Asiya Bakht
Dec 17, 2009

AirAsia set to review regional media account

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia-based budget carrier AirAsia is set to pitch its regional media business.

AirAsia set to review regional media account
The airline’s media account is worth an estimated US$11.5 million.

In an exclusive interview with Media, Kathleen Tan, regional head of commercial at AirAsia, confirmed plans for the review, saying that the airline is looking to “put its media account up for pitch sometime next year”.

She added: “It’s a health check that we do every two to three years because sometimes if agencies win a business without a pitch I feel complacency comes in and they just cruise along. Sometimes change is good.”

In May last year, AirAsia split its regional media account between Carat and incumbent agency Omnicom Media Group.
Carat was given the media duties for the airline’s long-haul arm, AirAsia X, while OMD continued to work with AirAsia on existing projects. Since then, it is believed that OMD's remaining duties have been moved elsewhere.

In response to the news of the pitch, both Carat and OMD declined to comment.






In the interview, Tan also offered agencies some “frank feedback”. “I would advise media and creative agencies to change the team that services the client every two years. Having a new team will bring new ideas; then there is no reason for the client to change its agency,” she said.

On AirAsia’s advertising Tan said that the airline still had some way to go. “I don’t think it’s as innovative as I would like it to be. We want agencies to push the limit. I want to tell the agencies that sometimes, for tactical campaigns, we cannot take risks because we have to look at the bottom line and bring in the dollars.”

Tan singled out Carat Taiwan as the type of agency AirAsia would be looking for. “They engage you at all levels and bring extra value. Sometimes they advise us not to spend our budget and recommend editorial coverage instead.”

Tan also revealed plans to reward AirAsia’s best agencies through a scheme called Agency Extraordinaire.

AirAsia was crowned Brand of the Year at Media’s Agency of the Year Awards in Singapore. In the same week it became the airline with the largest number of followers on social network Facebook.

Related Articles

Just Published

11 minutes ago

Agency Report Cards 2024: We grade 25 APAC networks

The grades are in for Campaign Asia's 22nd annual evaluation of APAC agency networks. Subscribe to read our detailed analyses.

46 minutes ago

Droga5's Tara Ford on big work, bold moves, and why ...

The award-winning chief creative officer discusses leaving ANZ at its peak, joining Accenture Song UK, and what's next for creativity ahead of Cannes.

1 hour ago

Agency Report Card 2024: Dentsu Creative

Despite revenue losses at a holding company level and sluggish growth, Dentsu Creative is nevertheless still gunning for creative excellence.

3 hours ago

Plain? Predictable? Think again. B2B marketing is a ...

Like the humble potato that quietly transformed food history, B2B marketing has grown underground to become a critical yet often overlooked force in business growth, says Jake Hird, CSO and founder of Grove B2B.