Ryanair is partnering with London-based Ink to sell ads on the one piece of paper that no traveler can afford to overlook: a boarding pass. The strategy, described in the Wall Street Journal, borrows from current travel advertising techniques in that the travelers is targeted based on his or her route and demographics. Ryanair, however, is tweaking the model to concentrate on retailers at the airport of departure - as opposed to the destination, the Journal says.

Ink CEO Jffrey O’Rourke tells the Journal that initial contracts are already being signed with advertisers priced at several times the rate for similar web ads.

Ryanair is following companies that are targeting unorthodox formats or screens or devices to target a particular demographic. Clovr Media is rolling out a platform in which ads can be embedded in peoples' financial statements, which the user clicks on if he or she chooses. The purchase can be made via debit card, with the relevant savings included in the purchase.

A Toronto firm, AddMirror, has developed an ad format for bathroom mirrors and is in the process of placing them in restaurants and lounges in Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary.

Air Travel

The airport, however, is among the attractive venues for alternative advertising, as Ryanair illustrates. Some airlines also offer opportunities to sponsor airsick bags. Brand in the Hand, a division of Harvey Alpert that provides brand name foods and beverages to airlines, develops such promotional opportunities as sleep kits, menus, cups, napkins, in-flight announcements, snack boxes, seatback inserts, beverage carts, amenity kits, and meal tray cards - all aimed at air travelers.