News

Malaysia Airlines commercial chief cold on brand overhaul

Malaysia AirlinesMalaysia Airlines has appeared to rule out a rebrand and name change to reinvigorate the company, a move that was speculated some months ago in the wake of the MH17 and MH370 disasters.

The carrier’s commercial director Hugh Dun­leavy said in an interview with Australian trade title Travel Weekly that he did “not believe” that a brand overhaul would benefit the company.

“The reason is, Malaysia Airlines is probably one of the best known brands in the world at the moment. Because we’re a national brand – rebranding the airline, renaming the airline – it still will have some reference to Malaysia in it,” he said.

“The minute I do that, people are automatically going to say that’s still Malaysia Airlines rebranded, it’s still the same Malaysia Airlines. That’s going to be the challenge. We’re a national carrier, so to change the national carrier’s name and rebrand it is a bigger challenge. Quite frankly, what would be the benefit of that?” he questioned.

“People would say you’re just doing it for commercial reasons and you’re trying to shrug off responsibility and accountability. We are not going to do that, we are an ethical company and Malaysia Airlines will stand by its product and services and we will recover the trust and confidence in this airline,” he told Travel Weekly.

Dun­leavy’s comments echo the thinking of ad agency boss Lara Hussein, the managing director of M&C Saatchi Malaysia. She told Mumbrella in August: “I don’t think re-branding is the answer. To change the name, image or logo would appear to be superficial and not trigger any change in perception,” she said.

Malaysia Airlines’ advertising is currently handled by Ogilvy. The agency was behind the ‘Journeys are made by the people you travel with’ campaign.

ADVERTISEMENT

Get the latest media and marketing industry news (and views) direct to your inbox.

Sign up to the free Mumbrella Asia newsletter now.

 

SUBSCRIBE

Sign up to our free daily update to get the latest in media and marketing