Sticking out
Airport advertising program helping all involved while turning heads
Airport advertising program helping all involved while turning heads

Advertisements are popping up in airports in at the security checkpoint — in the same bins where you place your shoes and laptop.

Online shoe retailer Zappos.com has 3D ads plastered to the bottom of the bins in nearly all of the 14 airports participating in the pilot program, including Tulsa International Airport.

"For us, it really made sense. People are placing their shoes and accessories in those bins,” said Andy Kurlander, senior marketing manager for Zappos.com.

Although Zappos.com hasn't been able attribute sales to the ads, it has been creating a "word-of-mouth buzz” for the company, he said. Others involved benefit, as well: The airport receives a percentage of the ad revenue, and the Transportation Security Administration is provided with new, free equipment.

"It seemed like a win-win-win situation,” said Carl Remus, deputy director of finance for the Tulsa Airport Authority.

Tulsa is one of 14 airports nationwide participating in the pilot program, according to SecurityPoint Media LLC, the company behind the program. If TSA approves the program, the ad-laden trays could become a permanent fixture at airports across the country.

The SecureTray System is more than just fancy trays with ads on them. The program actually changes some aspects of how TSA employees do their jobs at security checkpoints. With revenue generated by the ads, SecurityPoint Media provides airports with the bins, as well as new carts and tables.

The rolling carts eliminate the need for TSA employees to carry stacks of trays from one end of the checkpoint to the other.

TSA spokeswoman Andrea McCauley said at Los Angeles International Airport, employees in the pilot program reported a 90 percent reduction in work-related back and shoulder injuries.

It also saved time – up to 90 seconds per person during the Thanksgiving rush, SecurityPoint Media said.

Although TSA does not receive a portion of the ad revenue, they are provided with equipment that is maintained at no charge to them.

In the Los Angeles program, SecurityPoint Media provided $250,000 worth of equipment.

Tulsa's program is in its second year. Remus, the deputy finance director, said airport officials will recommend that TSA continue the program because it has been well received.

Tulsa International Airport receives 40 percent of the ad revenue from the SecurityPoint Media program. The bins are just one of the new ways the airport is considering to generate revenue.

"We have a mindset to be open to any and all possibilities,” Remus said.

Coupons or advertisements on airport parking stubs and outdoor advertising are some of the possibilities, he said.

Will Rogers World Airport declined to have the ads in its security checkpoint bins, said Mark Kranenburg, director of airports for Oklahoma City. It doesn't add up to much revenue, he said, and the airport didn't want to jeopardize an advertising contract they have with another company.

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