How to Sell a US Airport in Oceania(I Wanna Go Through SFO!)

- PRIA National Conference -October 2010

2

The planes go up...

Aviation ‘wars’ on Australian runways...

Airport Activity

Business Revenue

Payroll Retained Earnings, Dividends,

Investments

Local Purchases

Indirect Jobs

Direct Jobs Re-spending Induced Jobs

Taxes

Economic Impact

Who are your audiences? Really?- Business/leisure travellers willing to pay

first- or business-class fares - Corporate traveler planners/travel agents - Airline key corporate accounts - Media in Oceania/US that follow the

business, travel and aviation sectors

Objectives- Motivate travellers in Australia and New Zealand to

choose SFO when traveling to our through the US- Raise awareness of the SFO brand and experience,

particularly in the Sydney, Auckland and Brisbane markets

- Encourage current airline partners to expand SFO – Oceania service

- Support SFO’s ongoing efforts to court new airlines/routes

Strategies- Make SFO the airport of choice for first- and

business-class travelers- Tout SFO’s amenities/services to connecting

travelers- Link the SFO experience to the iconic status, global

visibility of the Bay Area business community- Align SFO with brand partners willing to embrace

campaign messaging

What’s so different about the space PR is in?

‘PR’ in a Different Space

Ask – How could the campaign support partners’ business objectives?

Collaborate – Airlines, airports, tourism boards, local governmentNegotiate – Contra, reduced costs, added valueLeverage – Assets, relationships, volunteersEngage – On site, on line, in market, at homeSupport – Media outreach, social media infrastructure, trade

relationsTiming – Visit USA, San Francisco Place dedication

Contra Advertising - February 2010 – 2.69 million

impressions at SYD- March 2010 - 5.88 million

impressions at SYD, BNE and AKL

Strategic Partnerships – Qantas Partnerships – Qantas - Route positioned via SFO’s unique offerings to Qantas

passengers arriving from SYD- SFO presentation hosted by Qantas at its Centre for

Service Excellence - Airline sales team personally secured 80 attendees- Incentive program worth $10,000+ in prize money gave

travel agents more reasons to ‘wanna go through SFO’ - SFO profile in Qantas “Your Business” newsletter

reached national sales team, hundreds of SME clients

Strategic Partnerships – Qantas Impact- Schedule restructuring to accommodate businesses’

needs voiced at reception - Fare sale spurred 34.6% increase in direct flight

ticket sales in March 2010 (SYD-SFO) over March 2009

- Competitors matched fare sale prices- Event attendees sampling SFO product

Strategic Partnerships – Qantas

3 June 2010

I had the pleasure of meeting you at the Qantas Centre for Excellence function when you were in Sydney. On the basis of your presentation, I have chosen to fly to the Virtuoso Conference in Las Vegas through SFO and look forward to testing its efficiency and the benefits for my clients in the future. I will be passing through on 14 Aug. ex QF 93 and look forward to reporting on my experience. Regards, Ian P.Director(Travel Agency), Sydney

Partnerships – Air New Zealand- Airline product positioned via its connecting airports BNE, MEL to AKL to SFO- ANZ-hosted corporate travel planner familiarisation

trip to SFO - Planners invited responsible for 75%+ of Oceanic

outbound business travel - Attendants experienced what travellers arriving at

SFO would experience

Impact – Air New Zealand- Unprecedented industry buzz in New Zealand travel

market - Senior level attendance by QBT, American Express,

Carlson-Wagonlit- Collaboration with CVB, San Francisco hotels,

attractions- Next SFO famil scheduled for December 2010

Sydney’s “San Francisco Place” dedicated February 2010 - week “I Wanna Go Through SFO” launched in Australia

Impact from the Freeway to the Expressway

(& the Beltway)

50+ print, blog , radio and TV outlets carried the campaign story for six weeks+ after launch

2 million+ impressions in Australia and the US via AP wire stories in both countries + USA Today

20,000 views in 24 hrs - Thank you, Harriet Baskas

Chicken vs. Egg vs. Omelette

• National outlets USA Today and the Australian Associated Press reported on the campaign and video, generating over two million impressions.

• Dozens of print, broadcast and blog coverage followed, creating undeniable buzz for SFO as a desired gateway to the US.

31, 260 views

http://www.youtube.com/user/TheSFOAirport#p/a/u/2/vbCnR8QSzLc

Campaign-related Activity- 25 tweets from @SFOgal to combined following of 35,000+- Six tweets from @hbaskas (USA Today) who has 1,997 followers

200 fans acquired via

targeted ads - cost per fan

$1.20

540 fans from Australia, New Zealand & US

45% of fans are male; 53%

female

Cities with the most fans: Auckland, Sydney, San

Francisco - in that order

50% of fans are between

25-44

Chicken vs. Egg vs. Omelette

SFO’s LinkedIn Group promotes industry discussions about corporate travel Group invitation delivered to all who attended the Qantas/SFO reception

“San Francisco used to be a pain going from domestic to

international, waiting for the bus to take you across, but now that everything’s connected it’s a pleasure.” – View from the Wing,

11 March 2010

”The campaign includes this sort of cute video, which includes cameos by Mayor Gavin Newsom and the iconic

SF Twins and lines like “…there’s the bad airport and then there’s San Francisco International Airport.” – Stuck

at the Airport, 1 March 2010

"San Francisco Airport is about to mount a major campaign in Australia to

urge people to use it as an American gateway.”

– mX Sydney, 16 February 2010

“In 2008 it was the third fastest growing airport in the world. And while last

year was tough for all airports, it still grew.”– AAP, 15 February 2010

“But if SFO can move the needle a little bit, this can be considered a victory.”

– BNET, 15 March 2010

“It's a reminder that airports have to

compete to retain their international gateway

status.” – AP, 29 March 2010

"We just have to realise that airports are not a

monopoly market anymore and we're

competing for international gateway status.” – LA Times, 27

March 2010

“It's a very competitive landscape today for airports. SFO's campaign

is a humorous spin on airport travel and a legitimate way for them to

spin the merits of their terminal.” – USA Today, 30 March 2010

“Mayor Gavin Newsom is

apparently there, too, to welcome you and open your cab door.” – sfgate.com, 30 March

2010

cd

‘No more. It’s been terrific, but (the Airport Director) wants it to end.

Thanks.’