Dan's Papers - March 7, 2008 - Upscale Billboard Ads Available At EH Airport

In high season, East Hampton Airport has to be one of the most active small, local airports in the country. It is for this very reason that, every summer, residents within the noise radius of airplane and helicopter engines begin to complain. They bought a house in East Hampton for some peace and quiet, but because of the airport (which they may well have used to get here), they hear the buzz of helicopters every ten minutes instead.

Valid arguments are made on both sides of the issue. In support of the airport, helicopters and private planes bring in the largest supporters of our economy. And for those who want quiet, it's probably best not to buy a house near an airport.

But this endless drama has kept the East Hampton Airport in the public eye and on the desks of public officials who have been doing everything they can to remedy the problem. Very quietly, however, amid the controversy, an extremely interesting situation has arisen at the airport that has gone largely unnoticed by the general public.

The airport managers are about to launch a new form of advertising this year in hopes of capturing the well-heeled audience as they fly in. Luxury Media Partners and the East Hampton Town Board have figured out a way to get close to $1 million by setting up an advertising campaign within the airport itself.

Of course, this is not the first time an airport has used advertising to generate revenue. Countless light box ads can be found at JFK promoting everything from vacation destinations to perfume. But at small airports, this practice isn't very common, and that's what makes this proposal so interesting.

Five L.E.D. light boxes (six feet and ten feet tall), a 15-foot wide interior wall banner and flat screen TVs will display advertising visible to pilots and passengers flying into East Hampton. The revenue from these ads will be split 50/50 between Luxury Media Partners and the East Hampton Town Board. Originally the plan was to have advertisements at the airport involving huge Ralph Lauren billboard ads lining the end of the runway, featuring images of models. But that original plan was scrubbed.

The man behind this project is Brian Pussilano, who said that they have already received verbal commitments from Audi and Polo Ralph Lauren for advertising, and they're in the process of closing deals on other luxury goods companies as the summer season approaches.

The Town Board, which is largely in control of this project, is not cutting any corners when it comes to Town Code. Some of the light box advertisements might have to be readjusted so that they conform to town lighting regulations. The ads will of course, not be allowed to make any noise, either.

The ad space will cost about $100,000 for the summer season and so far, the plan is not tremendously controversial. After a brief walk through the airport on a slow day to talk to people, not one person expressed concern that the advertisements would be a nuisance. Most were apathetic, while others knew a lot about the details of the deal. "They are trying to get the big guns, you know, Ferrari and other big companies. It should be very interesting," said a source who wished to remain anonymous.

One would imagine the banner pilots who drag advertisements through the sky above the beaches might be a little agitated by this business endeavor.