KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Airlines (MAS), which came under new management
four months ago, has put its media and creative account up for pitch in
line with government regulations on supplier arrangements.
At media's press-time, seven of Malaysia's top agencies, including
incumbent Leo Burnett and Starcom, participated in the first round of
presentations for the airline, which is majority owned by the
Government. Other agencies believed to be pitching are TBWA, DDB,
McCann-Erickson, Ogilvy & Mather, Grey and ISCB. There is speculation
that ISCB, which is widely acknowledged to have extensive travel and
airline experience, has an edge over rivals.
Its chief Austin Zecha was formerly a shareholder and head of AMC, which
handled the MAS account a few years ago. ISCB recently resigned the
Royal Brunei Airlines brief to avoid a conflict of interest issue.
Grey Worldwide Southeast Asia managing director John Burbidge said MAS'
new management was aware that the airline needed to address its
inconsistent brand image.
"In the past a lot of the ad decisions were left to the end market,
which has reduced the consistency of the brand image," Burbidge said.
"The opportunity to present brand-driven image work for a blue-chip
account is not to be missed," he added.
