Media owners
Sell their own inventory, airport by airport
JCDecaux, oOh!media, Times OOH, Departure Media, Clear Channel Airports, and Boingo for Wi-Fi. Each holds contracts at specific airports and sells what it controls there.
Media owners vs. airport advertising media agencies Who sells airport
advertising. And whoplans it for you.
Search for airport advertising and the same names come up as companies, vendors, and agencies, as if they were one thing. They are three different kinds of business: media owners that sell their own inventory at specific airports, marketplaces that list inventory, and airport advertising media agencies that plan and buy across all of them for the advertiser. This page explains the difference and who to contact for your campaign, from EAM Advertising, an airport advertising media agency that plans and buys across 125+ airports and 40+ media vendors.
- 125+Airports worldwide
- 40+Media vendors
- 5Continents served
You’re in good company
The short answer
What is the difference between airport advertising
companies and agencies?
Most airport advertising companies are media owners: they hold the contract to sell advertising at specific airports and sell their own inventory there, as JCDecaux, Clear Channel Airports, and oOh!media do. Airport advertising is sold by media owners, listed by marketplaces, and planned by agencies. A marketplace such as AdQuick lists inventory from many sellers for self-service booking. An airport advertising media agency such as EAM Advertising owns no inventory: it plans the campaign for the advertiser and buys from every media owner involved, across as many airports as the plan needs.
Marketplaces and platforms
List inventory for self-service
AdQuick and similar out-of-home marketplaces list units from many sellers; programmatic platforms sell a slice of airport digital screens by impression. Useful for a quick buy; the planning is yours.
Airport advertising media agencies
Plan and buy for the advertiser
Independent of any media owner. EAM Advertising has planned and bought airport campaigns since 2015 across 125+ airports and 40+ media vendors, including Dynatrace on five continents and Fortinet across the U.S. and Canada. It knows which loops are crowded, which units sell out first in event weeks, and where on the arrival path each audience walks, then checks availability everywhere, recommends the mix, buys it under one contract, and handles approvals, posting, and proof.
Why the names get mixed up
Media owners have sales teams and call their offers solutions; marketplaces call themselves platforms; some general out-of-home agencies list airports among a hundred channels. The test is simple: who owns the inventory, and whose side is the planner on.
Start your plan
Not sure who to call? Start here.
Pick the path that matches where you are. Every path ends with current availability and a recommended mix.
Still figuring out the routeGet our media kitFormats, planning ranges, and booking windows across 125+ airports. We follow up to learn who you need to reach and when.Get the kit Have airports and datesSend a briefWe check every media owner at every airport in the plan and come back with availability and a recommended mix.Send it Want to talk it throughBook a 15-minute callA short call to work out which route fits your campaign.Book it
Side by side
How do media owners, marketplaces, and
agencies compare?
The difference is who owns the inventory and who does the planning. Media owners sell their own units at their own airports; marketplaces let you book listed units yourself; an airport advertising media agency owns nothing and plans across all of them for you.
| Media owner | Marketplace or self-serve platform | Built for multi-airport plansAirport advertising media agency | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | A company with the contract to sell advertising at specific airports | An online catalog of out-of-home inventory from many sellers, booked self-serve | An agency, independent of any media owner, that plans and buys airport media for the advertiser |
| Examples | JCDecaux, oOh!media, Times OOH, Departure Media, Clear Channel Airports, Boingo (Wi-Fi) | AdQuick and similar out-of-home marketplaces and self-serve platforms | EAM Advertising |
| Owns the inventory | Yes, at its own airports | No; lists other sellers' units | No |
| Whose side it's on | Its own inventory | Its sellers and its platform | The advertiser |
| Airports covered | Only the airports where it holds the contract | Whatever its sellers list | Any airport in the plan; EAM Advertising buys across 125+ |
| Formats | Its own units at that airport | What is listed, mostly standard units | Every format: digital networks, spectaculars, static, lounges, trays, Wi-Fi, exteriors |
| Who plans the mix | You, from that media owner's catalog | You | The agency, from your audience, airports, dates, and budget |
| Contracts | One per media owner per airport | Per booking | One contract and one invoice across every media owner |
| Creative approval and specs | You submit to each airport | You submit | The agency traffics creative through each airport's approval |
| Proof and reporting | From that media owner | Varies | Posting confirmation, photos, and play logs across every airport |
| What it can't do | Plan or buy at airports where a competitor holds the contract; it recommends from its own catalog | Confirm live availability, position, or share of voice; approvals, production, and coordination stay with you | It isn't the fastest route for one known unit at one airport; for that, call the media owner |
| Best for | One known unit at one airport | A quick self-serve buy | Multi-airport plans, first campaigns, event deadlines, budgets that need to be planned |
Media owners named as examples, not as a complete list; airport contracts change. EAM Advertising is described as an example of the agency model.
Who to call
Who do you contact
for airport advertising?
