Advertising Wrongheaded?
The beginning of our advertising campaign is generating strongly worded email from apparent business flyers. Two of them say they'll drive the 16+ hours roundtrip to Dallas to avoid flying from Springfield. I can understand driving to St. Louis, Kansas City or Tulsa to save airfare. But 16 hours to/from Dallas?
I've also heard about the cheap fares from Harrison, Arkansas. Just like Joplin, Harrison has Essential Air Service (EAS). EAS is a federally funded program which provides small cities with a "minimal level of scheduled service." Bottom line: Harrison's air service is subsidized by the federal government.
The overall theme of the mail is that we're wasting money by advertising and that we ought to be spending the money attracting airlines. Here's my standard response:
"Market research has told us that many people living in the service area are not aware of the airport and what it offers. So the campaign is aimed at those who are unaware, with the hope that they will consider the airport. And while it may not be obvious, this effort is part of our on-going effort to attract different airlines. Why? Because ultimately, the only thing airlines care about is how many seats they can sell in a given market. The more people that use the airport, the more willing an airline is to enter the market. What many folks fail to understand about airport and airline economics is that Springfield is a small market, with a small supply of seats--that's why fares are higher here than they are at bigger airports. It's the old economic law of supply and demand. And the only way we increase service is by increasing usage. That's why we're advertising."
Kent
2 Comments
Reader Comments (2)
This comment digresses from good website which has intent to help people get information about Springfield Airport but:
"I'd drive to/from Dallas".
By the time I drive to Springfield Airport,arrive early for security, park, check in, wait, depart,fly, arrive Dallas, get to carousel, find transportation and then drive to my destination in Dallas...the time difference may not be all that great. If I could fly cheaply though (and maybe I can as I haven't checked fares) then I would possibly fly.
It's all about the economics vs. the convenience. Many people do not have extra money to pay the additional money it takes to fly out of Springfield. For them,flying out of this airport isn't even an option. Especially if one is buying tickets for more than one person. The more who fly, the more economical it is to drive to another airport then fly.
You are right, places like Kansas City get many first time and/or rare flyers who are able, because of low airline rates, to fly. I take an educated guess that Springfield rarely gets these type of customers. The extra couple of hundred of dollars for a ticket does not allow them to fly. If the ad campaign SHOWED us how cheap it is...then maybe people would be attracted to the flying option.
Perhaps a campaign which shows us the good ticket rates available would up the interest of those non-flyers that the ad campaign is trying to educate. Many of us don't want to know that the airport is here, but want to know how it can help us.
I do appreciate your continued patience in answering questions/concerns. I don't think it is possible to stress how much lower fares will help this airport. I also don't think anyone cares about why TUL/HRO/JLN/XNA/MCI etc gets lower fares...all they care about is getting those same deals here. We WANT to use this airport, we just can't.
Keep trying to convince those airlines that "if they bring the jet to it, customers will come" and get us those needed low rates and thank you.
So, I've seen 3 different commercials on why I should use the Springfield-Branson National Airport and, based on these informative commercials, I have come to the following conclusion:
If you have the money of Doug Pitt, Brooke O'Reilly or Tim Rosenbury, it is very convenient to fly out of Springfield. However, if you’re like the majority of people in the Springfield area, you don't have the pocket change these people have to pay the extra it costs for this convenience.
The O'Reilly commercial is extremely offensive. If I had a family of 5, as she does, it would cost me $1,000 more ($200 per person) for the convenience of Springfield. Driving to Tulsa, St. Louis, or Kansas City, paying for parking and even staying the night is far less than $1,000.
So, if your ads are aimed at families that have a net worth of a few million dollars, then I would say your ads are successful. If the aim is to offend the rest of us, you have succeeded at that as well.
Who's next? John Q flying on a commuter jet?