Client: Oman Airports Management Company

Project Description:

New terminal buildings are being designed at Muscat, Oman’s capital city, and Salalah, the principal city in the south of the country.

The lead architect is Cowi-Larsen and Oman Airports Management Company (OAMC) decided that specialist advertising and retail design was required in order to optimise revenues.

Compass was brought in to work alongside Cowi-Larsen, Triagonal Information Design (wayfinding/signage architects and product designers) and The Design Solution (retail designers).

Scope of Work:

Design of interior and exterior advertising programs, fully co-ordinated with wayfinding & FIDS/BIDS program and retail plan.

Duration of contract: March 2009 to Present

Phase 1 2009

Interior and Exterior Advertising programs both airports

Phase 2 2009

Production of official Advertising and Signage Policy document for OAMC (with Triagonal Information Design)

Phase 3 2010

Revision of advertising program in retail areas (with The Design Solution)

Compass comment:

OAMC and Cowi-Larsen had the foresight to ask Compass to work alongside Triagonal, the company responsible for the airport’s wayfinding program, and this proved to be an inspired strategy. From the outset, Compass and Triagonal took a ‘holistic’ approach that advertising and wayfinding should not compete with each other for the passenger’s attention. This integrated planning approach ensures that the advertising program will be highly visible and maximises potential income to OAMC.

Client comment:

“Oman Airports Management Company (OAMC) is planning the redevelopment of all major airports in the country. In the first phase, we are designing new terminals at Muscat, the capital, and at Salalah serving the south of the country.

Advertising is already an important part of our commercial income and we wish this to continue in the new terminals also.

We appointed Compass International Media to develop both internal and exterior advertising plans at both airports. They have embraced working closely with our principle architects COWI-Larsen, our signage specialists Triagonal and our retail designers The Design Solution.

Working with these companies, Compass International Media has succeeded in designing extremely good advertising programs at both airports. In both cases the advertising has been fully integrated with the architecture of the buildings/airports as well as the other signage (primarily FIDS and wayfinding) programs.

Moreover, they have succeeded in designing advertising that is commercially appropriate for each airport - At Muscat the program is highly innovative and incorporates the latest thinking in airport advertising with an emphasis on digital and dynamic advertising, retail support, large format sites and promotions. At Salalah the program, although incorporating dynamic signage and retail support, has been designed for maximum appeal to the national advertising market.

After completion of this work OAMC appointed Compass International Media, with Triagonal as subcontractor, to produce a Signage and Advertising Policy for the new terminal to ensure that standards are maintained after opening and that the guidelines and principles are understood by all airport stakeholders.

We are highly satisfied with the work that Compass International has carried out for OAMC”