Spafax Help British Airways Celebrate Its Centenary with BrewDog Partnership
LONDON – June 4, 2019 – Global entertainment and media agency Spafax has brought together Scottish craft brewery, BrewDog, and British Airways to deliver a unique customer experience that also celebrates the airline’s Centenary.
During its milestone year, British Airways wanted to release a series of ‘centenary edition’ products and partnered with Spafax to help them develop partnerships that would harmonise with its vision of modern Britain and reflect the British Airways brand.
Charles Vine, Head of Brand Alliances at Spafax, said: “Our brand alliance between British Airways and a trailblazing, irreverent British brand such as BrewDog delivers a customer experience that is all about service enhancement, playfulness and discovery rather than traditional marketing. For BrewDog, it has also created the ultimate sampling environment – taste the ale, watch how it’s made!”
“Our brand alliance between British Airways and a trailblazing, irreverent British brand such as BrewDog delivers a customer experience that is all about service enhancement, playfulness and discovery.”
Speedbird 100: A Bespoke Ale Designed to Drink at 40,000 Feet
To kick off the marketing campaign for British Airways (BA), BrewDog created a custom beer for BA customers, named Speedbird 100, after the airline’s call sign. The recipe for the bespoke IPA was specifically crafted to be consumed in the air and adapt to the reduction in taste and smell sensitivity at high altitudes.
Hamish McVey, British Airways’ Head of Brand and Marketing, said: “We are hugely excited to have partnered with BrewDog, another British brand that is committed to bringing the best of Britain to the world. Alongside our £6.5 billion investment programme we want to work with industry leaders to ensure travelling with British Airways is an unforgettable experience, so this partnership is a fantastic union.”
Gordon Buchanan, International Markets Manager at Brewdog, said: “British Airways offer a brand visibility of the highest calibre and it’s an honour and delight for us to partner with them for their Centenary to offer their passengers something truly unique and memorable.”
“Alongside our £6.5 billion investment programme we want to work with industry leaders to ensure travelling with British Airways is an unforgettable experience, so this partnership is a fantastic union.”
A Journey on British Airways, In the Company of BrewDog
To amplify the partnership between British Airways and BrewDog, Spafax developed a brand experience designed to reach BA customers at multiple touch points. In addition to experiencing the custom -made brew onboard all BA flights, plus a selection in the BrewDog craft beer bar at the JFK lounge, passengers can engage with the BrewDog brand via the airline’s in-flight entertainment, which will feature a BrewDog TV channel from July. New episodes will be added monthly, including a feature on the world’s first in-flight brew and the ‘making of Speedbird 100.’
Gordon Buchanan added: “The vision was to offer BA’s passengers a host of touch points at which to enjoy the BrewDog brand and Spafax’s expertise in engaging and entertaining airline passengers throughout the journey was integral to achieving this.”
“The vision was to offer BA’s passengers a host of touch points at which to enjoy the BrewDog brand and Spafax’s expertise in engaging and entertaining airline passengers throughout the journey was integral to achieving this.”
Starting May 1, Speedbird 100 will be served to British Airways customers in its Centenary year, both in the air and on the ground.
British Airways will be releasing a series of ‘centenary editions’ in partnership with British brands during its milestone year, including a limited-edition travel-sized Marmite jar that customers can take in their carry-on.
Preview the making of Speedbird 100 here on Youtube.
About British Airways
British Airways, part of International Airlines Group, is one of the world's leading global premium airlines and the largest international carrier in the UK. The carrier has its home base at London Heathrow and flies to around 200 destinations across almost 80 countries. British Airways carries almost 40 million customers a year and has a fleet of more than 280 aircraft.
About BrewDog Plc
Since 2007 BrewDog has been on a mission to make other people as passionate about great craft beer as we are. From the Headliner series, which includes bold, uncompromising pack leaders like the flagship Punk IPA, to the Amplified range (beer, but turned up to 11), BrewDog brews beer that blows people’s minds and has kick-started a revolution.
Cofounders James Watt and Martin Dickie shook up the business world in 2010 with the launch of pioneering crowdfunding initiative Equity for Punks, an initiative that has seen the company raise £70m over six rounds, with one currently live, raising more money through online equity crowdfunding than any other on record, with a raise currently live now. The funds and the army of Punk shareholders (108,000) has enabled the Scottish craft brewery to scale up without selling out.
With over 80 bars across the globe, export into 60 countries, and a brewery in Ohio that launched in 2017, BrewDog continues to take the craft beer revolution stratospheric, whilst continuing to push the boundaries, invest in people, put the beer first, and champion other small breweries in its venues.
About Spafax Group
The Spafax Group is one of the world’s leading providers of media sales, entertainment curation and content marketing. Originally founded to serve the airline market, Spafax Group companies now support a wide variety of leading brands around the world. Current clients include Air Canada, American Airlines, British Airways, Japan Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Emirates the Lufthansa Group, Mercedes-Benz, Singapore Airlines and many others. The group is headquartered in London with over a dozen offices around the world. Spafax is a WPP company.