It depends on the shape of the campaign. For one unit you already know at one airport, the media owner that holds that airport's contract will quote it. For a quick digital test, a programmatic platform or marketplace can book a slice. For anything with more than one airport, more than one media owner, a deadline, or no prior experience, contact an airport advertising media agency, which checks availability everywhere and buys it as one plan.
One known unit, one airport
The media owner
You know the unit and the dates. The media owner at that airport sells it from its rate card; you handle specs, approvals, and proof.
A quick digital test
A marketplace or programmatic platform
Book a slice of digital screens yourself. It will not reach static units, spectaculars, trays, or lounges, and loop position is not yours to choose.
Everything else
An airport advertising media agency
Several airports, several media owners, international airports, a conference week, a first campaign, or a budget you want planned. One contact, one plan, one contract.
Multi-airport campaigns
Do you need an agency for a
multi-airport campaign?
Highly recommended. You can buy every unit yourself, but a campaign across five airports typically involves several media owners, each with its own availability, rate card, contract, creative specs, approval process, and proof, and a ten-airport plan can mean fifteen or more contracts. Buying direct makes you the coordinator of all of it. An airport advertising media agency exists to do that coordination and to plan the mix across media owners, which no single media owner can do, because each one sells only its own airports.
What one media owner can do
Its own airports, its own units
Quote and sell what it controls. It cannot plan your campaign at airports where a competitor holds the contract, and its recommendations come from its own inventory.
What a marketplace can do
Show what is listed
Let you browse and book. It does not check live availability across every media owner, secure loop position, or traffic creative through approval at each airport.
What an agency adds
The plan and the coordination
One availability check across every media owner, a mix built from your audience and budget, one contract and invoice, creative through every approval, and one report at the end.
How a multi-airport campaign is planned, on the airport advertising hub.
Common confusion
Is JCDecaux or Clear Channel Airports
an airport advertising agency?
No. JCDecaux, oOh!media, Times OOH, Departure Media, and Clear Channel Airports are media owners: they hold concession contracts to sell advertising at specific airports and sell their own inventory there. Boingo sells Wi-Fi sponsorship at the airports where it runs the network. AdQuick is a marketplace. None of them plans a campaign across competing media owners for the advertiser, which is what an airport advertising media agency does.
Media owner
Holds the airport's contract
Sells its own units at the airports where it holds the concession. Its sales team will help you buy from its catalog.
Marketplace
Lists other sellers' units
A booking interface for out-of-home inventory. It does not hold airport contracts or plan across media owners.
Airport advertising media agency
Works for the advertiser
Owns no inventory, buys from every media owner, and is paid to get the plan right for the brief rather than to move a particular airport's units.
Checking
How can you tell if a company is
really an airport media agency?
Ask five questions. Does it own or sell any airport inventory itself? Does it buy from several media owners, including competitors of each other? Can it name multi-airport campaigns it has run? Does it handle creative approval at each airport? Does it deliver proof of posting and play logs across every airport? An airport advertising media agency answers no to the first and yes to the rest.
Inventory
Owns none
If it sells its own screens, it is a media owner, whatever it calls itself.
Reach
Buys across media owners
An agency's plan crosses concession boundaries: different media owners at different airports, in one contract.
Track record
Multi-airport campaigns, with proof
Ask for campaigns across several media owners and countries, in your category if possible, with photos of the units and the proof of posting delivered after.
Why EAM
What does EAM Advertising
do differently?
EAM Advertising has planned and bought airport campaigns since 2015 for brands including Dynatrace, Fortinet, Rubrik, AMD, Motorola, McGraw-Hill, Wharton, and BYU, across 125+ airports and 40+ media vendors. The work runs from a single airport taken over end to end to programs across five continents, each bought from several media owners at once. We check what's open at every airport for your dates, recommend the mix from your audience and budget, secure every unit from every media owner under one contract and one invoice, traffic the creative through each airport's approval, confirm posting before the first arrival wave, and deliver proof of posting and play logs after. Independent of every media owner, we build the recommendation for the brief, not for any media owner's unsold units.
Global, five continentsDynatraceParis, London, São Paulo, Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur, Mexico City, and more. Digital large format and screen networks on five continents, each country with its own media owners, currency, and creative approval, run as one campaign under one contract. 60 million people reached.What made it hard: six countries, six approval processes, one launch windowSee the campaign 
National, several media ownersFortinetLas Vegas, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Toronto, Washington, D.C., Dallas, and more. A nationwide campaign across the U.S. and Canada, bought from multiple media owners as one coordinated buy, with one plan, one schedule, and one report. 40 million impressions.What made it hard: two countries, several media owners, one creative system across every airport's specsSee the campaign 
One airport, end to endFabricSan Jose (SJC). A full airport takeover for one flight: 82 digital faces covering 5,252 square feet, plus all 760 security trays at every checkpoint.What made it hard: every network and every checkpoint at one airport, launched togetherSee the campaign
See every campaign on the case studies page.
Tell us the airports, the dates, and the range. We come back with current availability across every media owner and a recommended mix.
