Continental Airlines goes to the Tower

The event is promoted by Harvey Goldsmith and AEG Live and the festival consists of 10 nights of music, arts and culture set in the surroundings of the Tower of London in September.

Acts from the world of dance, opera and classical music will participate and acts include Nigel Kennedy, Dame Kiri te Kanawa and Lesley Garrett.

The partnership and associated media activity was negotiated by Starcom MediaVest Group’s sponsorship division, SMG Plus. The sponsorship ties in with Continental Airlines’ plans to target key business travellers within London.

The aim of the partnership is to bring to life the Continental experience and promote the London Heathrow to New York/Newark route with its premium cabin brand BusinessFirst.

The event will include several New York themed spaces including VIP Bar area, an art gallery with interactive component, and a New York themed entertainment. Guests will also have several opportunities to win round trip BusinessFirst tickets to New York on Continental.

There will be a radio and online media campaign, which includes 40 second radio advertorials targeting London based listeners of Classic FM, beginning on Monday (10 August). Messages will drive them to an online site for an opportunity to win VIP tickets to the festival.

Mark Bergsrud, Senior Vice President of Marketing Programs, Continental Airlines says: “The naming rights sponsorship enables us to build upon our existing platforms of traditional and digital media, offering our consumers the chance for a more personal experience with our brand. The historic London setting offers us the perfect environment to talk more directly to our core customers about our London Heathrow to New York service, which was recently increased last year.

There has been a Tower Music festival since 2005 but the previous incarnation was devised with more broad appeal and featured pop stars.