Ford International Airport Recognized for Excellence in Digital Advertising

The Gerald R. Ford International Airport has been honored by the Airports Council International-North America as a 2021 Excellence in Airport Marketing, Communications and Customer Experience Awards winner.

Since 1990, the Excellence in Airport Marketing, Communications and Customer Experience Awards have recognized the quality of work, abundance of talent and creativity within the marketing, communications and customer experience fields of the airport industry. The Ford International Airport won the digital advertising category, which recognizes the best in web and social media ads that promote the airport, including giveaways, contests and other promotional initiatives.

“The Ford International Airport is proud to be recognized as best in class for our commitment to providing important communications on health and safety information during the pandemic,” said Tory Richardson, president and CEO of the Gerald R. Ford International Airport Authority. “Through our spring social media campaign, we were able to increase awareness of the Airport’s safety enhancements and nonstop routes, resulting in higher-than-expected guest numbers.”

The four-month Facebook campaign launched in March 2021, coinciding with the greater availability of vaccines and increased appetite for travel. It featured a variety of creative messaging that launched the Ford Airport closer to its goal of 70% of pre-pandemic guest numbers by the end of 2021. The Airport saw 80% of 2019 guest numbers in May – the last month of the campaign – putting it on pace to reach or exceed its pre-pandemic guest goal.

The social media campaign was created in collaboration with Extra Credit Projects and Sabo PR.

ACI-NA is the trade association that represents more than 300 commercial service airports and 400 aviation-related businesses in the U.S. and Canada. ACI-NA is the largest of the five worldwide regions of the Airports Council International.

“It is truly an honor to be recognized by our peers at ACI-NA,” Richardson said. “We have worked hard to position the Ford International Airport as a leader in the aviation industry and this award is another testament to the incredible drive and creativity of our team.”