Corporate & technology
Avealto
We took a UK tech start-up's trademark dispute with Airbus and turned it into a Times exclusive — putting a 10-person company in front of a business audience of 24 million.
An innovative British start-up developing a fleet of high-altitude unmanned air balloons to deliver long-duration telecommunications services to rural, remote, maritime and aeronautical customers.
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The brief
Avealto appointed Bridgehead on a project basis to raise public awareness of its trademark dispute with Airbus, following Airbus rebranding its competing platform as 'Aalto'. The goal: generate scrutiny of a multinational behaving aggressively toward a British innovator.
What they needed
Draw attention to the trademark dispute with Airbus.
Protect Avealto's commercial position in the emerging high-altitude connectivity market.
Generate public and political scrutiny of Airbus' rebrand.
Highlight Avealto's economic contribution as a UK-based technology innovator.
The approach
A targeted media programme focused on the economic and commercial implications of the dispute — framing a start-up's legal challenge as a public interest story about UK innovation.
The Times exclusive
We secured an exclusive with The Times business section, ensuring the story broke with credibility and reached a high-value business audience before any competitor coverage.
UK innovation framing
Press materials highlighted the impact on a UK-based technology start-up, positioning Avealto's potential economic contribution to frame the dispute in terms of job creation and British innovation.
Political stakeholder outreach
We supported outreach to relevant political stakeholders to reinforce the public interest dimension of the trademark case.
The results
pieces of coverage
readers reached
The coverage
24M+ monthly readers
Business
UK start-up accuses Airbus of 'low trick' in trademark row
The Times · 2023
214M+ monthly readers
Technology
How worried should we be about menacing spies in the sky?
Daily Mail · 2023
The breakthrough
One Times exclusive that put a 10-person start-up on Airbus' radar.
By securing the story as an exclusive with The Times, we ensured Avealto's position was heard by the business audience that mattered most — before Airbus could control the narrative. Subsequent trade coverage cemented visibility within the aerospace and telecommunications sectors.
Seen in
The impact
Exclusive with The Times reaching 24M+ monthly readers on a commercially sensitive story.
Elevated Avealto's national business profile during an active trademark dispute.
Reinforced positioning as a UK-based technology innovator in the high-altitude connectivity sector.
Generated public visibility that strengthened Avealto's position in the dispute.
The outcome
A single well-placed exclusive that turned a David-vs-Goliath legal dispute into national business news — and gave a 10-person start-up leverage against a multinational.
