APB shifts Tiger FC's Asia task to Burnett

Grey Malaysia will continue to handle the local Malaysian component of the project. Burnett, meanwhile, will work with below-the-line arm Arc Worldwide Singapore to integrate Tiger FC with Tiger's above-the-line communications, which the agency already handles regionally. According to Leo Burnett Singapore managing director Phil McDonald, the new brief will cover all communication elements -- including TV, print, event marketing, on-premise marketing, website development and e-CRM -- for the promotion of Tiger FC and Tiger's association with football across the region. "We'll basically set the strategic direction for how Tiger will handle football going forward," said McDonald. "Each market will then execute locally." Grey first launched Tiger FC in Malaysia, and the initiative is viewed as a successful example of a brand leveraging its English Premier League sponsorship. The programme was rolled out last year by Grey in Singapore, before Proximity scooped the business earlier this year. "Tiger FC itself is a medium in its own right, communicating to people who love football and drink beer," added McDonald. "The potential is much greater than local market events. It has the credibility to have a Tiger FC property that people can belong to and feel a part of." In a separate development, Tiger has handed its above-the-line communications duties in Malaysia to Saatchi & Saatchi after a two-way pitch that included TBWA\ISC. Incumbent JWT had the business for less than a year. Saatchi also handles the Guinness brand locally for Guinness Anchor Berhad, Tiger's parent company in Malaysia, and regionally for Diageo Asia, which owns the Guinness brand. A GAB spokesman said: "Through the selection process they have demonstrated a good understanding of the Tiger brand, the beer market and our target consumers." According to GAB, Tiger's market share has grown from less than 20 per cent five years ago to 35 per cent currently. Carlsberg Green Label remains the leader with a more than 50 per cent share. GAB said Tiger's strategy for 2006 would be to take share from Carlsberg and invest in the new regional identity, which launched at the end of last year and included new packaging. Additional reporting by Amy White