Alaska plans $50,000 digital campaign to build Pangborn-Portland demand

EAST WENATCHEE — Alaska Airlines plans to put the Chelan Douglas Regional Port Authority’s $50,000 marketing investment behind a targeted digital campaign designed to fill seats on Pangborn Memorial Airport’s new daily Portland flight when service begins Oct. 3.

But during a presentation to Regional Port commissioners Sept. 8, the larger marketing message quickly became about something more than getting Wenatchee Valley travelers to Portland.

The pitch is that they can start their trip at Pangborn.

Dan Gronfein, senior marketing specialist for Alaska Airlines, presented the proposed campaign, which would use the Google Display Network to target potential passengers based on location and demonstrated interest in travel.

“Our goal is simple,” Gronfein said. “Leverage the port’s $50,000 marketing investment to increase awareness, drive bookings, and help establish a strong foundation for long-term route success.”

The $50,000 is a required Regional Port marketing contribution associated with the Small Community Air Service Development grant supporting the new route. CEO Jim Kuntz said the Port of Portland recommended working directly with Alaska on the campaign because of the airline’s ability to target potential passengers and convert that interest into bookings.

Rather than spreading the money across traditional mass-media advertising, Alaska recommended directing the full investment toward digital advertising that can be targeted geographically and toward people already showing an interest in air travel.

The initial focus would be Chelan and Douglas counties, although discussion Tuesday included expanding the geographic reach into Grant and Okanogan counties to capture travelers who could reasonably use Pangborn.

The campaign would target leisure and business travelers, people researching flights and vacations and potential passengers who have previously visited Alaska’s booking platform and searched for Wenatchee.

While the new route provides nonstop service to Portland, commissioners emphasized that Portland itself represents only part of its value.

The flight is scheduled to arrive at Portland International Airport early enough to connect with dozens of flights departing shortly afterward for destinations across the West and beyond.

Commissioners cited destinations including Tucson, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Denver, Salt Lake City and San Francisco while discussing the possibilities available through the Portland connection.

“From my perspective, yes, we’re going to PDX. We’re going to Portland, but that’s just the beginning message,” Commissioner Mark Spurgeon said. “The real message is that the whole West and a number of destinations in the East are available to you right out of Wenatchee and at convenient times.”

Discussion also turned to another potential selling point: positioning Pangborn and the Portland connection as an alternative not simply to driving to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, but to navigating the much larger, often-plagued-by-construction airport itself.

Commissioners responded enthusiastically to the suggestion that the campaign emphasize the relative simplicity of beginning a trip at Pangborn, connecting through Portland and reaching a final destination without first driving across the Cascades and navigating Sea-Tac.

That framing puts Pangborn, rather than Portland, at the center of the marketing proposition: travelers can begin their larger journey in Wenatchee.

Gronfein said Portland’s connecting schedule helps make that possible. The Pangborn flight is scheduled to depart at 12:37 p.m. and arrive in Portland at approximately 1:30 p.m., with numerous connecting flights available beginning about an hour later.

The Regional Port’s investment will focus primarily on generating outbound traffic from North Central Washington, but Gronfein said that does not mean Alaska is ignoring travelers coming in the opposite direction.

Alaska will use its own marketing resources to reach potential visitors searching for flights into Wenatchee and destinations in Chelan, Douglas, Grant and Okanogan counties.

“For this particular campaign, we feel that the best investment of the $50,000 will be to focus on the local community to get them to use this,” Gronfein said. “That will pay off in the return flights as well, making sure that our load factors on those planes are full.”

He said Alaska can build on the campaign as the route develops.

The Portland service will add a third daily commercial flight at Pangborn alongside Alaska’s two existing Seattle flights.

The new route is backed by a $1.15 million revenue guarantee assembled from a $750,000 federal Small Community Air Service Development grant, previously committed regional air-service funds and a Regional Port contribution.

Daily service begins Oct. 3.

Andrew Simpson: 509-433-7626 or andrew@ward.media