Burnett and Starcom snag MAS global deal

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