Interview with Giuseppe Fiordispina, Marketing Director SEAT Deutschland GmbH
You have remained true to airport advertising and have used sensational formats and promotions at Frankfurt Airport for Opel and Seat. What is the attraction of this Frankfurt location for you? Are there special features that you appreciate about the range, the audience or the spectrum of advertising formats?
For me - and I think it's the same for most people - there is a special atmosphere at an airport. I can always clearly feel this spirit of optimism. Fraport is the gateway to the world and only a few airports have such a broad international audience. The target groups that can be reached at this airport are correspondingly diverse. If you manage to impress a few of the travellers, they will carry their impressions out into the whole world. You don't have a comparable reach anywhere else, and that thought alone fascinates me. Speaking personally: at airports, I soak up all the impressions. If someone manages to get my attention, I tend to have a longer and more intense attention span than, for example, passing a billboard on the way to the supermarket.
When researching eye-catching historical campaigns, we came across automotive communication extraordinarily often - why is it that the big automotive brands are generally so popular at airports?
I believe that emotion is also a decisive factor here. Furthermore, cars have an ideal format for airports: they are too big to simply get lost in the sensory overload and also stand out in larger halls. Besides, everyone has to pass them on the way to the gates. On the other hand, and this is where the actual placement of cars comes into play: the airport is all about getting around in the broadest sense. But you don't expect to see a car - especially where there are no roads and only passers-by. With the right staging, you can attract special attention.
In your opinion, what are the upcoming formats and technologies at airports that will allow advertisers to create outstanding storytelling in the future?
For me, virtual reality is an exciting format for the future. With it we have completely different freedom, especially in terms of design, and in contrast to the otherwise static formats we can better engage the target group. What's interesting about VR is above all the possibility of interaction. And that's exactly how you pick up the target group, because with VR you can actively participate, experience something. We already used this technology at the IAA in Frankfurt in 2019. For the 30th anniversary of our brand ambassadors DIE FANTASTISCHEN VIER, visitors to the trade fair were able to experience a day at the seaside in the virtual environment Fantaventura. And end customers are also already coming into contact with the technology: for example with the virtual showroom, prospective customers can experience the new CUPRA models live through the eyes of a CUPRA specialist, without having to leave their home.
The flying Fiat is now 12 years old - what fresh ideas do you have to impress today's passengers with?
How about a shuttle ride from the gate to the plane - on the passenger seat next to Jutta Kleinschmidt in the all-electric Extreme-E racing car across the tarmac? Our young target group could, for example, convince themselves of the comprehensive connectivity options in one of our freshly overhauled SEAT Ibiza or Arona. A serenade with Mark Forster or the FANTAS, a freestyle rap battle against Amiaz Habtu, a dance challenge with Nikeata Thompson or a free kick against Marc ter Stegen in goal would also be possible. There are no limits to our imagination.
Under your creative aegis, passengers at Frankfurt Airport were able to experience a Fiat 500 Cabrio hanging upside down from the airport ceiling in 2009. An action that amazed many. Do you still remember: How did this action come about? How was it realised? Were there any unusual challenges?
I am actually still being asked about this installation today. We left a lasting impression, so to speak. Basically, the concept was simply the greatest possible contrast to the expected: A car at the airport that is not standing on the ground or driving along a road, but hanging from the ceiling - upside down. It simply had to be different and as paradoxical as possible. We wanted to stage a car that no one has ever been allowed to touch. It's also the perspective that works here - especially with a convertible. You never see a car from above. So we were sure to attract attention. It was realised above all with an enormous technical effort, in which the biggest challenge was compliance with the safety specifications.
