Page 21 - The Summit of the Americas 2021

INSIDER

each of their promotions, one who is able
to offer a highly-engaging, personalized
and more sophisticated airport retail
experience.
“The brands need support like
this,” insists Van Roon. “They need that
dedicated sales person on the shop floor.
They also need that management, because
they don’t have a travel budget, they
don’t have software access, and they have
reduced staff drastically.
“We have so much staff contraction
on every level that we really have to
place this management responsibility
on the shop floor. This is what we are
introducing. We are saying: These are our La Prairie Wine Caviar promotion, supported by SPARK.
capabilities. This is what we can offer
in the program. How does his work for “The Brand Ambassador program Van Roon explains that SPARK’s
your needs? And it will really require the way it was is no longer working; it is core expertise is recruiting and staffing
collaboration,” she explains. broken,” she contends. “It was expensive for sales and that the company has a
Van Roon continues: “Collaboration and did not deliver consistent results strong reputation for recruiting talent. The
is right at the heart of what we are trying for brands. It was time consuming, new Brand Partner Program will make it
to achieve. The success of the program had high attrition and a general lack of an even more powerful proposition for
depends on a team of 5-10 Brand Partners understanding of ROI. Now we have a candidates and for brands.
per airport location and full retailer much better program. “I think that we have taken the
support. We have used our experience of “We are preparing for a new strength of our industry, and are holding it
delivering some of the most profitable generation in retail. This COVID pause up to the present reality, and asking how
brand ambassador programs and brand forced a lot of rethinking and re-profiling do we now align a powerful sales and
activations seen in Americas travel retail and re-engineering of everything we do. promotional model?
in pre-COVID years to create this new, We have to become incredibly efficient SPARK has been operating for ten
all-encompassing airport retail sales and effective. The Brands Partner program years in Canada working primarily in
employment service.” really checks off some 10 major gaps that Vancouver International Airport, and
The program is taking the strength I have identified; plus it is very adaptable incorporated in the U.S. for a big pilot
of the brand ambassador program that to brand and retailer input. It will have program in Seattle-Tacoma in 2019. Van
we know and ramping it up by about 10 to be collaborative or it is not going to Roon is one of the featured speakers at
notches, she says. work.” the Summit of the Americas Conference,
and will participate on a panel on blending
humanization and digitalization in the
Knowledge Hub on Tuesday, April 6 at 12
noon EDT.
She will also be holding a session at
the Engagement Lounge on April 6 at 2
pm. where she will talk about Optimizing
Sales & Promotion. This session is free
to attend using this link: https://www.
bigmarker.com/SummitoftheAmericas/
SPARK

Inside a SPARK training session.

21 April 2021 The Virtual Summit of the Americas Issue