British Airways - the UK’s flagship carrier which operates 21 weekly flights from the UAE to London Heathrow - has announced that, for the first time, it is inviting other brands to buy advertising space on its website, ba.com and boarding passes. More than 500,000 people per day visit ba.com and last year online boarding passes were issued to around 12 million of the airline’s customers. Cedar Communications, the airline’s publishing and media sales agency, will be selling the space on behalf of British Airways.Abigail Comber, BA’s manager for brand, proposition and insight, said: “This is a unique opportunity for brands to get their message to fly. It’s also a great way for our customers to be brought messages on products and services that are relevant to them. We’re seeking brands with a strong heritage and parity to British Airways’ own brand values. Our customers would expect us to bring them brands that they trust and respect.
We had received approaches from brands wishing to advertise through us and, in these current economic times, all companies look to maximise partnerships to help manage costs so this seemed like a good opportunity. We hope it will be a positive revenue stream for BA.”
The airline has trialled the advertising capability on ba.com with Jaguar, promoting their new XJ model.
The ability to advertise on boarding passes will be available from October 1, 2009. These ads can be exclusively targeted to individual flights and specific demographic groups, allowing brands to focus on precisely the customers they’re aiming for. Tatiana Rokou - Wednesday, September 16, 2009