HHCL & Partners will be joined by Optimedia, OgilvyOne and Wolff
Olins as it develops the launch advertising for British Airways’
cut-price European airline, the plans for which were first revealed in
Campaign (25 July).
BA confirmed this week that the project, dubbed Operation Blue Sky, will
go live early next year.
Optimedia, which handles BA’s centralised media buying, will be the
airline’s media buyer. Wolff Olins, which worked with HHCL when it
launched First Direct in 1989, will develop the corporate identity, with
OgilvyOne adapting HHCL’s campaign across Europe.
Barbara Cassani, chief executive of the carrier, secretly appointed HHCL
as a strategic partner on the project seven months ago. The agency has
advised on the airline’s communications, from selecting a name, routes
and airports to the appointment of Wolff Olins and OgilvyOne.
Rupert Howell, managing partner at HHCL, said: ’The airline doesn’t have
a marketer, so we did all the research around Europe to find where the
marketing gap lay and came up with the project definition. We’ve been
involved in every aspect of communication.’
OgilvyOne’s hiring is the first indication of how HHCL will run
international business following its deal with OgilvyOne’s parent
company, WPP, and its merger with Chime Communications three weeks ago.
Howell said: ’If the deal hadn’t gone through, we would still have
recommended OgilvyOne. But it’s worked out perfectly.’
BA is looking for a marketing director for the fledgling operation with
a brief to maintain the airline’s separate identity.
