BAA may be losing its monopoly on the UK’s airports after it was forced by the Competition Commission to sell off a few of them, but it has now decided to give Heathrow Airport, by far its largest asset, a facelift.
After the initial problems with Terminal 5 and the recent controversy over the new runway, it has been decided that the airport needs to present a different image to the world.
BAA has therefore decided that it will be re-branded simply as ‘Heathrow’, with the tag-line ‘Making every journey better’.
The main ways in which the re-branding will take effect will be through posters at the airport itself, and these will be coupled with adverts on screens on the London Underground as well as advertorials in a number of publications.
The main focus will be the number of flights and destinations that Heathrow has to offer, and it will try to highlight the fact that all the recent improvements have made it the best airport in Europe, as well as highlighting its shopping facilities and restaurants.
The re-branding work will be carried out by the firm Masius, as well as being overseen by BAA Marketing and Insight, led by Nick Adderley. He has said that the changes are “about creating real understanding amongst our audiences as to why they should fly through our airport”.
So is Heathrow about to put all its problems behind it as it redefines itself in a new era? Or would it simply have more success if it didn’t get such a bad reputation for mishandling passengers’ luggage? We’ll just have to wait and see.