Expedia parts ways with Publicis in surprise U-turn

Dan Lynn, chief executive of Air Asia Expedia, confirmed to Campaign that the ‘Pack your bags Singapore’ advertising had been conceived and created by ZenderFang and not Publicis Singapore.

It was announced early July that Publicis had won the creative business, following a competitive pitch that went down to a final two alongside Euro RSCG Singapore.

A source at Publicis also confirmed that agency and client had parted ways, citing creative differences. “They chose to differentiate themselves based on price. We wanted to help build them a strong brand in that very competitive space.”

Lynn said that as the core of their business is about good value for money, they wanted a campaign that reflected that. “This campaign is very clean and straightforward." he said. "We didn’t want to overcomplicate matters.”

Asked about the difficulties of standing out amongst numerous travel portals, Lynn said that having a joint venture with AirAsia was a key differentiator.

“We wouldn’t be able to offer great deals like these (launch offers) without having exclusive access to AirAsia’s best fares,” he said.

The new full-service site in Singapore, Expedia.com.sg, offers a one-stop shop for all travel needs with a ‘Best Price Guarantee’.

Worth over US$1.5 billion in online travel, Lynn said Singapore is a very important markets to Air AsiaExpedia. "Travellers here can now choose from a selection of over 400 airlines and 140,000 hotels to create their best value dream holiday packages," he said. 

Through the partnership, Expedia is the only third party online travel agency offering all AirAsia and AirAsia X flights to over 75 destinations worldwide.

To celebrate the launch of the enhanced website Expedia is offering flight and hotel packages to favourite holiday hotpots such as Bali, Phuket, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Penang starting from as low as $87.

Expedia will also be showcasing its new brand positioning in all communications including a
nationwide campaign including a series of street activations in high traffic areas in Singapore, radio promotions, out-of-home advertising and a ‘Pack Your Friends’ Facebook promotion.

Expedia's media agency of record is Carat Singapore.