Katharine Becks-Marketing Plan

Bangor International Airport Marketing Plan

Husson University

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 4 II. INTERNAL ANALYSIS 5 Current Situation 5 Organizational Overview 5 Values, Vision, Mission 5 History 5 Goals 6 Objectives 6 Products and Services 7 Overview of Products and Services 7 General Aviation Services 7 Cargo Services 8 Commercial Passenger Services 8 Online Presence 11 Differentiating Features 11 Financial/Other Resources 13 Sales and Profit History 13 Organizational Culture 14 Internal Strengths and Weaknesses Summary 15 III. EXTERNAL ANALYSIS 15 Nature of Demand 15 Current/Potential Markets (by segment) 16 Collaborative Relationships 16 Industry Analysis and Trends 17 Industry Structure and Description 17 Growth Rates 17 Cyclicity/Seasonality 18 Forecasts 18 Comparable Products/Services 19 Lifecycle Stage 19 Nature of Competition 19 Competitor Analysis (by competitor) 19 Substitutes 20 6. Environmental Climate (Macroenvironment) 20 Technological 20 Legal/Regulatory 21 Political 21 Ecological (natural environment) 22 Economic 22 Social/Cultural/Demographic 23 External Opportunities and Threats Summary 23 IV. PROPOSED MARKETING PROGRAM 23 Goals 23 Objectives 24 Objective 1 24 Objective 2 24 Objective 3 24 Strategies 25 Objective 1 25 Objective 2 25 Objective 3 26 Tactics 26 Objective 1 26 Objective 2 28 Objective 3 29 Website 31 V. IMPLEMENTATION 32 Action Plan/Timeline 32 Evaluation 33 Contingency Plans 34 VI. CONCLUSION 34 VII. APPENDIX 35 References 44

Running Head: BANGOR INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT MARKETING PLAN

BANGOR INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT MARKETING PLAN 46

Bangor International Airport plays an important role in the success of northern, central, and eastern Maine. The Bangor region is home to world-class tourism destinations and the airport connects these locations and Maine residents to domestic markets such as New York, Washington, Philadelphia, and Orlando. The airport has seen significant growth in recent years and is well positioned to continue that trend by taking a smart approach to their marketing efforts.

The airport’s marketing plan should emphasize both the region’s attractions to consumers and position itself as the best option to connect consumers to these attractions, drawing customers away from nearby competitors. The primary goals identified are to increase travel between the central, northern, and eastern parts of Maine and the rest of the country and to establish Bangor International Airport as the best method of transportation to and from the region. This will be carried out by accomplishing three central objectives:

· Objective 1: Increase inbound travel to BGR by 15% over the next two years.

· Objective 2: Increase the outbound amount of local and regional passengers who use BGR to reach their vacation or business destinations by 15% over the next two years.

· Objective 3: Expand targeted domestic markets with two to three new routes within the next five years.

Bangor International Airport (BGR) is one of Maine’s three international airports. Owned and operated by the city of Bangor, the airport offers services for domestic and international commercial passengers, cargo, and general aviation, as well as hosting military operations for the Maine Air National Guard. With a two-mile-long runway, BGR can accommodate aircraft of any size, and was even designated by NASA an emergency landing location for its space shuttles. The airport is a common stop for transatlantic flights between Europe and the United States, but also offers domestic service to destinations in the eastern United States. After several years of little to no growth, the airport has seen significant growth in 2017 and 2018, and in 2018 was ranked by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics as the 159th largest airport in the U.S. (by enplaned passengers). BGR aims to develop marketing strategies to grow its domestic service, focusing particularly on its website and digital marketing.

Bangor International Airport has not publicly identified a mission statement. However, its website (n.d.) identifies the airport as “Maine’s friendly, convenient airport, and the best choice for getting to and from the Bangor region.”

In 1927, attorney Edward Rawson Godfrey established Godfrey Field to begin regular air passenger service from Bangor to Portland and Boston. Its routes were operated by Boston-Maine Airways (which was eventually acquired by Delta Airlines), which contracted with Pan American to include Bangor as a stop on intercontinental routes to Europe. Many of the earliest Boston-Maine Airways flights were piloted by Amelia Earhart.

Shortly before World War II, Godfrey Field was taken over by the U.S. Army Air Corps and was eventually renamed Dow Air Force Base. The Air Force used the base for aircraft flying the Great Circle Route to Europe. In 1958, Dow Air Force Base became the home of the longest runway east of the Mississippi in order to accommodate B-52 bombers. The 101st Fighter Wing still uses space at the airport today to operate its KC-135 Stratotanker refueling aircraft, serving as a source of revenue for the airport.

In 1968, Dow Air Force Base was purchased by the city of Bangor and became Bangor International Airport. Attracting up to 5,000 flights per year, the airport has historically been mostly used as a point of entry for flights between Europe and the U.S. West Coast or the Caribbean. The airport has also been used to bring members of the military home from overseas since the Gulf Wars.

