Westfield, Europe’s largest and second largest shopping destination, is marking the Islamic festival of Eid by unveiling the first Arabic language campaign within a UK airport.
The campaign will run for a week following Eid al-Fitr on 17 July, the festival of fast breaking that marks the end of Ramadan. Adverts will be broadcast on the Arrivals Gallery and Arrivals digital six-sheets to coincide with the landing of each Emirates flight.
The Middle East market now accounts for a significant 25% of non-EU spend at Westfield. Post-Ramadan spend in Westfield London’s luxury quarter, the Village, has increased 64% year-on-year with spend up 75% in the mall. As such an influential market, Westfield identified the need to attract these visitors on arrival in London.
Myf Ryan, Director of Marketing, UK & Europe comments: “Shoppers from the Middle East are a notably important market for Westfield and we expect to see a significant number of international and domestic Middle Eastern visitors head to our centres this year as they celebrate Eid. This market is attracted to Westfield’s luxury offer, our services and our extensive leisure and dining options. This campaign at Gatwick Airport gives us the opportunity to reach this audience as soon as they arrive in London and deliver an impactful welcome message.”
The creative uses a mixture of English and Arabic language to encourage shoppers to visit Westfield’s shopping malls at Shepherd’s Bush and Stratford using the message “Welcome to London! Discover the ultimate world class shopping experience.”
The campaign, planned by Arena Media, bought through airport media specialist PSI and broadcast by UK airport advertising expert Eye Airports, will target Arabic speaking passengers who arrive at London Gatwick Airport on the thrice-daily Emirates flights from Dubai.
Abi Ward, Group Business Director at Arena Media, said: “With shopping power from the Middle East becoming increasingly significant at Westfield, this campaign demonstrates that, yet again, Westfield is fully in tune with its audience, and putting customers first.”
Killian Barrins, Business Director at Eye Airports, said: “This is a clever use of digital out-of-home that demonstrates how effective airports can be at utilising data to target specific passengers at specific times and minimise wastage.”
Westfield expects to see an increase in visitors over Eid, with designer brands such as Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Mulberry and Gucci housed in the Village, benefiting most from the Ramadan rush. To further enhance the shopping experience for this market, Westfield also has a dedicated concierge team offering personal chauffeurs, valet parking, handsfree shopping, personal styling and tax-free shopping.
Eye Airports’ national network reaches 100 million passengers a year. Last year it announced its #RedefiningAirports project, an £8m investment in advertising media and technology, the largest investment in advertising in UK airports this decade, involving the latest high-spec formats and opportunities for advertisers to “dominate” the airport environment.