Airport advertising delivers the highest perceived value and prestige compared to other advertising channels

JCDecaux SA (Euronext Paris: DEC), the number one outdoor advertising company worldwide, announced that new global research reveals that Airport advertising delivers the highest perceived value for brands when compared to Online Display, Social Media, TV and Press advertising environments. The research from the independent research agency ResearchBods for JCDecaux Airport was conducted among 6,000 consumers in five advertising markets: China, France, Germany, UK and the USA.

The study shows that advertising at the Airport is seen by consumers to be more valuable and more prestigious than other advertising environments, conferring status and a belief that a product is more valuable, a price advantage that has continued despite the pandemic.

On an index basis, Airport audience scored 111 for perceived value (TV 101, Print 100, Mobile 95 and Website 94) and 113 for prestige (TV 99, Print 98, Mobile 99 and Website 99), compared to the average for all researched advertising environments.

As travel starts to return driven by the domestic aviation market and the recent decisions in the US, UK, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand, there is a renewed confidence in travel, as shown by the finding that almost 70% of Europeans say they are planning to travel by the end of January 2022 (Source ETC, European Travel Commission). Results of this study highlight the important role that the public screen of Out-of-Home at the Airport can play for clients, in terms of rebuilding brand equity post-pandemic.

Jérôme Lepage, Marketing & Business Development Director of JCDecaux (Transport Division), said: “This study comes at an important time as air travel opens up once again and shows that the Airport continues to define prestige and luxury across the largest media markets worldwide, making it a key environment for our advertising partners. In five major countries across the world, the study reveals that Airport delivers the highest levels of price advantage and prestige compared to other major advertising channels. JCDecaux has continuously invested in the transformation of our assets in Airports. This evolution is guided by our vision of an enhanced and contextualised visual experience thanks to our new digital capabilities, as well as our expertise in terms of data, making the Airport one of the most powerful and influential advertising environments, enabling our clients and partners to achieve their marketing goals.”

Jonathan Clough, Managing Director of ResearchBods, said: “Our research shows that globally the Airport environment confers the highest perceived value and prestige of the other advertising channels in the study, underlining that being seen in a premium environment pays dividends for brands and that this effect has been maintained despite the global pandemic.”

ResearchBods conducted the research by using two fictional brands (a luxury perfume brand and a business-to-business (B2B) technology brand) and measuring consumer responses to seeing a visual of each brand’s creative displayed in one of five advertising environments, with 1,200 respondents in each market, split across each advertising medium.

Methodology
For each survey, ResearchBods recruited 6,000 nationally representative people (plus an additional 500 for the survey of people that had flown during the pandemic) across five markets (China, France, Germany, UK, USA). In a study conducted online, each respondent was shown a photograph of an identical ad displayed in one of the following ad environments: Airport, Online Display, Social Media, TV and Press (consumer magazine and business magazine).

The visual was made relevant to each market by using a local Airport, a familiar Online newspaper site, a relevant Social Media channel, by localising the people in the picture shown watching the TV advertisement and by using a well-known international business magazine and an international consumer (fashion) magazine. The advertising creative was identical, although the copy in the advert was changed to the local language, so the only variable measured was the environment in which the advertising was displayed.

A fictional luxury brand: Respondents were shown a visual of an ad for a fictional luxury perfume brand ‘L’Amour’ in one ad environment only, relevant to their market. They were asked what they would expect to pay for that brand (in their local currency), by picking a price band. The results were indexed, to enable a comparison to be made between markets, in terms of the perceived value conferred by advertising environments in their country.

A fictional business-to-business (B2B) brand: Respondents were shown a visual of an ad for a fictional B2B technology brand ‘Connex’.  They were asked: “How prestigious do you think this company is on a scale of 1 to 10, if 1 is not at all prestigious and 10 is very prestigious?” The results were indexed, to enable a comparison to be made between markets, in terms of the relative prestige of advertising environments within their country.

People who had flown during the pandemic
An additional 500 people (100 people per market) were recruited who had all flown during the pandemic.

At every stage, each person was shown a visual of only one advertising environment for the luxury brand and one advertising environment for the B2B brand.

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