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Las Vegas comes to Larnaca. That might sound an unlikely prospect but that’s what is happening in Cyprus as CTC-ARI Airports launches one of the most high-profile promotions seen in the airport retail channel.
It’s called ‘Amazing Days at the Airport – Viva Las Vegas’ and it’s part of a planned series of ‘Amazing Day’-themed campaigns. The first promotion will see a lucky winner earn ‘the trip of a lifetime’ to Las Vegas, with lots of added-value benefits such as US$10,000 in spending money. Suppliers too are leaping on the programme, offering a host of related incentives to enter.
We think this initiative deserves singling out because it touches on so many of the key issues on the industry’s agenda in recent times.
First, let’s examine the core aims. General Manager Gerry Crawford says the campaign is focused on driving penetration and spend through a partnership between the airport, its concessionaires and leading brand partners.
There are those out there who snipe at such ‘Trinity’ thinking but we believe it needs to be championed at every turn. Good in-store promotions so often fall short because the potential customers don’t enter the store in the first place.
That’s where airport support enters the scene, making full use of the whole airport environment to drive awareness and footfall into the shops. The power of the promotions – and the brand support – should do the rest.
We also like Gerry’s simple ethos that the campaign must be ‘fun’ and that it should create a spectacle – ‘retailtainment’ – inside the airport.
Another commendable aspect of ‘Amazing Days’ is that it is embracing the food & beverage operation – uniquely (or we think uniquely – we certainly can’t remember another occasion), the promotion includes catering purchases. Diners spending 35 Euros or more in the F&B or retail outlets gain an entry ticket for Viva Las Vegas, which in turn encourages diners to visit the stores to hand in their tickets.
I told you it ticked all the boxes. And there’s more. The staff – sometimes a barrier rather than conduit to successful promotions – are being actively courted to lend their support. A staff incentive scheme has been implemented , which sees higher rewards kick in as different thresholds are reached.
Gerry Crawford noted: “We hope that this promotion will be a huge success as it really has been an ambitious endeavour in terms of scale and also from the perspective of involving so many partners in the travel channel.”
We salute that thinking and we applaud CTC-ARI’s bold vision in bringing such a campaign to life. The spirit of Trinity is alive in Cyprus and, for one lucky person at least, in Las Vegas. Here’s a promotion you will be hearing a lot more of.