2. Influence is a key factor in
successful advertising. The
influence of the message,
and the influence of the
individuals to whom it is
exposed. We spent much of
last year investigating how
influence works, and how
best to use advertising to
reach the influential. We’ve
obviously focused on our own
airport environments, but, in
the process, we’ve learned a
lot about how messages are
diffused, and how all media
have a propensity to drive this
to a greater or lesser degree.
Steve Cox, JCDecaux Airport, Marketing Director

3. “THE CAPACITY OR
POWER OF PERSONS
OR THINGS TO BE A
COMPELLING FORCE
ON OR PRODUCE
EFFECTS ON THE
ACTIONS, BEHAVIOUR
AND OPINIONS OF
OTHERS.” (Dictionary.com)
It’s clear that for advertising to
be effective it needs to influence
consumers. Over time it has
been proven that outdoor panels
and screens are effective at
providing a platform to do this,
but advances in social media
and technology have highlighted
new and innovative channels
for this influence to continue
with the target individuals well
beyond the location of the initial
media contact.
It’s now widely accepted that the
influence of the individual within
their peer group is as important,
if not more so, than the initial
influence of the advertising.

4. In previous research, JCDecaux Airport has
investigated and proven the effectiveness of
the airport as a highly influential location to
advertise in and around.
For example, our Airport Ethnographic
studies (AER) revealed that levels of mental
alertness are consistently high in the
airport environment, but also that they
fluctuate at varying stages of the journey.
Hence we should target consumers with
different types of panel or screen known
to be effective at different stages of the
journey. Our Eyetracker research proved how
movement and colour in digital advertising
coupled with scientific placement of screens
maximises visibility and engagement with
the consumer. Airport Stories showed
us how airport advertising is globally
proven to enhance brand perceptions and
drive sales amongst frequent flyers. Our
Business Traveller project revealed business
passengers to be key decision makers in their
company. They’re an affluent and desirable
audience, they believe global brands fit
the airport’s international profile, and it’s
appropriate for them to advertise there.
The Airport as an
influential location
Airport Ethnographic Research Airport Stories Business Traveller

5. The Airport
and Influential
Consumers
Our new groundbreaking research
What we hadn’t yet investigated however was the INFLUENCE of the individuals travelling through the airport.
We now have new and powerful research that augments and complements our prior findings on the value of
our airport portfolio as an excellent advertising platform.
Our aim was to identify these individuals and find out more about them and their influence in terms of
propagating advertisers’ messages beyond the effect at the airport. We wanted to understand how they as
influential people themselves then spread brand messages to a global audience beyond the airport through
their social and professional networks.

6. How we did it
In order to better understand the
concept of influence we commissioned
Work Research, in partnership with
Bournemouth University, to conduct an
in-depth academic review of current
global thinking on the subject of influence
in relation to advertising. This research
revealed a model that explains how
influence works. It is known as the PID
model which stands for Persuasion.
Identification. Diffusion. It explains
the process through which people
are exposed to a persuasive piece of
communication and tracks whether they
then identify with it and are sufficiently
motivated to see themselves using a
product or service. Once persuaded, some
of these individuals i.e. the influentials,
will then go on to diffuse the message to
others within their peer group.
The
Academic
Theory
PERSUASION IDENTIFICATION DIFFUSION
AN INDIVIDUAL EXPERIENCE INDIVIDUAL’S INFLUENCE ON OTHERS
PERSUASIVE COMMUNICATION
MOTIVATED TO PROCESS?
ABILITY TO PROCESS?
BEHAVIOUR SHIFT?
POSITIVE/NEGATIVE ATTITUDE CHANGE
EXTERNAL FACTORS CHANGE?
RETAIN INITIAL ATTITUDE
INFLUENTIAL?
RETAIN INFORMATION

7. The diffusion model
How certain
individuals
spread brand
messages
From this model it was the diffusion
element that really interested us as we
learnt that certain types of people are
more likely to diffuse and propagate
advertising messages. The most important
are known as early adopters, meaning they
are likely to be the first amongst their
social group to acquire new products and
services. They are also more likely to be
knowledgeable and socially connected. We
also learnt how individuals are connected
through different types of hubs.
EXPERT REGULAR SOCIAL MEGA
HUBS HUBS HUBS HUBS

8. Airports are
a great place
to reach
influentials
Work Research also confirmed that
airports in particular are a great
location in which to advertise to
these influential people, who can
then diffuse the brand message,
but we wanted to substantiate our
theory that they are more likely to
be reached in the airport than via
any other media.
To test this hypothesis we
approached Populus, having learnt
that they had devised a means of
accessing this powerful consumer
group of influentials.

9. Our new
research
on Engaged
Britons
JCDecaux Airport’s hypothesis rang
true with Populus. They had recently
identified this influential group of
people and invented the term ‘Engaged
Britons’ to describe them. Populus
were able to offer us the opportunity
to question Engaged Britons online
about their influence on others, and
their response to advertising. From
their existing knowledge we quickly
learnt that the airport was likely to be
a highly effective location in which to
reach this select group.
Engaged Britons General Public
Last
12months
Last
6months
Last
3months
64%
46%
32%
26%
14%
8%
Engaged Britons & JCDecaux Airport
Populus Profiling Data
Percentage of people who have used one of
JCDecaux’s transport venues in…

10. So who
exactly are
Engaged
Britons?
Engaged Britons make up 10% of the
population and they shape opinions
rather than follow them. They take
time to engage with issues and think
them through. They act on their
judgement and are influential because
of who they are, not what they are.
Essentially they are the gateway
to the rest of the population.
Shape
rather
than
follow
opinions
Act
on their
judgements
Who,
not what
they are
Engage
with + think
through
issues
10%
of the
population