Because Bangor International Airport is the most northeasterly major airport in the U.S., it has often been used for diverted west-bound transatlantic flights when fuel loads prove insufficient. Because of its long runway and uncongested airspace, it has also received many flights diverted due to weather, mechanical issues, medical reasons, and security concerns. Diverted flights are a source of revenue for the airport from fuel and handling fees.

Bangor International Airport wants to increase its domestic service. The airport currently offers service to several destinations in the eastern United States and aims to attract more commercial domestic passengers. As part of this promotion, the airport intends to revise its website and explore promotion through other digital marketing channels.

The airport’s objective is to provide convenient and low-cost passenger service to and from the Bangor region.

Although currently focused on its domestic commercial service, BGR is used for a variety of operations. Figure A displays the airports operations, using most recently available data through 2016 (Airport Information, n.d.). The data show that commercial passenger operations only account for 16% of the airport’s operations, with most operations being either general aviation or military. The airport has not publicly disclosed revenues by type of operation.

Figure A

Nearly half of the airport’s operations are general aviation. The airport offers several services to attract GA pilots, including a pilot’s lounge with cable TV, a weather and flight briefing room, airside catering, and competitive prices for parking and fuel with 24/7 availability. Maine Aero services once offered flight training at BGR, but the service has since been discontinued.

With a variety of loading and unloading equipment, federal inspection services, plentiful ramp space, and heated cargo space, BGR also offers cargo services. Bangor is the home of several trucking firms, and the airport is located directly adjacent to Interstate 95 to provide easy ground transportation to Portland, Boston, the Canadian border, and a nearby deep-water port in Searsport.

BGR is a full-service domestic and international airport. With an international terminal and a six-gate domestic terminal, the airport offers refueling, aircraft servicing and handling, and maintenance services. Often used as a technical stop or an emergency landing location for transatlantic flights, the airport also offers domestic service through four carriers. The destinations for each air carrier are listed in Table 1 and displayed in Figure B.

Table 1

Figure B

Figure C shows market share by airline, based on most recent available data (Airport Information, n.d.). The data show that American Airlines provides nearly half of BGR’s domestic service, with Delta Airlines and Allegient air providing approximately one quarter each.

Figure C

Figure D shows the load factor for each airline in 2016. For reference, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics reported that the national average domestic load factor in 2016 was 84.7%.

Figure D

The data reflect that while American Airlines is BGR’s largest domestic carrier, its load factor was the least efficient and well below the national average. Allegient Air (which offers service only to locations in Florida) was the most efficient, exceeding the national average.

Bangor International Airport offers several amenities to travelers. The Grasshopper Shop offers clothing, accessories, jewelry, gifts, and toys. Bangor News & Gifts has reading material and Maine apparel and gifts for sale. Dining options include the Refueler Pub & Grill – a New England style lounge and pub fare (lobster included) – and Highlands Café, a quick casual eatery offering coffee, specialty drinks, blueberry muffins, lobster rolls, and clam chowder. Other amenities include free Wi-Fi, Lost & Found, an ATM, and disability services. BGR’s ‘Thanks Again’ loyalty program offers passengers and employees the opportunity to earn airline miles, points, cash back, or prepaid cards for purchases made with registered credit and debit cards.

As noted above, BGR is interested in redesigning its website. While not overly difficult to navigate, the website certainly has potential to be more user-friendly, intuitive, functional, and visually appealing. The mobile website is difficult but not impossible to use. Most of its informational and promotional materials are linked PDF documents rather than graphics or individual webpages. Because much of BGR’s operations are general aviation, the website is designed to receive both GA and commercial passenger traffic.

BGR has a Facebook page, which has 6,404 likes (as of 4/5/19). For reference, the Facebook page for Portland International Jetport has 11,664 likes, and Logan’s page has 142,349 likes. In the past six months, BGR has posted on its Facebook page one to four times each month. BGR is on Twitter (@Fleeger) with 9,581 followers; however, its most recent tweet was in October 2018. It does have more followers than the Portland Jetport (3,962), but fewer than Logan (48,400). BGR’s Instagram page has 257 followers; it has only posted five photos, the most recent in 2014.

Originally built for B-52 bombers during the Cold War, BGR’s runway was once the longest runway east of the Mississippi. At eleven thousand, four hundred forty feet, the runway is large enough to accommodate any aircraft currently in service; in 2015, BGR hosted the heaviest aircraft ever built – the Antonov AN-225 Mriya. The size of the runway provides BGR flexibility to expand operations without being limited by the types of aircraft it can accommodate.

A second differentiating feature is BGR’s location and surrounding geography. Directly adjacent to Interstate 95, the airport is easily accessible in a low-congestion area. Located in the heart of the state, BGR is the closest major airport for approximately one-third of Maine’s population. Its closest competitors, all to the southwest, are Portland International Jetport (133 miles away), Manchester-Boston Regional Airport (226 miles away), and Logan International Airport (234 miles away). Rather than driving for hours to southern Maine or beyond, BGR serves as a close and convenient connection to the rest of the country for the residents of central, northern, and eastern Maine.

