Souk retains Flybe advertising brief

Flybe has reappointed Souk Communications to its advertising account after a six-way pitch, which included M&C Saatchi. It comes as the short-haul airline boosts its advertising spend from £7m to £10m for the next year.

The agency, which has handled the account for ten years, has now been brief-ed to create an advertising campaign that aims to maintain existing customers while attracting business flyers to the airline.

The agency will use a “testimonial route of marketing” for the brand with genuine Flybe customers in the campaign. The ads, which will break in September,will be rolled out across print and digital.

Simon Lilley, Flybe marketing director, says: “We will be spending about £1.5m on the campaign across national and regional press, outdoor and digital channels over the next six months.”

Flybe recently announced record pre-tax profits of £35.4m for the year ending March 31. This result was well above the £20m it recorded in the last 12 months. The budget airline also reported a rise of 46% in turnover to £535.9m.

Starcom Mediavest handles the airline’s media planning and buying and it was unaffected by the review.