Aerospace firm AT2 partners with Zulu Alpha Kilo

Santa Clarita, Calif.-based AT2 Aerospace has selected Zulu Alpha Kilo (ZAK) as its partner for strategy, creative and production as it prepares for the launch of its innovative hybrid airship technology.

The company, which spun out of aerospace, defense and technology company Lockheed Martin earlier this year with the hybrid airship intellectual property and related assets, is moving forward with the development of the technology. It has selected ZAK to develop its initial brand strategy and positioning, visual identity and design, and the creative platform to bring it to market, which the agency will lead out of its Vancouver office.

The work resulted from an RFP process, through which AT2 “met with several potential agency partners,” according to Dr. Grant Cool, the company’s CEO. “Zulu Alpha Kilo’s unique combination of strategic strength, design expertise and track record for successfully launching new products to market is what made them stand out.”

“This is the stuff we get out of bed for,” David Tremblay, managing director for Zulu Alpha Kilo in Vancouver, tells strategy. “When you think about the world and what we do, there’s nothing else like this – it’s a category of one.”

The agency’s Vancouver office has been on a roll in recent months – including in the transportation category, where it launched a new ferry service with the Vancouver Island Ferry Company. It has also delivered recent work for clients Save-On-Foods and Vancity Original.

This new assignment, however, represents a unique challenge for the agency as it aims to set the standard for a new category and novel technology. Tremblay likens the challenge to that which companies like Virgin Galactic or SpaceX have faced.

“When you’re reinvigorating or establishing a market and being the first one up there, there will be some challenges, but the opportunities it presents are unique and important to what we do here at ZAK,” he explains. “You don’t get too many opportunities as an agency to really carve out and design an entire category … When you’re the first to do it, you often set the pace and template for how to do it best.”

The first public-facing work for AT2, encompassing the brand’s visual identity and initial communications around its purpose and mission, is expected to roll out in early 2024, Tremblay says.