110 August 2018
Non-Metro Airport Media:
Reaching For The Skies
Century Group of Companies holds media rights at 10
airports. Shashi Kumar Chaudhary, Director, Century
Group of Companies, sees a
direct correlation between
air passenger traffic growth
and OOH business. He
points out that the doubling
of airline orders for aircraft
is a testament to the growth
prospects for civil aviation
in the country. In his view,
the airports in the major
metros are already reaching
a saturation point in regard to air terminals, aircraft
parking area and the like, and so the Airport Authority
of India is assiduously promoting the development of
non-metro airports that can handle the traffic that is
being channelled there.Hence, now the Patna airport handles direct flights
to and from Allahabad and Lucknow, whereas earlier
people had to travel to the metro cities and switch
their flights or take another mode of transportation
to get to another non-metro city. Domestic air travel
itself has become more economical, which augmented
the passenger traffic growth. A greater number of mid-
to lower-mid income groups are taking to air travel
now. The Patna airport handles an average 3.5 lakh
passengers every month while 7 airports of north-east
region cater to around 8 lakh passengers every month.Even as the Union Civil Aviation Ministry directs focused attention on airport
infrastructure modernisation to keep up with the stupendous air passenger growth
across the country, the attractiveness of airport media for brand advertising has
grown several-fold, not just at the airports in major metro cities but also in the
non-metro cities. OOH media owning firms are seen to be channeling their investments
in non-metro airport media with great intent. This article captures the viewpoints of some
of the key firms that have etched their business presence at the non-metro airports.TRANSIT MEDIA
Century Group of Companies
Shashi points out that BFSI brands are among the
major advertisers at these airports, and in particular,
Life Insurance Corporation (LIC). Regional brands like
retailers and educational institutes have also opened
begun advertising at the airports. “To attract more
advertisers, we are working on a package for multiple
airports and formats,” he says.In his view, brands are a little slow to opt for DOOH
media. The company has so far invested in digital
screens at two airports. Brands seem to prefer static
media for their displays as the passengers are likely to
see the displays at any given time.“Wherein the OOH industry is growing at 8%-10% growth
rate annually, the airports media is growing at 30%. Our
annual airport media revenues are about Rs 12 crore
from 10 airports,” he states.