SapientNitro has announced the end of its eleven-year partnership with Virgin Blue.

Virgin Blue and SapientNitro have had a long history of collaboration, with founder Sean Cummins, of then Cummins & Partners, largely credited with building Virgin Blue’s brand in Australia after the company was introduced to Australians in May 2000. Popular campaigns for Virgin Blue include 2002’s ‘If only you got Virgin Blue service everywhere’, 2007’s ‘Get what you want’ and 2009’s ‘Where great ideas fly‘.

SapientNitro underwent further internal change in late 2009, as Cummins sold CumminsNitro to US-based digital firm Sapient, signalling Cummins’ break from the advertising world. Virgin Blue also saw recent internal change with John Borghetti (former Qantas senior executive) taking over as CEO in June 2009, hoping to take the company in a new direction.

Michael Branagh, national managing director of SapientNitro commented about the partnership: “We’ve enjoyed an amazingly successful partnership with Virgin Blue. Together, we helped to build the brand from its beginnings to the point where today, it’s one of Australia’s most recognisable household names, with a 34% plus share of the domestic aviation market and spontaneous brand awareness approaching 100%.”

“We wish Virgin Blue and its new CEO continued success as they seek to dramatically change the airline and re-shape the aviation space. Meanwhile, we’re looking forward to pursuing new opportunities.”

Virgin Blue has announced the appointment of Clemenger BBDO as its new agency commencing 1 October 2010.