Advertising's New Medium: TSA Security Trays

Dec. 3, 2007
Stuck in line waiting to feed the X-ray machine, flyers are fish in the barrel for marketers

Advertisers interested in putting their message in front of an extremely alert audience may have found the perfect medium: airport security trays.

St. Petersburg, FL.-based SecurityPoint Media has worked out a deal with the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and 10 American airports to provide ad-laden security bins, tables and carts. The airports get cleaner, higher-quality security areas and a piece of ad revenue. SecurityPoint president Joe Ambrefe says they've had discussions with the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) about bringing the system here.

Shortly after SecurityPoint launched in pilot mode in 2006, Oakbrook, IL.-based Sanford bought its entire available inventory for over a year to promote its Rolodex brand. One of four executions read: "Departure from the ordinary. Travel to Rolodex.com."

SecurityPoint officially launched earlier this year, with space available for other advertisers. "Airports are well identified as a great place to capture early adopters," says Ambrefe, adding that the average traveller uses 2.5 security trays when passing through checkpoints.

SecurityPoint has a creative arm to help clients adapt their work for the medium. Ambrefe says the trays are best suited for big, bold branding campaigns with about six or seven words in total.

Online retailer Zappos.com recently expanded its presence from two to five airports. One cheeky execution features an outline of a shoe with the headline: "Place shoes here. Buy shoes here: Zappos.com."

Prices are based on the passenger traffic flow of each airport. Advertisers can do package buys at airports across the country, or regional buys. The minimum buy is 90 days.

On the Web:
www.securitypointmedia.com