A Week At The Airport: A Heathrow Diary

Uploaded by:	danielwglover
Country:	United Kingdom
Website:	http://www.mischiefpr.com

London PR agency Mischief commissioned philosopher Alain de Botton to be the first ever writer-in-residence for client Heathrow airport. Mr de Botton was given a brief to capture the story of the airport, its staff and its passengers - and wrote parts of the content from a desk set up in Terminal 5. He had full creative control over the project with airport executives only seeing the manuscript after the book had gone to print. 10,000 free copies were given out to Heathrow passengers before going on general sale on Monday 28th September.

The brand-funded content - designed to get people thinking about the airport as more than simply a place to pass through - has generated hundreds of pieces of national and international editorial media coverage and kicked off thousands of online branded conversations. A Week At The Airport: A Heathrow Diary is currently at number 48 in the Amazon book chart.

Alain de Botton comments on the project: "You might not end up liking what I write, but that seems to me less important than the overall purpose of having a writer-in-residence at a desk in a terminal. It's an invitation for everyone to start thinking more creatively about the airport, it's a way of saying that Heathrow, for all its well-known troubles, is very much a place to notice."

Creative agency: Mischief PR
Client: BAA
Publisher: Profile Books
Cover design: David Pearson
Photography: Richard Baker