Airports are no longer just points of transit; they’ve become prime destinations for brand storytelling.
With passengers spending hours in terminals, especially during peak travel periods such as the winter break and summer months, digital out-of-home (DOOH) screens capture captive, affluent, and highly engaged audiences, making airports one of the most effective advertising environments in Canada.
Vistar Media Canada is helping drive momentum in the space, with 202 screens across seven media owners, including premium inventory in Toronto and Vancouver, which also happen to be host cities for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. This creates opportunities for brands to deliver global campaigns, local messaging, and real-time activation to travellers.
“Airports are one of the few environments where brands can combine scale, attention, and context,” said Scott Mitchell, Vistar Media Canada’s managing director. “This is where creative and relevance meet in a way that delivers real impact for advertisers.”
He said airports have evolved beyond being just transit points. Travellers are often forward-looking and in an aspirational mindset, thinking about their next meeting, vacation, or homecoming.
“For brands, this makes airports a powerful place to connect: high foot traffic, well-placed screens, and advanced digital technology give advertisers more flexibility and creative options. What’s also shifted is how brands think about airports. They’re not simply buying reach, they’re buying context,” he said.
“You’re speaking to affluent, mobile audiences in moments where they have time, headspace, and a heightened awareness of their surroundings. When you add things like audience data, flexible ads that can change in real time, and automated ad buying, airport digital screens become a really strong way to tell your brand’s story and deliver the right message at the right moment.”
Mitchell said speed is becoming a huge advantage in digital out-of-home advertising. Thanks to new technology and ready-to-use airport networks, brands can go from an idea to a live ad in a matter of days, sometimes in just a few hours.
“We recently worked on a campaign tied to a major Canadian NHL team that wanted to reach travellers returning home after a major tournament in the U.S. The brief came in, and within 24 hours we had creative approval, inventory secured, and screens live inside the airport. That kind of turnaround would have been almost impossible in traditional out-of-home a few years ago,” he said.
“What enables that is tighter integration between media owners, technology platforms, agencies, and a growing comfort from brands in using DOOH not just as a long-term branding channel, but as a real-time marketing tool that can respond to sport, culture, weather, or breaking moments.”
Global events become international gateways
Mitchell said global events like the World Cup and the Olympics fundamentally change the role airports play in the media ecosystem.
“They become international gateways, cultural showcases, and the first—and last—touchpoints visitors have with a city or country.
For brands, that creates a unique opportunity to connect with a global audience while delivering locally relevant messages. Airports allow you to welcome fans, celebrate national pride, showcase sponsors, or create immersive activations that reflect the energy of the event,” he explained.
“In 2026, I expect brands to go beyond scale and use airports to tell stories, tailor creative by terminal, language, or audience segment, and deliver experiences that feel purposeful and timely. Global brands can make a statement and Canadian brands can maximize impact on a world stage.”
Every airport zone has a different mindset
Mitchell said the beauty of airports is that every zone represents a different mindset.
“Departures are about anticipation and excitement. Security and lounges skew toward business travellers and premium audiences. Baggage claim is that moment of return, homecoming, relief, and reflection. Smart brands are designing creative specifically for those moments rather than running one message everywhere. We’re seeing customized messaging by location, dynamic creative that shifts by time of day or destination mix, and storytelling that unfolds as travellers move through the terminal,” he said.
“There’s also a growing appetite for large-scale, immersive formats, digital walls, corridor takeovers, and synchronized screens that stop people in their tracks. When creative is built for the environment rather than simply placed into it the impact is dramatically stronger.”
Personalization will be crucial
Mitchell said the biggest missed opportunity is still under-utilizing airports as agile, strategic media platforms rather than static buys.
“Brands often lock in inventory far in advance—which is important—but leave value on the table by not planning for flexibility, creative rotation, or reactive moments. There’s also significant upside in expanding beyond the largest hubs. We’re seeing growing interest in secondary airports and regional networks that can deliver scale in different ways and reach travellers closer to home,” he said.
“Finally, personalization will be crucial. Brands that coordinate screens across terminals, craft messages for different types of travellers, and tie campaigns to major cultural or travel moments, like international sporting events or holiday peaks, will stand out, while others will just blend into the background.
“For me, the future of airport DOOH is about scale plus sophistication: bigger footprints, smarter creative, and the ability to move at the speed of culture.”
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