Ahead of this happening, the airline confirmed that it had retained J. Walter Thompson following a four-way pitch against Lowe, Bates and Far East DDB for a second four-year term.
A working budget of 160 million baht (US$3.8 million) has been allocated for branding and tactical sales campaigns, which will continue building on the familiar 'Smooth as silk' tagline, but with the addition of a 'Touch of Thai', according to Serm Phenjati, the airline's advertising manager.
As one of the country's few international brands, the airline is seen as an ideal vehicle in the Government's drive to promote other sectors of the economy. "We need to be a very strong partner. Thai Airways will carry the brand image of the country, said Serm. Beyond advertising, Serm said that the airline would promote Thai food through product sampling on-board and Thai culture through its inflight entertainment. JWT's first assignment will be to promote five new destinations in a campaign set to launch next month: Geneva, Bahrain, Abu Dhabi, Xiamen and Chittagong in Bangladesh. Alongside traditional media, the airline will also use the internet "for short-term quick sales". JWT managing director, Ruitaiwan Wongsirasawad, said a brand campaign on the 'Silken skies' theme was also being developed.
The new advertising strategy will be more aggressive to reflect the airline's "expansion mode", which it restarted as international aviation has been returning to normal a year after the US terrorist attacks. Together with new destinations, Thai Airways is also increasing its fleet and seat capacity.
Ruitaiwan expected that the carrier would increase its annual budget to 200 million baht to reflect its renewed expansion.
