By Mike Rubin of MRA International
Seven large-scale digital display screens throughout the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX are changing the way airports and brands interact with passengers. The project, led by MRA International with assistance from Sardi Design, utilizes an immersive environmental media system (IEMS) that synchronizes advertising and flight information through a content management system.
A New Business Platform for Airports
LAX required that the IEMS provide a revenue platform, which would not only exceed the airport's current advertising revenues, but also provide a foundation for refreshing the passenger experience with new content. The goal was to create an atmosphere in no way akin to the media barrage of Times Square, but one that would utilize media to complement travel.
To address this challenge, the selected platform consists of three core components:
- high value sponsorships,
- an integrated advertising program supported by the IEMS infrastructure,
- and digital activation of the terminal environment as an intelligent space for the terminal's broad array of tenants.
Challenges to Revenue Generation
The central challenge was that while sponsorship was widely used in the sports world, and more recently had been deployed in several public settings such as the New York City bike share system sponsored by Citi, no airport had embarked on such a program.
Because sponsorship requires naming rights and certain levels of exclusivity, the team needed to work for over a year with legal council to craft the rights and obligations that would secure what would become the first such program in the airport industry. It was determined that naming rights would be allowed for the digital displays and only high quality forms of content, meaning that it is beneficial for passengers, would be permitted.
Advertising Solutions
The sponsorship-supported content featured on the IEMS can include anything from traveler's guides to destination cities to local entertainment packages.
The media features have created a game-changing immersive experience that has significant implications for public space venues in the digital age. At the same time, this new business strategy offers brands a creative way to engage with their audience. The project is transforming the way passengers experience travel, time, and locale along with the ways they engage with facilities and each other.
Mike Rubin is the president and founder of MRA International.
Rubin will present a case study on the design project that produced the LAX Bradley International Terminal and its IEMS as part of the Dynamic Digital Environments Master Class at the Digital Signage Expo 2014.
For more information about DSE or to register to attend this or any other educational seminar or workshop and learn more about digital signage visit our events calendar.
