Over the last two years, Budapest Airport has continuously enhanced the promotions within its terminal, with the aim of involving and surprising passengers. This might include giving them a gift, or an experience before departure.
The airport’s progressive and proactive retail approach has generated impressive sales increases through its Trinity promotions and a focus on Hungarian produce. It has also achieved notable industry recognition; Budapest Airport has been shortlisted in two categories at this year’s Frontier Awards, which are presented on 29 October during TFWA World Exhibition & Conference. Its nominations are for Marketing Campaign of the Year by a Retailer/Airport for its Valentine’s Day promotion, and Partnership Initiative of the Year for its Trinity promotion in conjunction with Heinemann Duty Free and Zwack Unicum.
Zwack Unicum was the first brand to participate in a Trinity promotion with Heinemann Duty Free and Budapest Airport, and seized the opportunity to introduce a new flavour – Unicum Plum – to travellers.
“The ideas behind the concepts of the two shortlisted activities were based on a totally new approach to promotions, and the implementation – how the idea was brought to life in practice – was successful way above our expectations, thanks to our creative agencies,” explained Zoltán Keresztessy, Commercial Marketing Manager, Budapest Airport. “If we won at least one of the two nominations, it would definitely prove to us that successful marketing ideas not only catch the attention of passengers, but they also appeal to professionals. We would then feel that our efforts to offer surprises and to conduct activities in the terminal before boarding are truly appreciated.”
Indeed, success in the awards would be a great achievement for the airport, not least because in one of the categories, Budapest Airport is the only shortlisted European contestant.
Heinemann Duty Free is the major concessionaire at Budapest Airport, with a walkthrough store in SkyCourt and two others on the piers, so they are fully in focus when the airport plans its marketing activities. “They have many bigger and smaller Hungarian suppliers whose products represent high quality, which offers a great opportunity for us to involve different third parties in Trinity collaborations,” Keresztessy commented.
The Zwack Unicum promotion generated an impressive sales increase of 340%. It was the first brand to participate in a Trinity promotion with Heinemann Duty Free and Budapest Airport, and seized the opportunity to introduce a new flavour – Unicum Plum – to travellers. A key feature of the promotion was a unique 3.5m tall Unicum bottle in the middle of the SkyCourt departure hall at Terminal 2, with a mini brand museum inside and a tasting stage in front of the bottle. “This brand new experience for the passengers was the major success factor – before they purchased some Unicum in Heinemann Duty Free, passengers tasted and became aware of the story of Zwack,” Keresztessy said.
A key feature of the Zwack Unicum promotion was a unique 3.5m tall Unicum bottle in the middle of the SkyCourt departure hall at Terminal 2, with a mini brand museum inside and a tasting stage in front of the bottle.
Sales of Hungarian wine brand Sauska also increased by a very impressive 418% in July – another example of a successful Trinity promotion. “We were curious to see how a smaller, lesser-known brand can perform with similar appearance and communication to that of Zwack Unicum. Our agency visualised a very eye-catching, state-of-the-art installation with LED-illuminated 3D elements, unique product display and creative design,” Keresztessy added. “The strong sales result was also a surprise for the Sauska brand, which had to schedule extra product deliveries during the promotion in July. Thanks to this success they are already interested in a similar collaboration next year.”
A ‘special and personal surprise’
Meanwhile, Budapest Airport prepares a special promotion for Valentine’s Day each year. This year it envisioned a more personal present for passengers, and used the time spent in the transit area after they had bid farewell to their loved ones to conjure up a truly special and personal surprise, to mark Valentine’s Day. The main element was that Budapest Airport’s hostesses recorded a video as a personal message of love with the family members and friends who had just bid farewell to the passengers. Hostesses then located the passenger in the transit area and played the message to them on a heart-shaped tablet. “The effect and the joy turned the last moments before departure into an unforgettable, truly touching experience for passengers as they viewed the messages from their loved ones, and also received a gift package,” Keresztessy enthused. “As a result, more than 78,000 people watched the videos on YouTube and became all emotional in the space of a single week.”
Looking ahead, Budapest Airport is continuously working on new ideas and promotional concepts to surprise passengers and offer them a unique experience. In October, it has combined two products in one Trinity promotion – Tokaj wines from the Dereszla winery and Rex Ciborum goose liver from Merian. “We think this combination would be the most popular gift for foreign visitors to purchase for their friends and families at home,” Keresztessy concluded.
