Opodo expands brand via Leagas Delaney ad

Iggy Pop's hit song Lust for Life encapsulates the brand message behind the online travel portal Opodo in its first branding campaign from Leagas Delaney.

The company is seeking to widen its audience from purely online consumers with the ad, which breaks on 14 September as part of a fully integrated campaign bought and planned by Carat.

The 30-second TV ad will form the main vehicle for the brand, and features a voiceover telling consumers that Opodo offers them thousands of destinations and uses the strapline: "Your flights on your terms ... and about time too."

The TV work will be supported by tactical radio, national press and online campaigns, with a heavy London and south-eastern bias. The press executions tell consumers "Your escape from it all", "Your retail therapy" and "Your choice of airlines".

The radio spots will run on Capital FM and Magic, using the same soundtrack as the TV ad, in a bid to create a sonic logo for the brand.

Online ads, both banners and pop-ups, will be placed on sites such as Virgin, Freeserve and Thisistravel, and will be updated twice every day to ensure the prices quoted are accurate. Carat took over online planning and buying from Outrider in July.

The campaign coincides with autumn's peak booking times, and will also be rolled out in France and Germany, and comes as Opodo seeks to build its position within the travel portal market, where it competes with Lastminute, Expedia, Travelocity and ebookers. It launches in Europe from the beginning of 2003.

The company, which recently expanded its flights, hotel and car-hire services to include package holidays, was launched earlier this year with £78 million backing from nine European airlines, but saw its marketing plans curtailed by the events of 11 September .

Leagas Delaney produced a press, poster and bus-side campaign earlier this year, focusing purely on tactical offers and price.

The head of market development, Lorraine Twohill, said: "The media mix of the campaign is designed to reinforce the core Opodo brand values using emotive messaging to inspire and encourage people to try out new destinations, while the radio and press underpin the core propositions of great value flights from a wide range of over 400 airlines."

She added: "With our previous online activity, we have succeeded in reaching the core of our target audience."

Leagas Delaney's chief executive, Tim Delaney, said: "Through television Opodo will become a major European brand."

The TV ad was written by Dave Beverley and art directed by Rob Burleigh, the creative director on the project. The spot was directed by James Griffiths through Academy.

Leagas Delaney's entire creative department worked on the various press, online, and radio executions, overseen by Burleigh.

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