Bangor International Airport’s location also makes it the ideal gateway to experience rural Maine. While Portland is Maine’s growing urban attraction, its wilderness attractions are mostly located in the central, northern, and eastern parts of the state. Table 2 compares the driving distance in miles and time (according to Google Maps) to several rural Maine attractions from Bangor, Portland, and Boston.

Table 2

With pleasant summer weather for hiking and fishing, beautiful fall foliage, winter sports, and maple syrup in the spring, rural Maine offers attractions in every season. While these destinations are a half-day’s drive or more from Boston or Portland, they are all easily accessible through Bangor International Airport. For out-of-state travelers looking to experience all Maine has to offer, a flight to BGR reduces travel time and costs.

While it does offer some distinct advantages, BGR’s location is also a significant drawback; the airport simply does not serve a large urban population. With a population of about 32,000, Bangor is Maine’s third largest city and is less than half the size of Portland. According to DATA USA, the population of the Bangor metro area is 152,978. For reference, the population of the Portland-South Portland metro area is 529,657, and the population of the Boston metro area is 4.8 million. While BGR is the closest airport to central, northern, and eastern Maine, these are predominantly rural areas – which tend to house lower-income populations with less disposable income and demand for air travel.

Bangor International Airport is operated as an enterprise fund by the city of Bangor. While specific financial information for the airport is not publicly available, limited information can be found through the city of Bangor’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (City of Bangor, n.d.). Table 3 displays the airport’s total assets, operating revenue, operating expenses, and operating income (loss) for the past five years.

Table 3

As reflected, the airport has operated at a loss for each of the past five years. However, the trend is in a positive direction; while operating revenue has grown by 39.7% from 2014 to 2018, operating expenses have grown by only 4.6%, reducing the operating loss from $8.3M to $4.4M in 2018.

Publicly available sales information is limited to enplaned and deplaned passengers and has been obtained from a variety of sources. BGR’s website offers detailed passenger information through 2016. These data reflect sporadic growth: 6.0% in 2013, 0.5% in 2014, -2.6% in 2015, and 3.2% in 2016. Figure E displays passengers by month for the years 2014-2016.

Figure E

Passenger traffic peaks during the summer months of July and August, and is lowest during the winter months of December, January, and February. Based on publicly available information, it is unclear how much additional capacity the airport has available to accommodate more summer travelers; however, winter travel clearly has room to grow, and can be an area of opportunity for the airport. Alex Acquisto of Bangor Daily News (2018) reported that the airport served more than 546,000 travelers in 2017 – an increase of 10.9% over 2016. The positive trend has continued; according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (which reports enplaned passengers rather than total passengers), BGR saw more than 304,000 passengers enplaned in 2018 – a 12.7% increase over 2017.

Very limited information is available about BGR’s organizational culture. The airport’s website indicates that it engages in two community outreach programs: an airport youth program to educate children about math, science, geography, and travel; and an arts and aviation program, which sponsors an annual aviation art contest.

BGR’s most significant differentiating feature is its location in central Maine, which is both a strength and a weakness. Beyond the airport’s control is the low population of the Bangor metro area, resulting in limited business travel and otherwise low local demand. However, BGR is the closest major airport for a significant portion of Maine’s population, and serves as the gateway for out-of-state tourists to visit Maine’s rural attractions and coastal destinations such as Acadia National Park. Historically, low demand for these routes has resulted in high fares to travel through BGR. However, the gap has narrowed substantially in recent years; a 2017 study showed that average ticket prices for BGR were only $12 higher than Portland (Acquisto, 2018).

Demand for domestic air travel in the United States has increased over the past decade. From 2008 to 2018, the annual number of domestic air passengers increased 19%, from 651,710,182 to 777,919,130. Over that same time frame, revenue passenger miles, which is calculated by multiplying the number of paying passengers by the distance traveled, also increased 26% (Bureau of Transportation Statistics., n.d.). Air travel continues to be an attractive mode of transportation for leisure and business travel within the United States.

From a tourism perspective, records from the Maine Office of Tourism show that “36.7 million tourists visited Maine in 2017, a 2.5 percent increase over 2016 and about 8.8 million more visitors than in 2012.” Although the number of visitors is higher, tourist “spending increased only 0.4 percent to about $6 billion, virtually flat from the year before” (as cited in McGuire, 2018). The Bangor region is well positioned to attract tourists who want to visit hotspots like Acadia National Park, Baxter State Park, and other areas of natural beauty.

The demand of business travelers depends heavily on how much business there is in a region. Peter DelGreco, President & CEO of Maine & Company, said in an interview for the Greater Bangor Chamber of Commerce that:

Companies like Wayfair, GE, Bangor Savings Bank, Cianbro, Cross Insurance, Hollywood Casino, and others have all made significant investment in the region over the years. Public private investments at places like the Cross Insurance Center, Bangor International Airport, Waterfront Concerts, and the University of Maine have helped stimulate growth and overall economic activity.

