St Luke's has won the £10 million (about US$14
million) task to roll out the US online travel giant Travelocity across
Europe.
Travelocity has recently announced its intention to extend its brand out
of America, and will begin its European expansion in early 2001. The
European drive is scheduled to start in the UK, France and Germany.
St Luke's campaign will include TV, press, poster and online work.
The company held talks with Leagas Delaney, Bartle Bogle Hegarty, Lowe
Lintas and Griffin Bacal before choosing St Luke's.
Travelocity, which is part of the Sabre group, is the world's largest
Internet-based travel agent and acts as a broker for travel
services.
Andy Law, the chairman of St Luke's, said: "It's great for us to become
involved as Travelocity enters Europe as the biggest online travel
site.
We're looking forward to taking this challenger brand forward. Our
ambition is to dominate the online travel market, and I'm sure we'll be
successful."
The forthcoming campaign will aim to create a strong positioning for the
brand in an increasingly pressured market that includes established
competitors such as Expedia and lastminute.com. Travelocity is looking
to spend between £8 million and £15 million in 2001 to
establish its brand in Europe.
The US advertising for Travelocity is handled by Roberts Advertising in
Dallas, Texas. Roberts will continue to work autonomously on the
business, and will not be affected by St Luke's appointment.
