I’ve reading a study that investigates sources, capabilities and consequences of marketing innovation at airports in Europe's peripheral areas like for example Balearic Islands.
In simple terms, innovation can be defined as being the introduction of something new. The most likely way in which service companies innovate is by developing new services or reformulating existing ones, creating new distribution channels and discovering new approaches for management. Innovation is generally found to be particularly important to service companies because of the difficulty of protecting their products through patents and copyrights.
Airports are providers of a services been the airlines the main customer.
It might be that marketing innovations can be used to stimulate increased demand both factors having a complementary effect on marketing performance.
The study title is “Marketing innovation: Sources, capabilities and consequences at airports in Europe's peripheral areas” was published in the Journal of Air transport Management and examines sources, capabilities and consequences of marketing innovation at airports including four Spanish Airports; different sources emerge as important in attracting new routes and in growing and retaining existing ones. Those most extensively used by airports include targeting specific airlines, modifying facilities or services, and developing strategic marketing partnerships. The new hub terminal in Palma de Mallorca is an example of facilities improvement. (More than 62 million euros has been invested on the enlargement of module C at Palma de Mallorca Airport to make connections easier)
The result of the quoted research supports that the degree to which an airport is innovative in its approach to marketing is significantly higher if it is administered as an independent and that average level of marketing innovation are greater at larger airports.
Another import conclusion of the study is that targeting airlines for new or existing routes has a significant effect in attracting new business, the latter seems common sense whilst the following is not: improving management processes impacts on the growth and retention of existing services.
