Lastminute.com forms online media sales agency and signs Ryanair as first major client

by Jennifer Whitehead, Brand Republic 13-Jul-05, 11:00

LONDON - Lastminute.com has launched an online media agency called LM Media and signed up budget airline Ryanair as its first major client.

LM Media operates out of Lastminute.com's office in London, and also counts Lastminute, ipodworld and ediets Ireland, which is owned by Tesco, among its clients.

Lastminute said the launch of its online media agency was a logical step. It started selling advertising on its own website in 2000 and envisages that some of the advertising revenue will come from its own suppliers.

It has a team of 20 people on board, along with a team of commercial managers from Lastminute.com.

The deal with Ryanair runs for three years and will see LM Media selling space on the airline's website Ryanair.com, to exploit the 20m visitors to the site each month.

Matt Gower, managing director of LM Media, said: "We are thrilled to announce a deal with Ryanair, which is a major coup for a new agency such ours and which is made all the more exciting because it represents a first step into commercial advertising activity for Ryanair."

In May this year, Lastminute.com was acquired by Sabre Holdings, the US company that also owns Travelocity, in a deal worth £577m.

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