Nov. 09--Apparently Burbank's Bob Hope Airport needs an image uplift.
After years of flying under the radar, so to speak, a new marketing campaign will take flight next week that emphasizes Bob Hope as a less stressful option to Los Angeles International Airport.
Residents of the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys are being targeted with the straightforward message that the airport is close, convenient and comfortable.
The Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority, which oversees operations at the facility, is spending $150,000 on the six-month promotional campaign being created by Encino-based Cooper Communications Inc.
"This program is slated to remind San Fernando Valley and North (Los Angeles) County residents that the Burbank Bob Hope Airport is 'their' local airport that they should use whenever they make travel plans," airport executive director Dan Feger said in a statement.
The ads will appear in local newspapers, online, billboards, cable television and radio. Airport officials will also make pitches to local business and community organizations' events and give airport tours to civic leaders and travel groups.
The airport needs some more business, spokesman Victor Gill said.
Passenger traffic peaked at 5.9 million in 2007 but it had fallen to 4.3 million by the end of last year, Gill said.
Traffic is still declining because American Airlines quit serving Bob Hope at the beginning of the year.
"That pretty much guarantees going forward a 7 percent reduction every month from last year," Gill said of passenger traffic.
The campaign will stress the fact that Bob Hope is an attractive alternative because of extensive construction along the 405 Freeway and the big remodeling of LAX.
Gill also notes that parking is cheaper and more convenient at the Burbank airport.
Martin M. Cooper, owner of the agency creating the campaign, said it's important to boost Bob Hope's traffic.
"It's the responsibility of airport operators to do whatever they can to increase revenue, and revenue comes from passengers," he said.
The commercials are scheduled to run on Time Warner Cable outlets such as MSNBC, Fox News Channel, the Food Network and the Travel Channel.
It will feature four billboards targeting the Valley from Woodland Hills to Sherman Oaks and two billboards in the Santa Clarita Valley.
The radio advertisements, which will run on Playlist 92.7 FM from mid-November until mid-January, will feature Access Hollywood co-host Billy Bush. Online pay-per-click and print newspaper ads will begin running in December.
The carriers now serving Bob Hope are Alaska Airlines, JetBlue, Delta, United, Southwest and US Airways. Travelers using these airlines can make a single connection to most national destinations.
The airport also offers one-stop, no-plane change flights to destinations such as Albuquerque, Baltimore, Cleveland, Columbus, El Paso, New Orleans, San Antonio, Spokane and Tulsa.
"Bob Hope Airport should be top of mind to you even if you have to fly someplace like Chicago or the Midwest. It might be more convenient to use Hope and change planes," Cooper said.
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