Security bins at airports may be permanently equipped with advertising after next month, depending on what the Transportation Security Administration decides.
The TSA is wrapping up a pilot program at 15 airports throughout the country testing whether the bins used in security lines for items such as shoes and laptops can be fertile ground for advertisers.
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The pilot program finishes July 31, according to Joseph Ambrefe, president of SecurityPoint Media of St. Petersburg, Fla., which invented the system.
Ambrefe said the program included security improvements made to thebins, such as ID numbers to help individuals identify the trays they used and other small enhancements.
During the program, roughly 10 advertisers signed up to line the bottom of the bins with ads. A major supporter has been online shoe retailer Zappos; other clients included Sony Electronics and more regional advertisers such as auto dealerships.
D.C.-area airports were not initially part of the program, but Ambrefe said local facilities would be some of the next to receive the ad bins if the TSA approves the idea.
Though some naysayers have brushed off the idea, saying people are too harried in security lines to notice ads, Ambrefe said advertisers have not been scared off.
“We’ve heard that before,” he said. “But in that environment, you know how many people are going through checkpoints, and you can’t deny the fact that people are going to look more than once at where they put their laptop or their prized possessions.”
Branding expert Rob Frankel, author of “The Revenge of Brand X,” said he was skeptical the medium would be effective for advertisers who have no real connection with airports or security lines.
“As far as general name recognition, if the advertiser has a strategic relevance such as a shoe company, you can make an argument for it,” Frankel said. “But whether there is a return on their investment, you’ll never know.”
