Unusual ad firm eyes expansion

Air travelers may see more advertisements when they slip their shoes off at security checkpoints in the coming years. At least that's what SecurityPoint Media is hoping.

The St. Petersburg-based advertising firm plans to spread its scope by placing ads in shoe trays at airports and introducing products to help quicken the pace of the security line.

It's undertaking the new idea with the help of Raptor Group, a Boston-based financial services firm. SecurityPoint partnered with Raptor's subsidiaries, RaptorAccelerator and Raptor Ventures, for its aim.

Mark Pannes, co-managing director of RaptorAccelerator, says his firm will manage the commercial side of SecurityPoint so the firm can focus on innovation.

And shrewd thinking is what drives SecurityPoint, which develops relationships with the Transportation Security Administration to help secure the deals.

“We're creating relationships with large brands,” Pannes tells Coffee Talk regarding Raptor's involvement.

Pannes says SecurityPoint is also developing carts for the security trays that will make the security process more efficient — and make the company's products more attractive to TSA officials. This is key, as SecurityPoint must prove its products will streamline security processes to be used at an airport, Pannes explains.

“Ideally we would like to see SecurityPoint Media in every major airport and most feeder airports over the next couple years,” Pannes says. Achieving this goal will depend on SecurityPoint, which currently advertises in 30 airports, nurturing relationships with the TSA. Pannes says that the firm has been building these relationships over the last decade.
Pannes could not comment on the investment made by Raptor's venture capital subsidiary.

Coffee Talk just hopes SecurityPoint succeeds in its goal to speed up the painful process of airport security.