11. What
Engaged
Britons
mean for
advertisers
If you can’t win these people over with an advertising
message it’s likely that the rest of the target market will
remain unconvinced. In fact, Engaged Britons are a near
perfect fit for Malcolm Gladwell’s Law of the Few from his
celebrated book The Tipping Point. He said:
“Success is heavily dependent on the involvement
of people with a particular and rare set of social gifts.
Simply, certain people are good at spreading ideas –
without these people on board, the idea won’t spread.”
Connectors
(Active and involved)
Mavens
(Knowledgeable advice
givers & seekers)
Sales people
(Trusted and respected)

12. Rethinking a media plan
to target Engaged Britons
Many advertisers want to target mainly ABs, but it is worth considering that in just targeting
ABs a campaign would fail to reach almost 2/3 of Engaged Britons and therefore restrict the
effect of the advertising message. By targeting Engaged Britons with a media message an
advertiser can achieve disproportionate value for money via the likelihood of them spreading
the message further.
Populus also learnt that airports deliver a higher concentration of Engaged Britons than any
other media platform, meaning potentially less wastage in terms of media campaign spend.
AIRPORT has
HIGHEST CONCENTRATION
vs any other media
Airport
(Used in last 3 months)
Airport
(Used in last 6 months)
FinancialTimes
Politics Show
TheTimes
The Guardian
The Independent
NewsnightThe DailyTelegraph
Radio 4
The DailyMirror
The Sun
The DailyMail
BBCOne NewsRadio 5 Live
QuestionTime
400
380
329
288
260
260
255
229
225
217
208
187
186
152
140
122
Index of Engaged Britons
against the national average

13. Digging
further
Our survey of
Engaged
Britons and
JCDecaux
Airports
We then asked Populus to
survey 250 Engaged Britons
who had been through
one of our airports or
international rail stations
in the previous 6 months.
These individuals were asked
to complete a further online
questionnaire to reveal and
reinforce the true value of
targeting advertising at this
influential group.

14. Our Engaged Britons are well informed, early adopters and advice givers and seekers. For example 44% of Engaged Britons already own a tablet compared
to only 9% of the national average.
Q: Which of the following personal technology
products do you own? Q: Do you have a LinkedIn/Twitter/Facebook account?
They are very social media savvy with 86% using a Facebook account, 59% Twitter and 63% LinkedIn, well above the UK average.
Digging further
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Laptop
Smartphone
PC
MP3 player
HDTV
Game console
Tablet
PVR technology
E-Reader
Roaming Wi-Fi
Subscription
Netbook
3DTV 3D
JCDA Engaged Britons UK Average
EARLYADOPTERS
rather than INNOVATORS
60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
JCDA Engaged Britons UK Average
EARLYADOPTERS
rather than INNOVATORS
Engaged Britons
UK average
63% 59% 86%
16% 32% 77%
Y N
Source: GB TGI 2012 Source: UK Av, www.umpf.co.uk/blog/social-media/social-media-usage-in-the-uk-the-findings

15. Engaged Britons expect to see advertising from global, prestigious brands at the airport.
Digging further
Internatio
nal
7
1%
Luxury
64%
Prestigio
us
6
0%
Local
18%
Eve
ryday brands
19
%
Modern
44%
M
a
rketLeaders
50
%
Well-known
59%
They want to be targeted with informative advertising. For Engaged Britons advertising doesn’t have to be ‘entertaining’ and ‘simple’, it is better
received when it is informative and relevant, and this is something they get from airport advertising. It’s partly this thirst for knowledge that makes
them influential.
JCDA Engaged Britons
66%
72%
INFORMATIVE
59%
44%
RELEVANTTO ME
54%
49%
ENTERTAINING
46%
40%
SIMPLE
17%
34%
SURPRISING
14%
28%
ASPIRATIONAL
14%
22%
fit into the SURROUNDINGS
8%
17%
SPECTACULAR
4%
15%
LUXURIOUS
11%
14%
EASY to IGNORE
6%
12%
ESCAPIST
General Public
JCDAEngaged Britons
Q: What would you like your advertising to be like?
Source: Populus, General Public (2,014)
Q: What sort of brands would you most
expect to see advertised at airports?

16. Implications
for advertisers
In this brief summary we’ve merely touched on the headline
findings of our new research into the Power of Influence.
We’ve seen how it both enhances the effectiveness of
advertising in our environments and continues to propagate
this as travellers spread the message onwards.
And the following graphic really embodies the true value
of taking a closer look at the people who see an airport
advertising campaign. These people are not at the margins
of a brand’s fringe consumers (Fig 1). They sit right here,
at the centre (Fig 2). They’re the key consumers, the
influentials (Fig 3), the people who really make a difference.
So, an airport advertising campaign will hammer home the
message with the most important brand consumers, the
brand champions, the influentials. And, once influenced,
these individuals will then propagate the message
throughout the rest of the consumer base, amplifying
the effect of the advertising campaign through the most
persuasive medium of all – word of mouth (Fig 4).
For this reason the airport should be an essential part of
your media schedule – first on the plan rather than a “nice
to have” supplement.
1
3
2
4

17. The Power
of Influence

18. JCDecaux Airport
Capital House
25 Chapel Street
London
NW1 5DH, UK
For more information please contact:
info@jcdecauxairport.co.uk
+44 (0) 207 298 8000