Baltimore-area publishers and television stations likely would see fewer advertising dollars as a result of the merger of discount airline rivals Southwest Airlines and AirTran Airways.
Southwest, by acquiring AirTran, would eliminate its major competitor at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. That means the combined airline would not have to spend as much as the two carriers did separately in battling for the area’s budget-conscious travelers.
“Those dollars could probably be used in another market, because they don’t have the competition here they once did,” said Ed Callahan, a co-founder of Planit, a Baltimore ad agency.
Erin Borkowski, vice president and media director for Baltimore ad firm TBC, agrees. She sees Southwest stepping up ad spending in Atlanta and other new markets the carrier will enter as a result of the merger.
But at first, Baltimore’s newspaper and magazine readers and TV viewers can expect to see an flurry of post-merger spending from Southwest as the carrier touts new routes to vacation spots like Cancun, Mexico and Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. Southwest will pick up these routes, now flown by AirTran, assuming regulators approve the $1.4 billion union announced Sept. 27.
“Sometimes when there is a merger, there can initially be more advertising because they need to get the word out that a merger has taken place,” said Bill Fanshawe, general manager of Fox 45 and Baltimore’s CW. “My guess is that initially there would be a little bump.”
Both Southwest and AirTran have advertised on Fanshawe’s stations. He declined to say how much they have spent.
Southwest is one of the nation’s biggest advertisers. The carrier spent $126 million on advertising last year, according to Street & Smith’s SportsBusiness Journal, a sister publication. The figure for AirTran was unavailable.
Don’t look for Southwest ads to disappear from the local airwaves, even long after the merger. Baltimore is one of the carrier’s biggest markets, and the airline will control nearly two-thirds of BWI Airport’s business.
“There’s a lot that they need to tell people, so they’re going to continue to spend,” said Michele Selby, executive vice president of Media Works, an Owings Mills media-buying firm.
The merger won’t cost any jobs at local ad agencies, however. Neither airline uses a local ad firm. Southwest’s agency, GSD&M is in Austin, Texas. AirTran uses Chicago’s Cramer-Krasselt.
It is too early to know what Southwest will do about AirTran’s corporate sponsorship deals, including one with the Baltimore Ravens. AirTran has been a team sponsor since 2003. Its two-year deal with the team expires at the end of this football season.
The sponsorship includes dubbing an AirTran Jet “Ravens 1” and splashing the team’s logo on the tail.
“We talk to them every week,” said Kevin Rochlitz, a Ravens vice president. “We’re giving them time to go through the evaluation process and then we’ll get in touch with them about what their process is and what the next steps are.”
In addition to the Ravens, AirTran also sponsors the Indianapolis Colts and Atlanta Falcons.
Paul Flaningan, a spokesman for Southwest, said it is too soon to say whether the airline will continue those sponsorships. Southwest is a major advertiser on NFL TV broadcasts.
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