Bangor International Airport is currently served by four carriers: Allegiant, American, Delta and United. The destination cities with the five highest passenger counts for the last year, according to data in the marketing plan competition document, are Philadelphia, New York, Washington D.C., Orlando, and Detroit. The current markets the airport is looking to grow are domestic travelers such as tourists and business commuters. The first segment, tourists, consists of people from other states who are flying into Bangor to vacation in the state of Maine. We believe there is an opportunity to further promote the “Maine experiences” that are a short distance from the airport. The Bangor region offers many tourism opportunities and is a low-cost, safe, and family friendly place to visit. On the business travel side, this segment is limited by the number of companies and business opportunities in the region. The proximity of the airport to downtown Bangor as well as the largest university in the state make for good opportunities to grow the business travel segment.

The airport has two important collaborative relationships: The relationship with the airlines that use the airport and the City of Bangor, which owns the airport. First, the airport maintains mutually beneficial relationships with the four current carriers (Allegiant, American, Delta and United). The airlines rely on the airport for to provide passengers and infrastructure, and the airport in turn needs the airlines for passengers and destinations. Tony Caruso, the Director of Bangor International, notes that “it can be a long process to lure carriers, like the three years between the first pitch to low-cost airline Allegiant in early 2004 and its arrival in 2007” (Cordes, 2018). Another collaborative relationship exists between the airport and the City of Bangor, and by extension the potential passengers in the region. Furthermore, the Maine Air National Guard has a lease agreement with the city to utilize the airport for their operations.

The domestic air travel industry in the United States is a competitive market. As of 2017, “there are four major domestic airlines – American Airlines, Inc., Delta Air Lines, Inc., Southwest and United Airlines, subsidiary of United Continental Holdings, Inc. - which fly about 80% of all domestic passengers.” (Segal, 2018). These major carriers and smaller ones serve the thousands of airports in the United States. Market research by consulting firm WNS (n.d.) notes positive trends such as rising passenger demand and cargo volume, higher capacities and improved operational metrics. Challenges include fuel costs, labor costs, and intensifying competition.

According to research published by IBISWorld (2018), the revenues of domestic airlines in the US “have grown by 2.5% to reach revenue of $142bn in 2018.” And according to Holmes (2018), From 2000 to 2017, airport revenues rose 87 percent, double the pace of U.S. inflation. Increased growth came thanks to several resources, from taxes and fees to the Passenger Facility Charge (PFC) and Airport & Airway Trust Fund (AATF).

Figure F - Holmes (2018)

Domestic air travel does have a seasonality to its demand. While there are high passenger volumes on days near major holidays, Maynard (2015) writes that July is the busiest travel month of the year. She explains that in July “you have vacation travelers, who are trying to pack in family and personal trips in the month when there's generally no school. Business travelers are also on the road, attempting to get things done before offices empty out in August.” Statistically, she writes that “in 2014, 71.8 million people flew during July, according to the Bureau of Travel Statistics. That was 37 percent more passengers than got on a plane in February 2014, the year's slowest month.” In terms of passenger demand for visiting the Bangor region, it follows the general trend of summer being the peak of Maine’s tourism season.

According to Fitch Ratings (as cited in Holmes, 2018), “strong overall performance for U.S. airports should continue undeterred for the foreseeable future.” Over 90 percent of the airports Fitch currently rates have a “Stable Rating Outlook,” signifying continued stability deep into 2019. And overall, it is predicted that “the domestic airlines industry is projected to continue growing over the next five years” (IBISWorld, 2018).

In the realm of transportation within the United States, the domestic airline industry competes with other mass transit options such as buses and trains and travel by passenger automobile. The airline industry has the obvious advantage of speed and ability to travel the longest distances in the shortest amount of time. However, shorter distances may not be as feasible via airplane based on time and cost.

Domestic airline travel is in the mature lifecycle stage, marked by high demand and strong competition. Peter & Donnelly (2013, pg. 98) explain that at this stage companies must compete by luring customers from competitors, pricing is lower, and promotional messages are focused on differentiating from competitors. This is especially evident at larger airports with many carriers and many potential customers.

The competition for Bangor International Airport comes from other airports in the region. The primary competitor in Maine is the Portland International Jetport. According to the Federal Aviation Administration (2015), Portland’s airport

Serves an area of strong economic growth, with recent rates of population increase that are several times as high as the state as a whole. Recent improvements in highway access have improved its appeal to passengers within its catchment area. Portland plays an important role in providing access to tourists visiting the state.

In 2017 the Portland Jetport served 1,862,213 million passengers, up 4.2% from 2016” (Cordes 2018). Portland should be considered the primary competition for domestic air travel for Bangor based on proximity. The major regional airport for New England is Boston’s Logan Airport, with offers the best connectivity to domestic destinations for the region but is close to four hours away by car or bus. Other regional airports of note include Manchester-Boston Regional Airport in New Hampshire and T.F. Green Airport in Rhode Island, however. their distances from Bangor reduce direct competition. There are minor airports that are closer, but their limited flight options limit their competitiveness. For example, Hancock County–Bar Harbor Airport is about an hour away from the Bangor airport and offers very close proximity to Acadia National Park. However, most of its traffic is general aviation, and it only served about 16,000 passengers in 2017 (Federal Aviation Administration).

