The summer travel season is officially underway, with 211.5 million passengers expected to pass through airport security lines between Memorial Day and Labor Day. A new program places ads at the bottom of the plastic security bins that hold the contents of each passenger’s pockets, alongside handbags, laptops and other valuables as they are scanned.

To find out how to get your client’s message in front of a captive audience while they wait to pass through airport security, read on.

This is one in a Media Life series on buying the new out-of-home venues. They appear weekly.

Fast Facts

What
Ads on airport security bins.

Who
SecurityPoint Media, headquartered in St. Petersburg, Fla.

How it works
Ads are placed on the bottom of the plastic bins that airline passengers use to hold their wallets, keys, laptops and other items for screening at airport security.

The program is used primarily for branding, says president Joe Ambrefe.

Creative is provided by the advertiser and can tie into the airport or security theme.

Creative is approximately 12 inches high by 17 inches long.

Up to four versions of creative can be used at each airport.

An advertiser buys every bin at an airport. For example, an LAX buy includes all eight terminals and 72 security lines.

Advertisers are both national and local.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has right of approval over ad content.

Markets
The program is available at airports in Nashville, Los Angeles, Seattle, San Diego, Jacksonville, Reno, Chattanooga, Denver, Richmond, Knoxville, Tulsa, Santa Ana and Ontario, Calif.

Additional markets will be added when the program’s trial period ends on May 31.

Numbers
Each year 92 million adults in the U.S. are exposed to airport advertising, according to a 2004 Arbitron study.

How it is measured
Measurement is based on passenger data provided by airlines and Airport Councils International (ACI).

Each traveler uses an average of two-and-a-half trays, which equals five impressions resulting from putting items into the trays and then removing them, Ambrefe says.

Research
In addition to the branded bins, airports are provided with carts for moving the bins and the use of bins has sped up screening time by 80 percent, according to a TSA study.

What product categories do well
Cell phones, laptops, automotive and other high-end goods and services are top categories.

Demographics
A 2004 Airport Advertising Study by Arbitron found that frequent flyers, defined as adults who take four-plus trips each year, have an average household income of $100,000, and 47 percent are in jobs defined as professional or managerial.

More than two thirds, 68  percent, are college graduates, and 35 percent spend an hour or more a day on the internet.

And while frequent flyers make up 20 percent of the advertising audience at airports, they account for 60 percent of impressions. More than 43 percent consider themselves early adopters of new products and services.

Making the buy
Lead time is four weeks in markets where inventory is availability. Advertisers can buy an airport, the network or anything in between, Ambrefe says.

The minimum buy is 90 days. Creative can be changed after 90 days.

Cost is based on the number of travelers passing through the security checkpoints.

Who’s already on airport security bins
Zappos.com, Rolodex, Sony, Sylvania, Coggin Automotive and Kyocera are recent advertisers.

What they’re saying
“This is about the novelty of the space. It allows us to get our message across visually. Our 3-D campaign has the ad kind of jumping out at you, to put a little Zappos in your day. When I’m coming through security I know that it can be frustrating and this is to provide a little lightheartedness.” – Andy Kurlander, senior marketing manager for Zappos.com.

Web site info
SecurityPoint Media at http://www.securitypointmedia.com