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January 2014

Outagamie County

Name Change

Feasibility Report

Feb. 2013, The Outagamie County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution

creating an ad hoc committee to study the feasibly of an airport name

change. The committee is comprised of two Supervisors from the

Airport/Property Committee, two appointed by Board Chair and three citizens

appointed by the County Executive.

Although the name of the Airport has been questioned for several years, a

study to examine the value of the current name, name change benefits and

expense has not occurred. Therefore, the mission of this committee is to

answer those questions and if viable, present an alternative name for the

Outagamie County Regional Airport to the committee of jurisdiction and

County Board of Supervisors.

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Committee Members

Outagamie County Outagamie County

Board Supervisors Executive Appointees

Carl Anthony Cheryl Zaug Casey

Jeff Nooyen Stephen Kohler

Tanya Rabec-Chair Lance Schmidt

Travis Thyssen

County Board Chair County Executive

Judy Schuette Thomas Nelson

Feb. 2013, The Outagamie County Board of Supervisor’s passed a resolution

creating an ad hoc committee to study the feasibly of an airport name

change. The committee is comprised of two Supervisors from the

Airport/Property Committee, two appointed by Board Chair and three citizens

appointed by the County Executive.

Although the name of the Airport has been questioned for several years, a

study to examine the value of the current name, name change benefits and

expense has not occurred in several years. Therefore, the mission of this

committee is to answer those questions and if viable, present an alternative

name for the Outagamie County Regional Airport to the committee of

jurisdiction and County Board of Supervisors.

-

Committee Members

Outagamie County Outagamie County

Board Supervisors Executive Appointees

Carl Anthony Cheryl Zaug Casey

Jeff Nooyan Stephan Kohler

Tanya Rabec-Chair Lance Schmidt

Travis Thyssen

County Board Chair County Executive

Judy Schuette Thomas Nelson

1920’s Airport built and operated on the Wittman Farm, Appleton Rd. HWY41.

The Airport changes names to the George A Whiting Airport, a Neenah paper industrialist, after

he gave $5,000 for a facility

1940’s Whiting Field closes and The Outagamie County Airport on Ballard Road opens

1955 The Airport is running out of space and Outagamie County suggests building a new site with

Winnebago County 5 miles west of Neenah. Politics ensued and Winnebago County refuses. They

build their own airport at Wittman Field in Oshkosh. Outagamie goes forward building their own

airport.

1965 The Outagamie County Airport is dedicated on August 22

Local investors start what is now known as Air Wisconsin operating out of the airport. Soon other

vendors operate out of the airport as well.

Today The name has been a topic of discussion and debate throughout the 80’s and 90’s and as recently

as 2011.

History of ATW

Industry Naming Trends

Past airport naming trends centered around local individuals, such as military heroes, or

town where the airport is located. Current naming trends utilize anchor locations to draw

passengers into their airport.

Past Name Changed to

Rockford Airport Chicago-Rockford Airport

Fresno Airport Fresno-Yosemite Airport

Fort Meyers Airport Southwest Florida Airport

Standiford Airport Louisville International Airport

Ryan Field Airport Baton Rouge Metro Airport

Gallatin Field Airport Bozeman Yellowstone Airport

Wold-Chamberlain Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport

Per ATW Administration files

Airport name changes have not been linked directly to

an increase in passenger traffic as several factors

influence passenger traffic such as increase/decrease of

routes, destinations and pricing.

Our Customers

Airport Customers

General Aviation

Passenger Traffic

Cargo

Campus Tenants

`Airline Traffic 53%

General Aviation 36%

Cargo 2%

Campus Tenants 9% (Other)

Our customers keep our airport 100% off the tax levy!

Figures provided by ATW Administration

Commercial Traffic

Frequent Flyer/Business 80%

On the road/air 1-2 times/week

Most don’t book their own travel

Last minute, pay premium just need to get there

Leisure/Vacation Flyer 20%

Family vacation

Retired/Seasonal Travelers (snowbirds)

Often take time to research fare, will travel to outlying

airports

Most of us are leisure travelers

Most of the airport traffic is business travelers

Cargo

Destination dependent on market needs

Companies, location and demands

Campus Tenants

Non-Airline Tenant leases

Large employers

Car rentals

Restaurants

Carry over- use airlines, have hangars or private aircrafts, use FBO

services

General Aviation (Private Aviation)

Includes FBOs, T Hangar and GA based revenue

Create own flight plans to specific destinations

Airport preference determined by fuel cost and location

Refer to airport as “Appleton Tower”

Most GA do not have a preference or feel name should not change

Our Customers Cont.

