Flight Centre Travel Group Appoints Rooster PR

Flight Centre Travel Group Appoints Rooster PR
9th January 2017 James Brooke

Flight Centre Travel Group Appoints Rooster PR

Rooster to manage Flight Centre and StudentUniverse UK PR programmes following competitive pitch

Rooster PR is thrilled to announce its appointment by the Flight Centre Travel Group, one of the world’s largest travel companies, as its retained UK press office following a competitive pitch.

Under the agreement the agency will manage the PR for the following brands: leading flights and tailor-made holiday specialist Flight Centre UK as well as Flight Centre Ireland; Flight Centre First & Business; Flight Centre Business Travel; Round the World Experts and StudentUniverse, a leading resource for student travel discounts.

Rooster has been briefed to help Flight Centre position itself as the UK’s top travel retailer to Australia and raise awareness of the company’s Australian expertise. The agency will be responsible for Flight Centre’s day-to-day press office and ongoing media strategy, managing pro-active and re-active media enquiries as well as news generation and crisis & issues management.

Rooster will help Flight Centre kick off 2017 with a bang by implementing an integrated Australia Day campaign which the agency created for the pitch. The campaign will communicate the benefits of booking with Flight Centre, highlight the company’s unbeatable knowledge of Australia as well as incentivising potential customers to book their Australian holidays with Flight Centre.

In addition to Flight Centre, Rooster will be responsible for StudentUniverse’s UK press office. Briefed to elevate the company’s profile and position it as the world’s leading travel booking site for students and youth, Rooster will manage all media enquiries as well as news hijacking, data mining and content generation.

Sue Johnson, Head of Retail Marketing at Flight Centre UK & Ireland, said: “We were impressed by Rooster’s expertise and the creative ideas they presented in response to our brief. We’re looking forward to what we can achieve through this partnership in 2017, particularly the exciting Australia Day campaign this January – watch this space.”

Dan Baker, Head of Marketing at StudentUniverse, said: “We’re excited about our new partnership with the Rooster team and how we can maximise their experience and contacts to raise awareness of StudentUniverse among young travellers.”

James Brooke, Managing Director at Rooster, said: “Following a successful 2016, being appointed by one of the world’s largest travel companies is a cracking start to the new year. We’re eager to put our plans into action and position Flight Centre as the number one travel retailer to Australia for media and consumers, not just this Australia Day but throughout 2017 and beyond.”

Since establishing its first store in 1995, Flight Centre has grown to over 80 UK stores with new outlets opening regularly. The company has 2,500 stores globally, making it one of the world’s largest and most successful independent travel retailers. Flight Centre can organise anything from flights to holidays, hotels, car hire, tours, travel insurance, visas and more. It also has dedicated First and Business Class flight teams and Business Travel teams to help with specialised travel needs. The company’s success comes down to its experienced Travel Experts who are passionate about finding customers the holiday they want, for the price they want.

StudentUniverse is a leading resource for student travel discounts. Launched in the UK in 2013 and acquired by the Flight Centre Travel Group in 2015, StudentUniverse offers discounted pricing and terms on flights, hotels and tours and is used by millions of students every year. Its Travel Services division also handles complex itineraries, custom designed gap year experiences and group travel requests. StudentUniverse also operates Journeys are Made @ GapYear.com, the world’s largest gap year inspiration travel platform.

For more information visit www.flightcentre.co.uk and www.studentuniverse.co.uk.

-Ends-

For further press information, please contact:
Melissa Hobson/Natalie Garland/James Brooke.
Rooster PR
T: +44 (0)20 3440 8927
E: [email protected]

About the Flight Centre Travel Group (FCTG)
The Flight Centre Travel Group (fctgl.com) is one of the world’s largest travel companies with over 18,000 staff and 2500 stores across its leisure, corporate and wholesale businesses. The company’s turnover in 2014/2015 financial year was £9 billion. After starting with one shop 30 years ago, FCTG has enjoyed remarkable growth and is one of the top 100 publicly listed companies on the Australian Securities Exchange.

All specialist brands under the FCTG Corporate banner offer 24/7 support and the benefits of a blended offline/online solution; global negotiation strength and unique and superior business travel products.

About Flight Centre
The team at Flight Centre are experts when it comes to travel and are committed to providing customers with a great experience. The company’s success comes down to its people, experienced Travel Experts who are passionate about finding their customers the holiday they want, for the price they want.

Since establishing the first Flight Centre store in 1995, the business has grown its team of Travel Experts to include over 80 stores within the United Kingdom, with new stores opening regularly. Worldwide, Flight Centre has an amazing 2,500 stores across the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, United States, Canada and more, making Flight Centre one of the largest and most successful independent travel retailers in the world. With its global reach and close relationships with the world’s best travel providers, the company is able to provide competitive travel deals as well as offer a ‘Lowest Airfare Guarantee’.

The Flight Centre team can organise anything from flights to holidays, hotels, car hire, tours, travel insurance, visas and more. They also have dedicated First and Business Class flight teams and Business Travel teams to help with any specialised travel needs.

For more information go to www.flightcentre.co.uk, Facebook (FlightCentreUK), Twitter (@flightcentre_UK) or Instagram (flightcentreuk).

About Round the World Experts
Round the World Experts (RTWE) is the UK’s biggest Round the World travel specialist, with 100 experts in 15 teams around the country and a strong online presence. RTWE was created in 2009 in response to a growing market for complex air itineraries, including round the world flights for gap year students. Over time, a larger market emerged of career breakers and retiree travellers, looking for the trip of a lifetime.

Today, RTWE has expanded to offer rail travel, accommodation, cruises and multi-destination sporting packages, although multi-destination air travel is still the backbone of the brand, utilising an extensive knowledge of international and local carriers, routes and hubs. The brand introduced a pioneering Travel Butler service, a free flight change service for RTWE customers, which recognises the fluid nature of round the world travel. RTWE Adventure Passports also provide a range of adventure tours with flexible dates and Black Market Fares to take advantage of late and limited air deals.

For more information, visit www.roundtheworldexperts.co.uk, Facebook (RoundTheWorldExperts), Twitter (@RTWExpert) or Instagram (rtw_experts).

About StudentUniverse
StudentUniverse is a leading resource for student travel discounts. Through negotiations with a network of global partners, StudentUniverse offers discounted pricing and terms on flights, hotels and tours. Its Travel Services division also handles complex itineraries, custom designed gap year experiences and group travel requests. StudentUniverse also operates Journeys are Made @ GapYear.com, the world’s largest gap year inspiration travel platform.

StudentUniverse launched in the UK in 2013 and was acquired by Flight Centre Travel Group in 2015. StudentUniverse is headquartered in Boston with offices in London, Toronto, New York and the Philippines. StudentUniverse believes that travel is essential to a modern education. Millions of students use the service every year.

For more information go to www.studentuniverse.co.uk, Facebook (StudentUniverseUK), Twitter (@studentu_uk) or Instagram (studentuniverseuk).