A lot has changed in the advertising world since 1974, particularly for those companies looking to capture the business traveler.
A lot has changed in the advertising world since 1974, particularly for those companies looking to capture the business traveler.
While static, nonmoving images still have their place, the explosive growth of digital and integration of interactive ads that enhance passenger experience has pushed one airport advertiser to the forefront.
For 40 years, Clear Channel Airports, a major branch of the global media company Clear Channel Outdoor, has been building awareness of the many products made in the region by placing advertising at Lehigh Valley International Airport in Hanover Township, Lehigh County.
What many may not know is that Clear Channel Airports, which has a worldwide reach, is headquartered in the Lehigh Valley.
The company began its partnership with LVIA in 1974 as part of a local advertising agency’s specialty project, which grew into a portfolio of airport media programs with a global airport footprint, spanning North America, Europe, the Caribbean, New Zealand and Australia.
Through the years, Clear Channel Airports continues to deliver and grow revenues for the Lehigh Northampton Airport Authority by selling advertising space in the airport.
In 2013, Clear Channel Airports generated its highest annual revenue level since the 2008 recessionary onset. It was one of its highest grossing years in the history of the partnership despite recent traffic challenges at LVIA and amid airline mergers and air service contraction industry wide.
The firm began as Interspace Airport Advertising in 1974 on Crackersport Road in South Whitehall Township. In 2006, Clear Channel Outdoor – owned by Clear Channel Communications – acquired Interspace Airport Advertising and moved its existing airport media headquarters from Chicago to the South Whitehall Township location and consolidated as Clear Channel Interspace Airports. In 2009, it changed its name to Clear Channel Airports.
“They are a high-profile company located in Lehigh County,” said Don Cunningham, president and CEO of Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp. “It’s one that folks don’t think about when they think about corporate headquarters.
“It’s always nice even when there are mergers and acquisitions when the company remains.”
