Carat scoops £6m BAA business

Airports operator BAA, which owns Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports, has appointed Carat to its consolidated £6m media buying account.

The original longlist consisted of eight agencies – BMP OMD, CIA, MindShare, Booth Lockett Makin, Rocket, BBJ Media Services and Golley Slater. MindShare pulled out before the final round.

Carat will work with Gavin Miller, BAA marketing manager (media). He says: “We were seeking a more cohesive media strategy across BAA’s operations and Carat will deliver the messages we want to reach our customer.”

BAA says that the value of the account may increase further as it responds to the abolition of tax and duty free shopping for travellers within the European Union.

BAA operates seven airports in the UK and has benefited from the rise of the budget airlines.

Yesterday it said that it had served 29.8 million passengers over the past three months and raised its passenger growth forecasts to five per cent from 4.5 per cent for the year after a surge in low-cost travel.

Carat was selected through OJEC, the European Commission’s procurement procedure. The BAA Group’s new chief executive Mike Hodgkinson takes over from Sir John Egan in October.