Marketing team: $380,000 digital campaign drove bookings, generated $5.3 million in airline revenue

Lauren Gonzales, Santa Barbara Airport marketing supervisor, opened a presentation to the commission on the airport’s advertising results and introduced Hilltech Marketing Group’s Kim Hilltech and media director Chris Vargas.

Kim Hilltech said the program’s objectives were to reduce passenger “leakage” to other airports, build loyalty in the local catchment area and position Santa Barbara Airport as a “one-stop to the world.” Hilltech described creative choices such as route-map imagery and an updated, retro-inspired art direction to increase ad recall.

Chris Vargas outlined a full-funnel media strategy that combined partnerships (Expedia, Kayak), search engine marketing and awareness buys in connected TV, streaming audio, display and outdoor. Vargas told commissioners the airport spent $380,000 on digital media over the fiscal year; the campaign delivered nearly 16 million impressions, roughly 80,000 engagements and—by Hilltech/partner attribution—11,423 outbound tickets, producing an estimated $5.3 million in airline revenue. “For every single dollar that we spent on digital media, it generated nearly $14 in airline revenue,” Vargas said.

Commissioners pressed for clarity on how that airline revenue translates to airport receipts. Director Hastert said Santa Barbara Airport receives a $4.50 passenger facility charge per air passenger and also benefits indirectly through parking and concessions. He emphasized that the $14-per-dollar figure is a conservative attribution of ticket sales to the advertising program, and that some bookings—especially those made directly on airline sites—are not fully captured in partner data.

Vargas highlighted route-level gains: top routes by tickets sold included Seattle, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Denver and Portland; East Coast connecting routes showed strong results, with New York‑area markets among the top sources of booked traffic. The presentation also described two air-carrier incentive programs: a 12-week Alaska Airlines campaign supporting San Diego service and a 26-week United Airlines program supporting Chicago service. Vargas said the Alaska flight campaign generated 5.7 million impressions and 14,628 clicks; the United program had generated about 9.7 million impressions and more than 15,000 clicks while still in market.

On measurement, Vargas said outdoor impressions use an industry audit service (referred to in the presentation as “Eyes On Data”) that reports impressions on audited routes. Commissioners recommended highlighting one‑stop connectivity in future creative to make international connections clearer to business travelers.

The commission received the presentation and thanked staff and Hilltech for the recap. The airport’s marketing supervisor and the Hilltech team said they will use these insights to shape fiscal‑year 2027 priorities.