Carat retains £3m BAA business

BAA has retained Carat as its media planning and buying agency on its £3m advertising business following a statutory review.

BAA has retained Carat as its media planning and buying agency on its &£3m advertising business following a statutory review.

The agency has kept the lion’s share of BAA’s business after a pitch against Zenith Optimedia. The latter has been offered the opportunity of supporting work on the account. The review was overseen by group marketing director Barbara Beckett.

BAA, which manages seven airports, including Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted, is preparing for a sizeable summer campaign and is also reviewing its advertising agency roster.

The current roster comprises Claydon Heeley Jones Mason, Delaney Lund Knox Warren and J Walter Thompson.

BAA has appointed Mike Clasper as its chief executive, replacing Mike Hodgkinson on his retirement in June.

Clasper has a brief to oversee an &£8bn investment programme over the next decade. Some &£6.5bn is earmarked for the planned Terminal 5 at Heathrow.

Group revenues have been hit by the economic slowdown and drop in passenger numbers within a time of rising international tension.

However, passenger traffic in the nine months to December across the airports rose 4.9 per cent to 100.4 million, compared with the same period in 2001.