International airport wins national award
Southwest Florida International Airport received a top industry award from Airports Council International - North America in the 2007 Excellence in Marketing and Communications Contest. The airport received first place in the category Best Special Events for its first anniversary event held in September 2006 that celebrated the first full year of operations in the airport's new terminal facility.
The competition, which is held annually, received almost 300 entries from over 70 airports of all sizes throughout the U.S. and Canada. The total number of entries encompasses categories that recognize work in marketing and public relations and provides airports the opportunity to be honored for the quality of their work. The 2007 contest judges included 37 communications and marketing professionals in the Washington, D.C.-area.
The entry, titled "Time Flies…Celebrating our First Year at Southwest Florida International Airport," chronicled the event held on Sept. 8, 2006. Lee County Port Authority staff decided to commemorate this milestone with a full-blown 1st birthday party that included finding area 1-year-olds that were born on the same day the airport opened. Five "birthday babies" from various areas in Southwest Florida responded and attended with their families. A commemorative logo was created and used in all promotional materials to ensure a consistent message as well as signage, balloons and promotional items such as chocolate airplane lollipops and anniversary buttons given out in the terminal during the event.
ACI-NA represents local, regional and state governing bodies that own and operate commercial airports in the United States and Canada. ACI-NA member airports enplane more than 95 percent of the domestic and virtually all international airline passenger and cargo traffic in North America. Over 300 aviation-related businesses are also members of the association, which is the largest of the six worldwide regions of Airports Council International.
Southwest Florida International Airport
served more than 7.6 million passengers in
2006 and is one of the top 50 busiest U.S.
airports. For more information, log onto
www.flylcpa.com
