Ogilvy scoops SilkAir after drawn-out pitch

SINGAPORE: Regional carrier Silk Air has appointed Ogilvy & Mather to its advertising account, while Ogilvy One will handle online marketing. The media account is expected to move from Maximize to either CIA or MindShare. The carrier has taken nearly a year to reach a decision on the agency appointments. There was originally a long list of advertising agencies in the running for the account before O&M and the incumbent Batey Ads were invited to the creative pitch. It is understood that the pitch process became a long and drawn-out affair because the airline was forced to change its creative brief to appease its board. Industry sources claimed there were differences of opinion between the board and Silk Air management on how the airline should be positioned. It is understood that the original brief positioned Silk Air as a low-cost airline for adventure seekers. The positioning came from Silk Air's operation to secondary cities in Asia, which are too small for its parent company Singapore Airlines, to operate into. Silk Air's main target is the leisure travel segment. The smaller airline is also grappling with how to grow its business in a way that complements Singapore Airlines and avoids cannibalising its parent company's traffic loads. Subhas Menon, Silk Air chief executive, recently told the regional trade title Travel Weekly East that: "Silk Air has been around for about 10 years, operating as an airline to service the needs of Singapore Airlines." Menon said the carrier needed to refine its role now that "we have reached the point where we can be called the second airline of Singapore". O&M's first work will be a press campaign to announce Silk Air's new routes to Sumatra, Indonesia and southern India. The agency will then launch a rebranding campaign in the lead up to Christmas and Chinese New Year, the peak period for air travel out of Singapore. Ogilvy One's main task is to redesign Silk Air's website so customers can book online. David Ho, Silk Air marketing manager, said the airline consolidated the online and offline account to ensure consistency in branding. He said O&M won because the airline preferred its creative concepts. O&M has a two-year contract and, according to Ho, the airline has a policy of putting its account out to pitch every two to three years. A media agency will be appointed in the coming weeks with Silk Air deciding between CIA - which handles the media for Singapore Airlines - or MindShare, O&M's media shop. Ho said appointing CIA would give Silk Air some buying clout as their media account would effectively be bundled in with Singapore Airlines. He said Silk Air's media spend is quite small because it only advertises in Singapore as all its services are routed through the city.

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