Outagamie Airport- Regional Economic Driver

2008 At a Glance ATW is responsible for

$407.5 Million in

Economic output

Support 2,642 jobs

$119.9 million in additional

wage income to neighboring

communities

Employment

Jobs at ATW 1,417

Indirect (jobs supported) 242

Induced (Spinoff) 983

Total Local Employment

Impact- 2,642 Million

Local Payroll ATW Wages- $79.5 million

Wages from Visitor Spending- $5.1

Spinoff Spending Wages- $35.3

Total Local Payroll Impact-

$119.9 Million

Local Output/Sales

ATW-$293 Million

Direct Visitor Spending-$14.8

Indirect Visitor Spending- $99.7

Total Local Economic Output-

407.5 Million

Figures based off 2008 Economic Impact Report

Economic Impact

Flys into our airport

Stays in our hotels, eats in our restaurants, rents

our cars and use our (convenience) stores

Attends function that brought them here

Spending stays local, jobs generated further

spurring local economy

Local spending increases services needed,

increased tax collection

increased airport use

Appleton, Wisconsin

P

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Economic Impact

Economic Impact

Airport Marketing

Outagamie County

Regional Airport ATW

Official Name

Easily identifies airport

to online customers

Easy to refer to

Establishes anchor

location

Challenges

External Challenges

Tight airspace/increased competition with area airports

Airlines determine new routes

Several factors go into ticket price which the airport

has little control over

Marketing Challenges

Name does not resonate with area

Difficult to say

“County” and “regional” imply low quality

Difficult to market “wordy”

Concerns regarding the current airport name

Difficult to spell/find on mapping systems

Name “county” and “regional” implies low quality airport

Disconnect with travelers from outside of area

Difficult to market (wordy)

Airport known to community, but not beyond

Possible customs in 12-18 months **

Many call it the Appleton Airport

Outagamie County Regional Airport

Committee Findings

Benefits by keeping the current airport name

No incurred financial impact

Community is used to the name

Airport name has community ownership

“.. I was in my car at the very south end of the airport and a man with a distinctly

Southern accent approached me and asked, ‘How do you get to the Appleton Airport?”

Gary M.

“..My customers are Fortune 100 of America. I think everyone understands local

companies like Kimberly Clark, Pierce, Plexus and Bemis bring a lot of business travelers

into Appleton. What you may not think about are companies like Deloitte, Ernst &

Young, Dupont, Dow Chemical, etc.” Continuing on regarding the name OCRA, “The

fact is, all three words of our airport name are negative (Outagamie can’t pronounce.

County, people don’t like to fly into and regional, like there is no city nearby). I urge

the committee to step outside of your comfort zone and consider Appleton Airport

from the CUSTOMERS viewpoint..” Patrick, Business Development, Radisson paper

Valley

“OC doesn’t provide any usable reference to someone not from the area” Vince P.

“OCRA is a little wordy and confusing to people flying into APPLETON. They do not

recognize our County, but they recognize the city” Kristi K, National Car Rental

“ATW is ok” Randy M. T hanger

“I think it would be too confusing for customers to. It should be changed to Appleton

Airport because that is what customers call it now. Some people call (us) and ask if

Outagamie Airport is Appleton Airport”- Paula K Airport Gift shop

Allegiant commercials are 15 seconds and cover all of Wisconsin and Western MI.

OCRA is so long cutting into their 15 seconds without providing a location where

people need to go; therefore they market us as Appleton Airport.

Community Comments

“It has to Make Sense”

The Committee determined the following should be taken

into consideration while contemplating a possible name

change

The Name of the Airport:

Based on the best interests of the airport

Should be driven by those using the airport

Recognized outside of the community

Easy to market

Name Change should not be placed on levy or be a financial

burden

Cost is just under $200,000

Actual cost closer to $140,000 as many signs only display

airport symbol; no change needed

Airport would absorb cost; no taxpayer money involved Based off of Highway/State signage estimates and ATW Admin estimates

Considerations

Non-location names were not considered due to the response from

the community. Therefore, the committee referred back to the trend

of considering names based on anchor location

Outagamie Airport

Lacks location identifier/Branding Effort

Hard to say/spell (Benefits don’t outweigh change)

Outagamie is not marketed or branded; therefore, the current airport

name represented missed marketing opportunities

Fox Cities, Fox Valley, Fox River Airport

1 Fox Cities

4 Fox Valleys

5 Communities called Fox River

13 Fox Rivers

Fox River (Valley, Cities)is not recognized as anchor location

outside of region; unable to locate “Fox XX” on map

Appleton Airport Recognized location

Blends into area’s regional branding

Easy to market

Allows for growth (International)

Current name of airport within traveling community

Data generated from World Atlas.com and

The committee recommends the Outagamie

County Board of Supervisors change the

name of the Outagamie County Regional

Airport to Appleton Airport

The committee also recommends the following method of

implementation

1. Signage change on highways and entrance

2. Marketing materials and letterhead phased out

3. Allow for extended timeframe for compliance from

tenants/customers

Committee Recommendations