Online Travel Portal seeks agencies after rebranding

Online Travel Portal, a joint venture between nine national airlines, has been rebranded as Opodo and is seeking a creative agency, a new media agency and a loyalty scheme partner.

The partnership includes BA, Air France, KLM and Lufthansa.

Opodo marketing chief Nicholas de Santis is leading the search and has shortlisted HHCL & Partners, Banks Hoggins O’Shea/FCB, Soul, Bartle Bogle Hegarty and Leagas Delaney to pitch for the £30m advertising business.

BMP DDB was the incumbent on the business, but along with Abbott Mead Vickers.BBDO and McCann-Erickson it was knocked out at the early stages.

The portal has already appointed Carat to handle media buying.

Opodo, which goes live this week, was rebranded by Wolff Olins and will target independent travellers as a one-stop shop. Opodo has access to 480 airlines, 54,000 hotels and will offer its own travel insurance.

Consumers can register on Opodo.com from this week. Germany is the only country where consumers can purchase travel deals through the portal, until next year, when UK customers will also be able to buy travel through the portal.

De Santis says Opodo’s target is to become the largest pan-European travel portal and be in profit by 2004.