Burnett and Starcom snag MAS global deal

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Airlines has consolidated its global advertising account with Leo Burnett and media agency Starcom after completing a review, which included Bates, Naga DDB, Ogilvy & Mather, Grey Worldwide and TBWA-ISC. Burnett and Starcom were the incumbent agencies in Malaysia, but overseas work was handled by a myriad of agencies. The airline moved to consolidate its business to achieve consistency in branding and to save costs. "A lot of the creative work coming out from overseas was off strategy. They want to have a consistent positioning for global branding," said Charles Cadell, managing director of Burnett Malaysia. The new work aims to move away from the tactical initiatives employed in the past - mostly ads announcing new routes - and to build some brand cachet, while still generating an immediate sales increase. Cadell attributed the win to Burnett investing in research to discover what routes Malaysia Airlines should focus on to maximise its return on investment. In some instances, Burnett staff went on flights to discover first-hand what the passenger numbers were and the split between economy, business and first class traffic. Malaysia Airlines desperately needs a boost in passenger numbers because it has been losing money since 1997. The sharp downturn in travel post-September 11 has also hit the airline hard. Last year, the airline lost RM1.33 billion (US$350 million) compared with RM259 million in 1999, contributing to the company's debt of RM9.4 billion. Other problems include its failure to join Star Alliance or One World, the two global loyalty programmes airlines rely upon to attract business travellers. The carrier also needs to balance the bottomline demands of becoming more competitive, while working in the national interest, which includes operating unprofitable routes - such as some flights to South America - because the Malaysian Government feels its helps with foreign relations. At the same time, the airline is subsidising flights to east Malaysia because the Government feels it helps with national integration. Burnett's account win includes the passenger airline, mass cargo business, frequent flyer programme, which is called Enrich, airport ticket sales business Golden Boutique, holiday business Golden Holidays and the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). The win excludes online advertising, web development and direct marketing work. Burnett is employing staff to handle the extra work and has promoted Masila Mohd Ariff from group brand director to international account director on Malaysia Airlines. Some Burnett offices around the world will continue to work for Delta Airlines as there is no conflict because the two airlines compete on different routes, according to Cadell.

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