HSBC Middle East has signed a five-year advertising deal with Dubai International Airport and Sharjah International Airport, which the bank says marks its "largest single media investment in the region". The deal will see HSBC place internal and external advertising on 59 jet bridges - the docking connections between aircraft and an airport terminal building - as well as on the exterior of 94 shuttle buses and inside airport terminal buildings.
HSBC said the agreement was signed this week. It declined to specify the value of the deal. The bank's UAE advertising spending lags behind that of local lenders such as Emirates NBD, Union National Bank and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, according to figures from the Pan Arab Research Centre (PARC). However, HSBC ranked eighth among UAE advertisers on television, having more than doubled its spending on TV ads in the first half of the year compared with the same period last year, PARC said.
The total area of HSBC branding space at the two airports was equivalent to 80 standard tennis courts, and the branding would be completed "within a few months", the bank said. "HSBC continues to grow its business in the UAE and continues to invest in this growth market. "Our investment on this scale is another clear indicator of our confidence in the UAE and the potential for economic growth," said Simon Cooper, the chief executive of HSBC MENA.
Dubai and Sharjah airports are projected to handle 60 million air passengers between them by next year. "Dubai International is the world's fourth busiest airport for international passenger traffic, making it the ideal location for our very successful airport branding campaign," Mr Cooper said. HSBC, which advertises in 48 airports worldwide, said the UAE deal was an extension of its collaboration with the outdoor media owner JCDecaux.
The bank started its high-profile jet bridge advertising campaign at London Heathrow Airport in 2001. bflanagan@thenational.ae