Radiance Blog

I love traveling. And unlike most people, I even like airports. There are few places that give you such an eclectic look at society. This makes them a great place for people watching.

Back when I worked in specialty retail I use to observe people’s shoes at airports to see what brands were growing and general trends in style (remember the bowling shoe trend?). Sitting at the gates you could even roughly assess trends by area of the country based on where that flight was going. Back at the luggage carousel I would watch what difficulties people had with their luggage so I knew what features to promote on our packs and luggage.

But one thing I have not done is follow people around, especially with video cameras. JCDecaux, an outdoor advertising firm, hired researchers to follow people (with cameras) around airport terminals. This was in preparation for the hundreds of ad screens that they would be installing in Heathrow’s new Terminal 5. I imagine they had permission from the people they were following, not to mention from security. They also monitored passengers’ pulses; the average business traveler’s pulse was 21 beats faster than that of a relaxed person (more aroused people are more receptive to messages, according to their head of research, Kevin Miller).

While their goal was to determine ideal locations for ads, it seems like mapping traffic patterns could be used for many purposes within airports, such as determining where you want your shop or restaurant. Combined with actually observing the users you could determine where along their path they branch off. For example, maybe travelers deboarding don’t think about food until after they get their luggage and travelers who are departing don’t worry about food and souvenirs until they arrive at their gate. Just thinking about the possibilities makes me want to visit the airport travel again.