Air raid: BBDO N.Y. reinforces Delta in Atlanta By Alison Fahe

BBDO New York is taking steps to shore up the $100million Delta Airlines account, housed at BBDO South in Atlanta.

The New York office is lending a helping hand to its southern sister by playing a larger role in the creative process. Sources also said that the New York shop is looking to hire a senior account person who would serve as a worldwide account director on the Delta business, which accounts for the lion’s share of BBDO’s business in Atlanta.
The move follows the mandate last year from Delta brass that its marketing department is responsible for filling more seats.
BBDO New York chairman Phil Dusenberry strongly denied that the move indicated any peril on the account, or that it was a prelude to the business officially moving to New York. Rather, he said, it’s a function of Delta’s expansion into a full-fledged global airline.
“Our plan is to have New York play a larger role as Delta expands its capabilities worldwide,” said Dusenberry.
“While it’s an Atlanta-based account, we feel that we want to give Delta every bit of our creative firepower,” Dusenberry said.
He added that the New York creative department, headed by chief creative officer Ted Sam, already is working on an undisclosed creative project in conjunction with the Atlanta shop.
It is believed that Charlie Miesmer, senior executive creative director, is spearheading creative on the new Delta work, which one source said emphasizes the airline’s new planes.
Dusenberry said that he would also be taking a more active role on the business.
The New York market has become increasingly important to Delta since the city became an international hub for the airline after it bought Pan Am’s European routes in 1991. In fact, the airline last year ran a campaign designed specifically for the New York market.
Dusenberry said that bringing in a worldwide account director to “coordinate all account resources” is part of ongoing discussions between BBDO and Delta about how to service the account, which has been at BBDO for some 40 years.
However, Dusenberry said that a new account person might be based in Atlanta instead of New York.
BBDO South executives could not be reached for comment, nor could Delta.
This isn’t the first time BBDO New York has played a role on the Delta business. In fact, the New York office a few years back created the “We love to fly and it shows” campaign, still used in current advertising produced at BBDO South in Atlanta.
Besides Delta Airlines, BBDO South handles several local bank accounts including Wachovia Bank of Georgia, and it recently won the Maxfli Golf Division of Dunlop Slazenger.
Copyright Adweek L.P. (1993)