation perspective, and a schedule and responsibilities were defined. This project team continued working together right up to the go-live.’’
La Prairie may be the first adopter, but the package can serve more than one brand and Fraport says it can offer an exclusive presentation for each house. As Paul points out, the omnichannel approach can also be extended to other parts of the terminals in order to exclusively present a brand at a particular location. Depending on the target group and the campaign’s goals, Fraport will put together a unique omnichannel package for that particular brand.
But, if there are too many brands, won’t it dilute the impact for each?
“No,’’ says Paul. “Because each brand has its own particular creative approach and is presented to customers in a different way. This also applies when the same target groups are addressed. It depends on how this is done and how creatively the brand campaign plays with the innovative formats that are available at Frankfurt Airport. The more highly networked the campaign is in the sense of an omnichannel approach, the greater its impact will be.’’
The initial trial with La Prairie is for three months, but it’s possible that longer packages could be made available.
“Everything is possible and conceivable: from a one-off event all the way to a long-term brand campaign,’’ says Paul. “Our goal is to achieve the best possible results for every client and every brand in terms of campaign effectiveness and advertising impact – independently of the duration and budget.’’
And how will those results be measured?
He explains: “Online, measurability is achieved with comprehensive campaign tracking, extended by data on on-site sales volumes and customer contacts by promoters and salespeople. Personalised vouchers can also be used to achieve end-to-end measurability.
“For La Prairie, we have measured the effectiveness of the advertising using data from multiple sources: by carrying out observations and surveys both in stores and in public terminal areas, counting foot traffic and questioning passers-by near the screens. We are currently also continuing to expand our portfolio of methods for determining the effectiveness of advertising.’’
Paul adds: “Of course, with such a complex, high-intensity marketing approach it’s important to us to get feedback from customers. We will obtain it with an advertising effectiveness measurement programme.’’
NOTE TO AIRPORT OPERATORS: The Frankfurt initiative will feature in the second edition of Sight Lines, The Moodie Davitt Report’s new eZine dedicated to the world of airport advertising and communications.
Please contact Martin Moodie for editorial (Martin@MoodieDavittReport.com) and Irene Revilla for advertising and sponsorship (Irene@MoodieDavittReport.com) on Sight Lines.
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