United Airlines brings personalized ads to back-of-seat TVs

The news: United Airlines is displaying personalized ads on seatback screens to increase its out-of-home and digital ad presence and boost revenues, per The Wall Street Journal.

• United will begin tailoring pre-roll ads on in-flight entertainment using its trove of customer data—including where the passenger lives, whether they are sitting in economy or first class, and more.
• The airline will also begin showing ads in its app (which is used to book and board flights) to users who opt in to personalization, allowing retailers to target consumers at airports where they may have stores.
• In keeping with changing advertising standards, United will not collect data on users under 18, and customers will have the ability to decline personalization.

Airlines’ advertising power: United is the latest in a long line of companies to dip into the lucrative ad sector.

• Companies that collect robust user data, like airlines, ridesharing services, food retailers, gaming companies, and more, have opened up new ad space or are exploring ways to harness user data to increase revenues.
• There’s high demand for this data: We expect global digital ad spending to jump 12.2% to $677 billion this year, offering opportunities for companies with large amounts of consumer data to monetize via advertising.
• With addressability set to decline due to changing privacy standards and the end of third-party cookies on Chrome, airlines in particular have a lucrative opportunity to capitalize on advertising data: Airline customers have a clear-cut location at every step of their journey that makes targeting them easy and effective.

Our take: United likely won’t be the only carrier looking to monetize its customer information. With interest rates high and investors pressuring companies to increase revenues, tapping into the high demand for ad space and data is a no-brainer.