Ready to plan?
One plan, every media owner.
Send a brief.
Tell us the airports, the dates, and the budget range. We check every media owner at every airport in the plan and come back with current availability and a recommended mix.
125+ airports · 40+ media vendors · Since 2015
“EAM made a nationwide airport campaign feel much easier to manage. The team was responsive, organized, and always on top of the details. They helped us make smart decisions with the budget, kept everything moving, and ultimately delivered exactly what we were looking for.”
Chief Marketing OfficerFortinet · nationwide airport campaignFor agencies and consultants
Your client. Your plan.
We handle the airports.
Agencies and consultants bring EAM Advertising in as the airport specialist behind a client’s plan. The client relationship stays with you. We plan, buy, and report under NDA, and can work white-label.
Get our media kit- Your client stays yours.We work behind your team, not around it.
- White-label and NDA.Plans and reporting can go out under your name.
- One contract, one invoice.Every airport and media owner in the plan, under one set of terms.
- Numbers before the client commits.Current availability and planning ranges at the proposal stage.
Airports
Thinking of a specific airport?
Start with its page.
EAM Advertising plans and buys at 125+ airports across North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, India, and Africa, and any combination runs under one contract. The most-requested airports are below; every airport, with search by city or code, is on the airport advertising hub.
Questions
Questions buyers ask
about who to call
Who do I contact to advertise in an airport?
For one known unit at one airport, the media owner that holds that airport's advertising contract. For several airports or media owners, a first campaign, or a deadline, an airport advertising media agency such as EAM Advertising, which plans and buys across every media owner under one contract.
Is JCDecaux an airport advertising agency?
No. JCDecaux is a media owner: it holds concession contracts to sell advertising at specific airports and sells its own inventory there. An airport advertising media agency owns no inventory and buys from JCDecaux and other media owners for the advertiser.
Is Clear Channel Airports an agency or a media owner?
A media owner. Clear Channel Airports sells advertising at the airports where it holds the contract. It does not plan campaigns across other media owners' airports.
What is an airport advertising media agency?
An agency that plans and buys airport advertising for the advertiser across every media owner and airport in the plan. It owns no inventory, recommends the mix, handles contracts, creative approval, posting, and proof, and is EAM Advertising's category. The airport advertising hub explains the category in full.
Do I need an agency for a multi-airport campaign?
Highly recommended. A multi-airport campaign usually involves several media owners, each with its own contract, specs, approval, and proof; ten airports can mean fifteen or more contracts. An airport advertising media agency plans across all of them and runs the buy under one contract.
Is AdQuick an airport advertising agency?
No. AdQuick is an out-of-home marketplace that lists inventory from many sellers for self-service booking. It does not hold airport contracts, and the planning, approvals, and coordination stay with the buyer.
Can I buy airport advertising programmatically?
Some airport digital screens can be bought through programmatic platforms by impression. Static units, spectaculars, security trays, lounges, and Wi-Fi sponsorships are not sold that way, and loop position is not the buyer's to choose.
Why does one airport have several advertising companies?
Airports award separate contracts by category: one media owner for terminal advertising, another for lounges, another for Wi-Fi, another for security trays. A campaign that uses several formats at one airport can involve four vendors.
Who represents the advertiser in an airport media buy?
An airport advertising media agency. Media owners represent their own inventory and marketplaces represent their listings; an airport advertising media agency works for the advertiser and buys across all of them.
What does EAM Advertising handle on an airport campaign?
Everything after the objective. We check what's open for the week, which loops are crowded and which units will sell out, and where on the arrival path your audience actually walks. We recommend the mix, secure the units, traffic the creative through airport approval, confirm posting on day one, and deliver proof of posting and play logs after. If the airport is one market in a larger plan, the same relationship covers the others.
Airport advertising media agency. 125+ airports. Est. 2015.
Every airport, every media owner.
Start with the media kit.
Send your work email for the media kit: formats, planning ranges, and booking windows across 125+ airports. We’ll follow up to learn who you need to reach and when, then come back with current availability and a recommended mix.
125+ airports · 40+ media vendors · Since 2015
Sources
Sources
and methodology
- Media owner descriptions: each company's own published description of its airport advertising business (JCDecaux, oOh!media, Times OOH, Departure Media, Clear Channel Airports, Boingo). Airport contracts change; the companies named are examples, not a complete list.
- Marketplace and programmatic descriptions: the platforms' own published descriptions of their services, October 2026.
- Contract counts and coordination: EAM Advertising planning and buying records across 125+ airports and 40+ media vendors, 2015–2026.
Updated October 4, 2026 · By EAM Advertising
EAM Advertising plans, secures, and buys airport and in-flight media across 125+ airports and 45+ airlines worldwide. Founded in 2015; collective operator experience in airport media buying spans two decades. Recommendations are based on what performs for the advertiser, not on inventory we have to sell. Clients include Dynatrace, Fortinet, Rubrik, McGraw-Hill, and Wharton.