Aggressive advertising campaign from Birmingham Airport targets Heathrow users
BIRMINGHAM Airport has gone on the front foot to launch a new advertising campaign aimed at persuading those travelling down to Heathrow to use their local airport instead.
Using the strap-line ‘Birmingham makes more sense than Heathrow’, the airport is hoping the campaign will help it claw back passengers from its catchment area that currently travel outside of the region to catch flights.
Located at major advertising sites, including the approach to London on the M25 and at key train stations in Northampton, Milton Keynes and Oxford, the airport is using bold statements such as ‘Heathrow: Congestion Ahead’ (see below), ‘Going in the right direction?’ and ‘Take your business in a new direction’ to grab commuters’ attention.
Birmingham Airport claims that it makes no sense for people to drive to London to take a flight at a time when airports in the South East are nearing capacity, when there are airports such as Birmingham that can offer an alternative.
Its CEO Paul Kehoe said: “It’s been predicted that passenger numbers in Britain will increase by 125 million by 2030 and with Heathrow and Gatwick nearing capacity, it’s clear that the South East will soon have a capacity problem unless something is done.
“Part of that solution is Birmingham Airport, which currently handles nine million passengers a year. That’s a number that could be doubled today and with its major development programme the airport will be able to handle 36 million passengers before 2030.
“We know from experience that once passengers make the switch to Birmingham they’re impressed by its world class facilities and ease of access to and through the terminal. With this ‘David and Goliath’ campaign, we aim to target commuters who are tired of the arduous journey to London and say confidently that Birmingham is a real alternative for flights to destinations around the world.”
The advertising campaign will run throughout June and has been developed by Midlands based advertising agency Connect.
