MEDIA-I: CCG.XM wins Silk Air and Visa online work

<p>SINGAPORE: Cordiant Communications Group's CCG.XM has won the Visa </p><p>and Silk Air interactive businesses in Singapore. In a cost-saving move, </p><p>the agency has also consolidated its back room operations with Bates </p><p>141. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>CCG.XM's chief executive officer, Ken Mandel, said: "The changes in the </p><p>back room operations are just back end changes. The XM brand name will </p><p>continue to exist, and our staff and clients will not be affected. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"We've worked closely with Bates 141 in the past and this just means </p><p>that our global team in New York will have less of a function. Our staff </p><p>changes were made during the year. But smaller offices that are </p><p>underperforming, including the Norway office, will see the company put </p><p>into 141 or the Bates group. We've seen 20 per cent growth this year and </p><p>are still winning work." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The interactive agency won the Silk Air work following a four-way pitch, </p><p>which involved OgilvyOne, Adriot and another Singapore high-tech </p><p>company, sources said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The regional carrier reportedly took a year to reach a decision on its </p><p>agency appointments, and recently awarded its advertising account to </p><p>Ogilvy & Mather. A source said the account went to CCG.XM after a second </p><p>pitch was called following O&M's appointment. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Mandel confirmed that the agency would revamp Silk Air's website and </p><p>help the airline migrate its site to a content management system. "There </p><p>will be a new look and feel to the website. The idea will be to offer </p><p>more than just pretty pictures." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>He declined to provide details of the new design or direction of the </p><p>website, but noted that it would follow "what is being done </p><p>offline". </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Mandel added that CCG.XM was well placed to handle Silk Air because it </p><p>had produced similar work for its parent company, Singapore </p><p>Airlines. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"We revamped the look and feel of the Singapore Airlines website, which </p><p>is now available across 39 countries. We also took the site and put it </p><p>on to a content management system." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>CCG.XM, which has handled interactive work for Visa since 1998, will </p><p>also revamp the credit card company's Asia-Pacific website. The agency </p><p>pitched against Euro RSCG and four others to win the regional </p><p>interactive business for Visa. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"We've done some work in the past for Visa, including setting up Visa's </p><p>'library', which allowed different people, with different levels of </p><p>access, to share media information so that everyone could see work as it </p><p>was in progress. We already have a client team in place for Visa, but we </p><p>will be looking to set up another team, which will involve some juggling </p><p>of staff. This win solidifies the relationship we have with Visa." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Helen Jolly, director, digital communications at Visa International </p><p>Asia-Pacific, said the company could see the "advantages" of </p><p>consolidating its work with a single agency, but added, "presently, we </p><p>are still using other agencies". </p><p><BR><BR> </p>