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Opodo, the e-commerce travel venture backed by nine major airlines,

has hired Outrider for its online creative and media account, worth at

least £3m. The appointment follows a competitive pitch against a

number of undisclosed digital agencies.

Outrider is charged with creating all interactive advertising material

as well as handling online media planning and buying for Opodo, which is

scheduled to begin trading in the UK, France and Germany from the end of

the year.

Opodo, which has an overall ad budget of £30m, is understood to

have earmarked at least £1m for online advertising in each of the

three European markets.

The company appointed Leagas Delaney and Carat International as its

respective above-the-line creative and media agencies during the summer,

but wanted a full-service new media agency to carry out both creative

and media tasks.

Work is due to break before the end of the year. According to marketing

director Nicolas De Santis, the launch campaign will set out to position

Opodo as the consumer's "travel friend" and a brand they can trust to

fulfil all their travel requirements.

The brand itself was created in conjunction with Wolff Olins and had

previously been referred to as Online Travel Portal.

Opodo is a joint venture between nine airlines including British

Airways, Lufthansa, KLM and Air France. Its imminent arrival comes at an

anxious time for internet travel companies, whose bookings are being

affected by consumers' anxiety about flying.

Opodo has set itself the target of becoming the biggest online seller of

travel products by 2004.