Emirates appoints StrawberryFrog to global ad account

The agency won the account, which was put up for review last June, following a competitive pitch.

In January this year, the airline shortlisted WPP, VCCP (part of Chime Communications), StrawberryFrog and another independent agency to proceed to the next round of pitches, ousting Omnicom group incumbent BBDO Proximity.

StrawberryFrog will be responsible for developing and rolling out a new brand platform for Emirates across 80 markets, as the national airline for Dubai looks to become one of the world's most recognised global names.

Emirates divisional senior vice-president of corporate communications, Boutros Boutros, said, "StrawberryFrog presented some outstanding and innovative ideas that connected with our vision of where we want to take our brand, as we evolve and enter a new growth phase."

He added, "As our global lead communications partner, we look forward to working with them to define and create a new category in the evolving media landscape, one that reflects our values and global aspirations."

StrawberryFrog was launched in 1999 and has offices in New York, Sao Paulo and Amsterdam, with another planned in Mumbai. According to the agency's Twitter page 'Frogism', they are very, very proud of the Emirates win and "thrilled to get started".

In 2008, Emirates consolidated its global media business into Publicis Groupe Media. The network, led by Starcom MediaVest, beat OMD in a final shoot-out. In China, the airline retained Ruder Finn as its public relations agency-of-record last year.

Emirates launched in 1985. It is owned by the Government of Dubai and claims to have grown at least 20 per cent annually since its entrance into the market. The airline currently flies to some 100 destinations in 60 countries, but wants to expand its footprint.