MEDIA-I: Lowe Lintas wins dollars 12m travel site brand campaign

<p>SINGAPORE: Travel Exchange Asia (TEA) has appointed Lowe Lintas & </p><p>Partners Singapore to launch a region-wide online travel portal in </p><p>September. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>TEA is a jointventure between Travelocity, one of the largest online </p><p>travel sites, and 11 airlines in Asia-Pacific, including Air New </p><p>Zealand, Ansett, Cathay Pacific, China Airlines, EVA Air, Garuda </p><p>Indonesia, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Royal Brunei Airlines, Singapore </p><p>Airlines and Silk Air. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Billings for the account remained undisclosed, but they are believed to </p><p>be in excess of USdollars 12 million. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The agency was selected following a three-month review involving nine </p><p>other agencies. Consulting firm Booz, Allen & Hamilton managed the </p><p>review, while Lowe Lintas presented its creative strategy, highlighted </p><p>work for Monster.com and eBay and also brought in its media agency </p><p>Initiative Media and "affiliate partner" AdXplorer to help with its </p><p>pitch. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"It is a challenging market to compete in because there are established </p><p>travel portals such as AsiaTravel.com," said Matthew Bartelsian, Lowe </p><p>Lintas' newly-appointed client services director, who will lead the </p><p>account. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Lowe Lintas has to help Travel Exchange Asia fulfill competing business </p><p>objectives, generating profits in the short-term while building brand </p><p>equity to ensure long-term profitability, said Bartelsian. "We have to </p><p>generate sales quickly without foregoing proper branding." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The site will cater to market-specific needs, "an important feature </p><p>given the mix of cultures and languages in the Asia-Pacific region". </p><p><BR><BR> </p>