The primary substitutes for Bangor International Airport include cars and intercity buses. The Bangor region is connected to the interstate highway network, allowing for relatively easy travel by private car or bus. Although Bangor is a long drive from other parts of the country, there may be some examples where the cost of driving is not significantly more than flying. To compete with these other modes of transportation, Bangor International Airport needs to promote air travel as quick, affordable and convenient.

The airline industry and impacted by changes in technology. As Zhang (2018) writes, “technology has already helped revolutionize everything from in-flight entertainment to freeing flights crews from their cumbersome flight manuals.” However, it is also noted that reliance on technology makes the industry vulnerable when technical issues arise. For instance, “insufficient investment in technology infrastructure over the past decade has resulted in a spate of computer outages that can cripple an airline's operations for days on end. With the growing threat of cybercrime, the airline industry will have to work much harder to stay ahead of the curve.” From a passenger perspective, consumers increasingly embrace the use of technology when traveling by air. For example, checking into your flight electronically is now a standard offering which benefits both passengers and airlines. A report by Airport-technology.com (2018) says that surveys show passengers want to be informed throughout their journey on their personal device: “Nearly 82% of respondents said that they would like to receive information on flight status, 49% on baggage, while 46% would like to receive waiting time information at security and immigration.” Airports will need to continue adapting to new technologies to meet the needs of passengers and airlines.

The aviation industry in the United States is heavily regulated. The Federal Aviation Administration oversees safety, airport development, air traffic control, and flight crew certifications within the United States. Additionally, airports are subject to the legal and regulatory requirements of the cities in which they operate. Heffernan (2018) writes that prior to the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978,

The Civil Aeronautics Board, the federal agency with economic regulatory authority over airlines, decided how many (and which) airlines were licensed to fly any given route (e.g., New York to Dallas) and how much those airlines could charge passengers on that route.

The industry has not had this type of regulation now for more than 40 years, but it is still subject to many federal and state regulations.

The political environment can greatly impact the airline industry. For instance, the deregulation of the industry in the 1970’s had a major impact on growing the industry and increasing competition (Peter & Donnelly, 2013). Federal and local governments can enact new laws, taxes or regulatory requirements on the industry that may increase or decrease costs. Bangor International Airport is operated by the City of Bangor and therefore needs to have a positive political relationship with the leaders of the city.

More than ever, consumers are thoughtful about the environmental impact of flying. Air travel is a contributor to carbon emissions and global warming around the world. Airports take up a large amount of real estate that can disrupt natural habitats as well. Demand for more sustainable practices will likely continue to grow. Maine’s natural beauty is a selling point for tourists, so the airport should be thoughtful of making steps to be more sustainable.

Trends in the airline industry line up with trends of the broader economy. The following graph from investment website Seeking Alpha (2012) shows a correlation between the US Gross Domestic Product and annual percent change in passengers from 1971-2011.

Figure G - Seeking Alpha (2012)

The health of the overall economy certainly impacts the earnings of many people, which therefore ends up impacting the amount of leisure travel that is done. Rates of tourism and business travel will likely be higher from geographic areas that are most prosperous.

Another way the airline industry is impacted by tends in the economy relates to fuel prices. Fuel is a variable cost that accounts for a lot of expense for each flight. When fuel prices go up and down more than predicted it can adversely impact an airline’s income statement. The cost of fuel is not controlled by airports and airlines, but it’s something the industry needs to factor in to their planning.

Travelling by air Is very common in the United States and for many people is part of the cultural experience of domestic tourism and business travel. Air travel has never been more affordable and more accessible for more people, making it an option for most people around the country.

Bangor International Airport has opportunities to grow its passenger counts at present time based on a strong economy, competition between domestic airlines, and its location. Primary external threats include competition for passengers from Portland International Jetport and Boston’s Logan Airport. Other external threats include limited passenger supply in the Bangor region, economic downturns and potentially rising fuel costs.

Bangor International Airport is focused on increasing its domestic passenger service. Given the airport’s location as its most significant differentiating feature, marketing goals, objectives, and strategies should aim to emphasize this differentiation and the advantages it provides. The opportunities available to BGR are Maine’s tourist attractions, which bring tourists from out of state, and its southern destinations, which attract Maine residents in the winter and spring. More specifically, the two opportunities are to influence consumers to travel who would not otherwise travel, and to influence consumers who do travel using BGR’s competitors to utilize BGR’s service instead. Consequently, BGR’s marketing plan should both emphasize these attractions to consumers and position itself as the best option to connect consumers to these attractions, drawing customers away from nearby competitors. We have identified the two-part goal at hand to be:

1. Increase air travel between the central, northern, and eastern parts of Maine and the rest of the country.

2. Establish Bangor International Airport as the best value and means of transportation for this travel through its comparable fares and proximity to desired locations.

The first objective is to grow inbound passengers by 15% over the next two years. This objective will target consumers in cities which are currently serviced, such as New York, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia. As this objective relates to the first part of BGR’s goal, the airport should promote Maine attractions such as Acadia National Park and Baxter State Park among these out-of-state consumers. To accomplish the second part of its goal, BGR should distinguish itself against nearby competitors as the best value for consumers to reach these destinations.

