Welcome to the third issue of Sight Lines and the first one under my stewardship.

It is a huge honour to be taking on the Editor’s role for a title that places an overdue spotlight on the vibrant world of airport advertising and communications.

That vibrancy is captured time and again in this issue. In particular, our HSBC cover story offers a fascinating insight into what ranks among the all-time great marketing and branding campaigns – both in the airport environment and beyond.

HSBC’s sponsorship of jet bridges across the world’s major airports has had an indelible impact on the travelling public's consciousness – to the point where many people now know airport jet bridges simply as the ‘HSBC bridges’.

This remarkably enduring campaign has not just brought more eyes to HSBC’s branding, it has also underlined the banking and financial services giant’s powerful brand message of building cross-cultural bridges between the countries of the world.

As Global Head of Brand Activation and Strategic Programmes Nicola Sayers tells me, “It was very much about connecting customers and passengers from one country to another and so truly demonstrated why we are the world’s leading international bank.”

We also hear from Arthur de Groot from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, who discusses the Dutch airport’s intriguing business model, where advertising is run in-house rather than by a concessionaire. It’s a structure at odds with the majority of the world’s major hubs, but one that reaps rich rewards for Schiphol.

Contrasting that perspective, VGI Global Media Chief Operating Officer – Airports Jonathan Goldsmid from VGI Malaysia puts the case for the concession model. “While most major airports would have little problem covering the capital involved in installing the necessary advertising technologies, what airports don’t generally have is the know-how or appetite to create and manage internal organisations with the manpower and expertise necessary to do everything required,” he argues

Goldsmid offers some compelling evidence to illustrate his case based on exciting installations VGI has introduced in Malaysia.

Enjoy those features and much else besides in this issue. We hope that, as befits its subject matter, Sight Lines is both visually compelling and editorially thought-provoking.

Liam Coleman

Editor

Sight Lines