extra baggage

British Airways happens to be one of our clients, as we provide communication solutions and consulting services for them throughout the Gulf region and Africa as well. This part of the job is pretty cool since we need to figure out how to market and strategically position our clients in the media spotlight, taking into consideration the culture and interests in this part of the world. Effectively doing this has involved extensive research about the political and social scene throughout the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region, in addition to some quality one on one time with just about every journalist, from English dailies to Arabic financial publications. Striking up these friendships has helped me understand what the public will read, what the media is interested in publishing, and how to position my clients according to these needs.

Today has been a bit crazy, however, since BA is faced with a crisis. Normally when crises occur, it's good news for me since it gives us an opportunity to rebuild a tainted reputation and come up with creative ways to help the public understand that the dust will settle and things will get better for the client. Today, in particular, we have seen widespread panic relating to the new T5 terminal at Heathrow that will serve as the main hub for BA. The buildup and PR for this project has been incredible, taking up a fair share of our time in the process. This news story has made waves throughout the region and will likely push people to find alternative methods of travel.

Looking ahead, we'll need to develop material to showcase that this was just a hiccup and that BA is on track to running a successful, new terminal (let's hope). I hate to admit it, but I'm kind of glad to be flying home on Emirates Airways in a couple weeks.