Similar to Objective 1, Objective 2 is to grow outbound passengers by 15% over the next two years. This objective targets Maine residents in the central, eastern, and northern parts of the state. With regards to Part 1 of the marketing goal, BGR should promote southern destinations such as Charlotte, Orlando, and Tampa. To accomplish Part 2 of the goal, BGR should emphasize to consumers the advantage of traveling through Bangor instead of Portland, Boston, or Manchester.

The third objective is to expand targeted domestic markets with two new routes over the next five years. With the increasing popularity of destinations in central, eastern, and northern Maine, opportunity exists for the airport to grow by offering the benefits of traveling through BGR to new markets. BGR should capitalize upon this opportunity by first identifying the most profitable new routes, then incentivizing carriers to provide service along these routes.

The strategy proposed to grow inbound passengers by 15% over the next two years is based around market development. The Bangor Region offers a lot of attractions for people who are looking to experience all that Maine has to offer. Starting in cities that currently offer direct flights to Bangor, the airport can use traditional advertisements and social media to reach people who love the great outdoors and are looking for new adventures that are only one flight away. Part of this strategy also calls for informing potential passengers that Bangor is the best place to start your adventure, as opposed to other options such as Portland and Boston, which are further away from the experience that people come to Maine to experience. A key piece of this promotional strategy is a campaign built around the headline of “#Fly Bangor.” This hashtag will be used in social media efforts, of course, but also in traditional advertisements to tie the efforts together and create a short and memorable phrase that people will remember. It is simple and easy to understand even for potential customers who are not technologically-savvy.

Growing outbound passengers by 15% over the next two years requires a strategy focused on market development and differentiation. We recommend the airport focus on setting itself apart from its primary competitor, the Portland International Jetport, while marketing its many direct flights to destinations that appeal to Bangor-region residents. This effort will also be promoted through the “#Fly Bangor” hashtag, but instead of being aimed towards visitors to the region it will be shared with locals. This effort involves promoting destinations that Bangor offers direct service to as well as speaking to the benefits of flying out of Bangor instead of other regional airports.

The passenger growth that Bangor International Airport has experienced in the last three years indicates that the region is becoming a more popular destination. This increasing popularity may provide opportunities for carriers to profit by providing service between Bangor and other areas in the country. These may be areas that are already served by BGR’s competitors, or areas which currently have no air service to Maine. The strategy for this Objective 3 is market development; BGR should market its existing products to new markets - cities in the eastern United States which do not currently have air service to Bangor.

BGR should engage in market research to determine potential new markets over the next one to two years. The purpose of the research is to determine if there is enough demand for carriers to operate new routes between Bangor and other locations in the eastern United States, and the extent to which this demand can be influenced through promotion. The findings of this research can then be combined with other tactics, such as financial incentives, to induce carriers to operate new routes or even potentially attract new carriers. After completing market research within one to two years, the airport should use the findings and other incentives to develop new markets with new or existing carriers over the following three to four years.

The Bangor region exemplifies the true “Maine experience.” From tranquil natural beauty to bustling towns, or from the top of Mount Katahdin to the shores of Acadia National Park, you can easily experience it all by starting your adventure in Bangor. By promoting the region to travelers from key domestic markets we can increase interest and awareness of the region, leading to more visitors. Part of this objective includes promoting more direct routes to Bangor on airlines that currently provide service to the airport. The #Fly Bangor campaign can take several different forms and serve to blend the web/social media promotion with the more traditional promotional efforts.

In destinations that already serve BGR, the airport should look for opportunities to place advertisements in front of potential passengers. These advertisements would promote the state of Maine and the fact that Bangor is the best way to get there. These traditional advertainments may take forms such as posters/billboards in or near the airport, television ads, and magazine ads. The content of the advertisements would focus on the natural beauty of Maine and include landmarks such as nearby Acadia National Park. The ads would be marked towards people who want to a real “Maine experience” that’s only one flight away. Research will need to be done to determine the target markets and the costs of this effort. Success of this tactic will be measured by the number of people the ads reach. See Exhibit 2 for examples of what these advertisements may look like.

Social media represents a low-cost way for the airport to opportunity to build awareness of Bangor as a desirable location for people in locations that offer direct flights to BGR. We recommend the following components:

· Use of most popular social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. The airport’s presence on each site should follow the lead of other airports with notable social media accounts such as Chicago O’Hare (@flyohare) and Dublin Airport (@dublinairport). See Exhibit 1 for examples. These airports make regular posts promoting their city or region, the airport itself, and the destinations served.

· Promote the #FlyBangor hashtag as a way for visitors to share their photos and stories of their vacation with their networks. This can be promoted using contests providing a gift card to the user whose photo gains the most “likes” over a period of time. This sort of user generated content is a way to engage existing passengers and new potential passengers.

