What are the main ingredients of signature airports? Beyond the increasingly normal expectations of shiny new and well-maintained terminals that overflow with modern amenities are the opportunities that have arisen from a social-media saturated environment.

One such opportunity is to make instant memories while traversing from, to, and through the terminals. William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) has done just that, with the addition of an appealing selfie wall that was unveiled on January 22 in the West Concourse near Gates 1 through 5, near Chick-fil-A and Pappasitos Cantina. The selfie wall, which is 8-1/2 feet wide and 6 feet, 2 inches high, is already drawing attention and patronage according to Hobby General Manager Liliana Rambo. The selfie wall was the brainchild of Rambo and she and her staff worked with Kathleen Boyd, Assistant Director of Marketing for the Houston Airports and Boyd’s staff to make it a reality. It took three months of effort and artistry to create the catchy, compelling mural that has a distinctive Houston flavor that also accentuates diversity.

“The selfie wall,” Rambo said, “ is another way we can connect with our passengers and just for a moment lighten the stress of travel. We are always looking for new ways to connect, and this helps us in a small, fun way to make a favorable impression and create a memorable passenger experience. People pass through and they just spontaneously stop and pose for a quick pic – on the spot.”

Rambo said that airports are increasingly adopting models that personalize the experience for each customer.

Statistics have cited that every day more than 27 million pieces of content are shared on social media. That is more than a trend, and a selfie wall is another way that allows for social sharing, joining “likes” and “tweets” as the “new normal.”

The Houston Airports Marketing team liaised between Hobby management, HAS Marketing, and BQR Advertising, the local Minority/Women-Owned business that was commissioned to create the work. BQR is a 20-year partner of the City and was a firm trusted to implement the vision cast for the wall.

Boyd said that the idea “was to create a welcoming message for visitors coming to Houston. Our passengers, when they travel, are looking for a sense of place. This mural is a way of conveying that sense of place and we invite visitors to take those pictures and then share them with friends and family through social media.”

She said it is also a way to engage with Hobby passengers and to convey in a visual way that “Houston-friendly feeling,” while representing the very best of Houston and staying within the framework of Airport branding. “All the elements are there,” she said. The mural includes some of the best-known elements associated with Houston: Space City, the energy industry, medicine, a rodeo motif in a nod to our Western heritage, fine cuisine, and showcasing that Houston is a “green” city. The mural also includes a nod to City Hall.

“We truly wanted to give Houstonians something to be excited about,” Boyd said, “confirming their sense of pride and relaying that all-important sense of place. The Houston Airports hashtag “fly2houston” is also include in the graphic.”

The exciting visual at Hobby allows visitors to take selfies and share the experience with their social media networks. It also allows Hobby’s four-star brand to receive positive publicity as the picture backdrop – “and we see it as one more small step in our quest to eventually become a five-star airport,” Rambo said. She said that they will monitor the reaction of customers and are considering additional phases at Hobby.