Raleigh-Durham International Airport Launches its ‘Return to Travel’ Campaign

Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) launched a “Return to Travel” social media campaign in August to encourage customer confidence in air travel. The campaign – consisting of short videos and static ads showing a passenger’s first-hand experience walking through the airport – promotes the new health and safety measures in place at RDU and complements the “Fly Confident, Fly RDU” online campaign that debuted in May.

The paid social media campaign will run in two sprints from Aug. - Oct. 2020 and Jan. - March 2021, with a pause for the November election and the holiday travel season. It focuses on reaching travelers ages 25-65 within RDU’s catchment area that spans central and eastern North Carolina and southern Virginia.

RDU’s communications team is tracking performance through core measurements and less conventional metrics, such as Facebook’s ThruPlays, to ensure video viewers are recognizing and liking what they see. The team realized RDU needed to show the new airport experience, rather than just talking about hand sanitizers, masks and distancing signage. RDU hopes that knowing what to expect will reassure guests that it is safe to fly again. The full video segment – which can be found at RDU.com -- is accompanied by information about enhanced health and safety practices, changes in the terminals that promote social distancing and face coverings, and travel and airline information. The Fly Confident webpage also includes information on modified food and beverage options, parking changes and the steps airlines are taking to protect passenger health. RDU also has a COVID-19 Traveler Update webpage that includes a blog with regular updates about the number of travelers screened by TSA, passenger traffic numbers and industry forecasts.