It appears that opportunities exist to collaborate with local and regional organizations to help promote the airport to new visitors. Potential partners include the Greater Bangor Convention and Visitors Bureau and nearby schools. The airport should maintain a strong relationship with the Visitors Bureau, which is already working to promote tourism and business travel to the region. This would be a mutually beneficial relationship since the airport and the bureau share the same goals of increasing visitors to the region. The bureau’s marketing materials should prominently note the ease and affordably of flying direct to Bangor to experience the region. In return, the bureau benefits from the airport’s passengers from several key domestic destinations. The airport can also partner with the nearby University of Maine and Husson University. This University of Maine is the largest university in the state and has over 11,000 students. Opportunities exist to promote Bangor as a convenient way for students and families to get to campus from out of state. The convenience of the airport can be promoted on the University of Maine website in the section about where the campus is located. Similar opportunities exist for Husson University, which is also in Bangor.

The Bangor International Airport plays an important role in providing residents of the Bangor Region with convenient, affordable and safe travel options to other parts of the country. We aim to increase the amount local and regional passengers who use BGR to reach their vacation or business destinations. Part of this objective is also to divert passengers from flying out of other airports, such as Portland or Boston.

Traditional advertising on local television and in magazines in the Bangor region can focus on the convenience of flying out of BGR compared to traveling south to Portland or Boston. The ads should focus on the time saved by flying out of Bangor, the comparable fares, the amenities, such as ample parking, and the direct flight options. While the airport advertises the Bangor region in out of state locations, other airports can advertise their unique attractions to the Bangor market as well.

Social media again offers tools to help promote BGR as the best place to start your journey. The #Fly Bangor hashtag can also be promoted as a hashtag to use when sharing posts or photos about other destinations. For instance, the #FlyBangor hashtag could be applied to a photo taken in Walt Disney World in the winter, a time when many people in the Bangor region are looking for warm weather destinations to visit.

Another way to boost engagement from the local market is to better promote the existing airport loyalty program through the Thanks Again network. According to their website, the Thanks Again program is used at over 100 airports, has no upfront costs, and it provides the airport insight into spending habits of passengers while at the airport. For the consumer, the program offers a certain amount of points based on how much money is spent at participating airports, which can then be redeemed for rewards at those airports. The program is barely mentioned on the current BGR website, and the information is only contained within a PDF document linked in the passenger information section of the site. This could be better promoted within the airport and on the website to potentially gain more users which may help drive sales within the airport.

Objective 3 serves BGR’s growth goal by expanding into new routes through market development. BGR must begin with market research; the first area to evaluate through market research is the potential to lure existing business away from competitors. BGR’s closest main competitor is Portland International Jetport. According to Portland’s website, Delta operates service from Portland to Atlanta and Detroit (both of which are hub cities for Delta). Additionally, both Frontier and United operate seasonal service between Portland and Denver (which is a hub city for United). BGR can engage in research with consumers along these routes to determine if shifting some of the existing service from Portland to Bangor would be more profitable for the carriers.

This research can be carried out through internet surveys of passengers flying between these routes (this is contingent upon BGR being able to obtain the necessary information from carriers to contact these passengers). These surveys should ask the passengers’ final destination (with regions categorized as options), purpose of travel, and frequency of travel. If a significant portion of travelers to Portland continue to the Bangor region or other destinations in eastern, central, or northern Maine, a route directly to Bangor may be profitable and meet a market need, warranting further investigation by one or more carriers.

The second area to evaluate is potential markets in the eastern United States where there is not currently service to Maine, focusing first on major airports used by existing carriers. For example, Miami is a major airport for American Airlines, but there is currently no direct service between Miami and Maine. Other major cities in the eastern U.S. which do not have service to Maine include Cincinnati, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Nashville, and Pittsburgh. One method of executing this research is to review the originating airport of current passengers traveling to Portland or Bangor who connect through other airports; if a substantial number of passengers originate from a certain area, further study should be conducted to evaluate a potential new route. Further research should also be done in these areas to evaluate the potential for new consumers to travel when provided a direct route to Bangor. BGR should conclude this research within one to two years, identifying the top two to three potential new markets.

Once the top potential markets have been identified, the next step is to entice carriers to provide service along these routes. For routes with promising potential, BGR can use financial incentives to woo carriers. Using a combination of cash and waived landing fees, Port Columbus, OH has been recognized as an airport which has effectively used incentives to accelerate the growth of air traffic (Kinney, 2017). Pittsburgh International Airport is another such example (Clift, 2017). The specific financial incentives which BGR can offer should be determined by a thorough financial review but should apply best practices from airports such as Port Columbus and Pittsburgh International Airport which have successfully leveraged incentives to grow business. Port Columbus International Airport’s Airline Incentive Program is included in the appendix (Exhibit 4). Expansion into new markets should be accomplished over the next three to four years, coinciding with the objective to provide service in new markets within five years of implementing this marketing plan.

To support all three objectives, BGR’s website should be redesigned to be more user-friendly, intuitive, visually appealing, functional, and mobile-friendly. The new website should apply best practices from other airports’ websites. Because much of BGR’s operations are general aviation, the site cannot be dedicated entirely to commercial passengers. The initial main website should be a very simple presentation of two main options: ‘Passenger Information’ on the left, and ‘General Aviation’ on the right. Links to less frequent selections (such as cargo or military operations) can be discreetly presented in the lower right corner.

