Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA) announced the recipients of the 2019 Excellence in Airport Marketing, Communications, and Customer Service Awards on November 7, 2019, at an award gala during the 2019 Marketing and Communications Conference in Miami, FL. Chicago Department of Aviation’s O'Hare International Airport received the 2019 Peggy G. Hereford Award, as the airport with the most overall recognition in the contest’s categories.
“An airport’s success depends upon its ability to effectively communicate and connect with its passengers,” said ACI-NA President and CEO Kevin M. Burke. “Airports like O’Hare International are going above and beyond to tell their stories, strengthen their communities and help us advance as an industry. ACI-NA is pleased to recognize the innovative work being done by our industry’s communications, marketing, and customer service professionals.”
Since its formation in 1990, the Excellence in Airport Marketing, Communications, and Customer Service Awards have recognized the quality of work, abundance of talent, and creativity within the marketing, communications, and customer service field of the airport industry. This year the contest received more than 300 entries in 19 categories.
Regarded throughout the airport industry as the highest honor an airport can earn for marketing and communications excellence, the Peggy G. Hereford award recognizes overall creativity in communicating the airport’s message, effectiveness in connecting with audiences, and the overall scope of the airport’s effort in marketing and public relations.
A founding member of the ACI-NA Marketing, Communications, and Customer Experience Committee, Peggy G. Hereford championed the notion that adventure and the spirit of aviation should inspire the ways airports tell their stories to the world. She served as the Public Affairs Director at Los Angeles International Airport, where she was the first woman to head the public relations department for a major U.S. airport, retiring in 1977.
In addition to being named the 2019 Peggy G. Hereford Award recipient, Chicago O’Hare International Airport was awarded first place in the categories of Websites and Overall Marketing Programs and received honorable mentions in the categories of Brand Identity, Digital Advertising, Responsive Communications, and Overall Public Relations Programs.
