With a myriad of historical and architectural landmarks, a restless nightlife, and world renowned gastronomy and fashion, Rome caters to a distinguished demographic. It was therefore natural to see the nearby Fiumicino Airport upping its game to display advertisements from premium brands for whom proper representation is sacrosanct.
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With 40 million passengers served in 2015 alone, Rome’s Fiumicino – Leonardo da Vinci International Airport [2] is also the largest airport in Italy by almost 20 million, and one of the busiest in Europe. Hindering Fiumicino’s advertising revenue expectations was an out-of-date advertising asset, which drove Aeroporti di Roma (ADR) to appoint Clear Channel Italy in December 2013 to transform the airport’s advertising program, a decision in line with ADR’s major investments planned to improve all areas of the airport. Thanks to Clear Channel and over the past two years several spectacular digital products procured from Absen, Rome Fiumicino has been transformed into one of the most digitalised airports in the world.
From the tender phase through to personally designing an entirely new advertising programme, selecting suppliers and overseeing sales, Jonathan Goldsmid – Airports Director for Clear Channel Italy – has been responsible for leading this project. Goldsmid chose Absen LED to get the job done – in particular, the Absen A2 product, Ed.
Goldsmid insists that Clear Channel is “not into digital for the sake of digital,” and that “Clear Channel employs a number of different formats that cater to different advertising needs”. However, Goldsmid acknowledges that an airport of Fiumicino’s scale will “automatically look to digital as a key part of their advertising asset strategy During the deliberation process”.
Nacho Perez Borjabad, Senior Director Advertising Market for Absen Europe, concurs with this approximation of the A2’s virtues: “Here at Absen we pride ourselves on the aesthetics, ergonomics, bionics and resulting versatility of our products. The fact that Clear Channel entrusted the Absen A2 on a project of this scale is a great vote of confidence.
“From the 160 degree viewing angle to the incredible pixel pitch, contrast and image quality, the A2 is a leap forward for LED screens as a whole.”
One of the core objectives of Clear Channel’s advertising redevelopment strategy for Fiumicino was to create the opportunity for brands to really ‘stand out’, be that through the installation of spectacular large format opportunities or the installation of tactical digital advertising campaigns.
Over the past two years, this multi-million euro project dramatically changed the advertising approach for Fiumicino airport. The project began with the removal of almost every outdated panel across the airport, and operating under the mantra ‘less is more’, Clear Channel reduced the number of square metres of advertising by approximately 40%.
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One of the signature products installed by Clear Channel has been four spectacular large digital columns which dominate the airport’s C Gate area. Currently booked exclusively by Chanel, and comprising 61.44 square metres of four-sided LED Absen A2s – the resulting effect is one of seamlessness, which Goldsmid professed to be “absolutely phenomenal, especially along with the content that Chanel displayed on there”.
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Subsequently, two huge Absen AI06 LED screens were set up in Terminal 3s check-in hall – the airport’s main international terminal. The Absen AI06 possesses a pixel pitch of 6.25mm, and measures 8 x 4.5m, effectively delivering coverage to 100% of the passengers within the vicinity. The lower resolution of these screens – compared to the A2 – was offset by the viewing distance, typically around 10 – 15m. Fortunately for Clear Channel, the AI06’s mere 85mm panel depth and 16kg panel weight facilitated the installation process. Making life easier is a running theme in Absen’s screens, exemplified by that fact that the module, power supply and receiving card can be accessed from the front, rapidly improving maintenance speed if a problem arises.
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Terminal 1’s check-in hall, which serves as the hub for Alitalia and Sky Team flights to domestic and Schengen destinations [6], received two large Absen AI03 LED screens, each with a pixel pitch of 3.9mm and were immediately sold on an exclusive basis to Conde Nast, as the brand realised the benefit of using the digital immediacy to change content between the different magazines within their portfolio.
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Due to the airport’s rejuvenated digital landscape, Goldsmid states that “advertisers are now flocking back to Fiumicino”. It was crucial for Clear Channel to view the airport’s lack of advertising viability from the perspective of consumers just as much as the brands themselves. “Airports are so much more than mere transit points for people these days; they are fundamentally seen as part of the travel experience, and so airports are investing heavily to create exciting, innovative added value experiences for passengers”.
Goldsmid is optimistic about the prospect of a continued partnership with Absen “Our relationship with Absen Internationally has been a good one. They have listened to us intently throughout the process and haven’t shied away from making the necessary investments to improve and maintain the relationship. From a product perspective, absolutely. They’re also investing very much in their client services and support teams so they can remain a viable partner post-sale. We have discussed the potential for working together again in the future and I have no reason why we wouldn’t at this juncture.”
All pictures courtesy of Clear Channel Italy