The detailed tactics for each objective have been outlined in the previous section. Objectives 1 and 2 should be executed by a single marketing team under the purview of Bangor’s marketing & business development manager. The implementation of both objectives by a single marketing team will ensure consistency and efficiency of execution. The team should include one member who oversees the social media campaigns, another who oversees strategic partnerships, and a third who oversees all other promotional tactics. Coordination among team members will be necessary to ensure that all promotional channels send a consistent message.

Objective 1 focuses on inbound travel to Bangor; as Maine’s attractions see the most visitors in the summer and fall, the implementation of Objective 1 should begin in the spring when passengers are planning their summer trips. The promotional campaigns should continue through the summer and end in the fall. Promotion tactics coinciding with strategic partnerships (such as the University of Maine and the Maine Visitors Bureau) should align with the timelines set by these organizations. Conversely, Objective 2 focuses on outbound travel to southern destinations; this campaign should begin in the fall, continue through the winter, and end in the spring. These campaigns should be repeated a second year, and potentially a third or more if evaluation shows that they are effective. The complementing seasonality of the implementation of these two objectives will allow for execution by a single team.

Implementation of Objective 3 should begin immediately. Market research should be conducted by a market research director under the purview of the marketing & business development manager. Partnership with third parties or purchase of secondary data may be necessary to obtain all information required for the evaluation. Data for each potential airport should be captured over the course of one year to distinguish seasonal trends. If all potential airports cannot be evaluated in one year, BGR should research a select few larger airports during the first year, and the remaining smaller airports in the subsequent year. Once the highest-potential two to three target markets have been identified, the next step is to identify the carriers best poised to provide service along these routes and incentivize them into doing so. BGR’s manager of marketing & business development should partner with the finance manager and manager of operations to design an incentive plan which is appealing to these carriers and attainable given the airport’s resources.

Implementation of the website design should begin immediately; this process should also be under the purview of the marketing & business development manager. The process should begin with selection of a third party to design the website.

Overall success of Objectives 1 and 2 can be easily evaluated by observing monthly enplaned and deplaned passengers; the enplaned and deplaned passengers for each month over the next two years should be compared to the month of the year the marketing plan is implemented to determine if growth meets, exceeds, or falls short of the 15% goal. The marketing and business development team can also observe the impact of the specific promotional campaigns. The social media campaigns can be most easily evaluated by observing the uses of the #Fly Bangor hashtag (as well as the number of shares, reposts, or likes) before, during, and after each campaign. Evaluation of other promotional tactics will be more difficult but could be completed by surveying passengers to determine how they found out about BGR and what influenced them to fly to or from Bangor.

Objective 3 can first be evaluated by the results of the research – if the research either clearly shows new possible markets or shows that there are no new markets reasonably available. Overall, the success of the objective can be measured by the number of new routes implemented within five years, comparing it to the objective of two to three new routes.

The proposed objectives and strategies are not exclusive, in that they do not prevent the airport from undertaking other marketing actions. If evaluation of Objectives 1 and 2 show that the tactics are not as impactful as intended, promotions can be scaled back to reduce costs (as the social media campaign is likely to be the least costly undertaking, it should not be scaled back unless evaluation shows it is completely ineffective). If evaluation shows that particular promotional channels are more effective than others (for example, if many passengers report that they were influenced by an advertisement in the Bangor Daily News), these channels can be expanded and other, less effective channels can be scaled back.

Bangor International Airport has experienced recent growth, and there is potential for further growth given the popularity of the surrounding region to out-of-state tourists, the lack of any major competitors in eastern, central, and northern Maine, and the comparability of its fares to Portland International Jetport. This marketing plan will capitalize upon the popularity of the Bangor region and the destinations the airport serves, and position BGR as the best value to transport consumers in both existing and new markets.

Exhibit 1: Social Media

Exhibit 2: Promotional Material for Bangor International Airport

Exhibit 2: Promotional Material for Bangor International Airport (cont.)

Exhibit 2: Promotional Material for Bangor International Airport (cont.)

Exhibit 3: Websites of other major airports

Exhibit 3: Websites of other major airports (cont.)

Exhibit 4: Airline Incentive Program - Port Columbus International Airport

Exhibit 4: Airline Incentive Program - Port Columbus International Airport (cont.)

Exhibit 4: Airline Incentive Program - Port Columbus International Airport (cont.)

Exhibit 4: Airline Incentive Program - Port Columbus International Airport (cont.)

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International Landings3%Domestic Landings13%General Aviation48%Military Operations33%Cargo Landings3%BGR Operations -2016

Location

Acadia National Park461h 5m1732h 52m2744h 31m

Mt. Katahdin972h 4m2263h 54m3275h 31m

Baxter State Park901h 42m2203h 32m3205h 8m

Moosehead Lake701h 38m1552h 46m2564h 22m

Sugarloaf Mountain1132h 11m1182h 30m2174h 8m

Allagash Wilderness1624h 32m2926h 21m3937h 57m

Distance from BangorDistance From PortlandDistance From Boston