AER Research Summary

“Passenger Mindset Study”

Research Objectives

• Study the mindsets and moods of travellers during the airport process

• Tackle their senses and their attitudes

• Explore their relationship with the airport

• Use ethnography to observe passengers natural behaviour in the environment

• Assess impact of airport process on ad awareness

Symbiosis– Airports offer a unique symbiotic relationship between the process and the advertising

placed there

– Advertising is seen as a natural and vital part of the environment

– Airports seen as aspirational by respondents with airports, well designed, upmarket and enhances the travel experience

– Airports demand appropriate advertising

– Advertising brings gravitas, colour, aspirational messages and entertainment to the airport journey

Methods

• Ethnography– Behavioural observation– Accompanied journeys biometric measurement– Rolling focus groups

• Qualitative – Standard focus groups

• Quantitative– Airport interviews

“Arousal is the psychological term for mental alertness, the precursor to emotions such as stress, excitement and elation”

The Results: Airport Arousal

The ResultsAd awareness by zone

Drop Off

• A wide and sometimes conflicting range of feelings were documented in Drop off.– Mindset: Disorientation, relief, excitement, shock, switched on,

uneasy, confusion

• Looking for familiar messages• The highest departing arousal level: 82%

Ad Awareness:• Ad Awareness is the highest in drop off: 93%• High emotional arousal actually enhances receptivity, but only

to appropriate stimuli“When highly aroused, most persuasive ads offer a simple and

familiar message” (Greenwald & Leavitt 1984)

Check in

• A similar set of wide ranging emotions but less disorientation than the drop off, and some sense of regaining control after luggage surrendered– Mindset: Adventure, worry, excitement, confusion, can’t switch off,

relief, thoughts on destiny

• This zone has the second highest departing arousal level: 81%

Ad Awareness:• Ad Awareness is the second highest: 91%• High arousal here still stimulates a need for simple information

Lounge

• Sense of relief, less sense of time pressure and element of ‘play time’, doing things you normally don’t have time for (e.g. Shopping and reading)– Mindset: adventure, elation, excitement, playful, time to spare,

relief, expansive, holiday-time

• This zone sees a decrease in arousal levels (74 b.p.m) this moderate arousal level facilitates ‘learning’, more able to process complex messages

Ad Awareness:• Ad Awareness marginally less: 81%• Though less stimulated, passengers now process images in a

manner similar to ‘learning’, maintaining high ad awareness

Gaterooms

• Passengers are now more excited, impatient, with a need to be stimulated, and to channel adrenalin.– Mindset: Adventure, adrenalin, excited, anticipation, time to spare,

impatient, stimulation, holiday-time

– Still an extension of a holiday feeling

• This zone sees an increased arousal level: 75 b.p.m a slightly less relaxed area

Ad Awareness:• Ad Awareness sees a slight increase: 90%• Need for more advertising frequently mentioned in focus groups• Still looking for information, similar to check in, but less aroused• Long dwell times here facilitate long and detailed messages

Arrivals

• Passengers are ‘re-awakened’ and data-receptive– Mindset: reawakened, adrenalin, excited, anticipation, want to get

home, reflective, searching, holiday-time

• This zone is separate to previous ‘holiday’ experience, and not surveyed as part of the ‘airport journey’

Ad Awareness:• Ad Awareness is the second highest: 91%• High awareness reflects long dwell times, high need for travel

information of domestic passengers, and expectations of international passengers for tourist information

Research Conclusions

• The airport process is a dynamic and ‘arousing’ experience • All passengers are in an ‘aroused’ receptive state• High arousal leads to high ad awareness• Highest arousal leads to awareness of short messages• Lower arousal leads to ‘learning’ and awareness of complex

messages• Airport offers a unique symbiosis of exciting experience and

impactful advertising messages• Passengers saw advertising as providing useful product

information, if interesting and well designed