No one flying into Chek Lap Kok can fail to notice the enormous Louis Vuitton trunk dominating the arrivals hall. Hong Kong's airport is the first venue worldwide to stage the French brand's three-dimensional display. Since LV has no airport shops, this monster is purely there to promote its new Landmark store.
The driving force behind this and many of the other eye-catching advertising innovations at Chek Lap Kok is Christina Cheng Lai-wah, the airport's assistant general manager, marketing and business development/retail and advertising business, and her 10-member team. It sounds complex. The retail and advertising department is divided into two sub-units, one retail management, the other marketing and business development. 'I'm in charge of marketing and business development,' she explains.
Thanks to Ms Cheng and her colleagues, the airport is proving to be a preferred advertising platform for international brands and luxury products from Chanel to Christian Dior.
Not that there's any shortage of space in Sir Norman Foster's 550,000 square metre barn that will become terminal one, when SkyPlaza, the second terminal building, opens this summer.
At present, there are more than 1,000 advertising units available in the terminal and the airport surrounds, including indoor and outdoor billboards, 300 light boxes, banners, trolley and clock adverts, large-scale LED and 3D dynamic displays, exhibition and promotion areas and sponsorship opportunities.
Interactive and innovative promotions such as a mega multimedia display screen will feature in SkyPlaza.
