Manchester Airports Group Appoints PHAR

Manchester Airports Group (MAG) has appointed PHAR as its first-ever specialist sponsorship agency. For an initial five-year term, PHAR aims to develop a range of brand partnership opportunities across MAG’s four airports – Manchester, London Stansted, East Midlands and Bournemouth.  Through these partnerships brands will for the first time be able to access a wide variety of branding locations and marketing assets and also to promote a strategic association with MAG and its airports. 

This new approach will enable brands to engage  with passengers through longer-term, strategic marketing partnerships with MAG, including opportunities to integrate products and services into the airport experience and create rewards for passengers, staff and business partners.

The nature of these partnerships will represent a new approach for how brands can engage with passengers at airports, encompassing all points of the airport experience, from car parking, check in, to the departure lounges and arrival halls across its airports. Particular emphasis will be on securing partnerships where there is clear relevance to the brand’s presence, and ultimately where the brand’s product can be at the core of the experience, which will enhance passengers’ time at MAG’s airports.

Mark Schofield, Head of Advertising at MAG, commented: “PHAR really impressed us with their understanding of how the potential from brand partnerships can be achieved, in both creating new revenues but also helping to enhance the passenger experience. As we have now passed the landmark of serving 50 million passengers per year through our airports, we look forward to working with them, and creating a world-leading programme of strategic brand marketing partnerships.”

Marcus Wight, Chief Executive of PHAR, added: “PHAR is delighted to be working with MAG to do something new and innovative in the airport sector.  As with the best sponsorships, brands will benefit not only from engaging with 50m passengers, but also through the association that they can communicate to a wider audience, beyond the airport environment.  MAG’s airports provide a fantastic platform for creating effective partnerships of this type, at a time when they are investing £1 billion in Manchester Airport’s infrastructure and when London Stansted is experiencing record passenger numbers.”