TBWA & PHD win Singapore Airlines global $100 million account – and ‘Singapore Girl’ will stay
TBWA and PHD have jointly won the Singapore Airlines global business after a pitch process that started last August. The mandate will include integrated strategy, brand and creative, media, content, the website, app and production.
Crucially, the airline has revealed that the iconic ‘Singapore Girl’ will remain part of its marketing and communications strategy.
The agencies have won the business – thought to be worth around $100 million – for a five-year period and will commence working with the airline this April.
Going into the pitch, TBWA and Zenith were the incumbents for the creative and the media accounts, with 11 other agencies said to be in the fray in the first round of pitching.
According to a comprehensive request for information document, SIA was looking for agencies to “cut through the changing marketing and communications landscape with impact”.
Agencies were asked to bring a “fresh perspective on how the Singapore Airlines brand should be modernised”. They were also required to have offices in six regional hubs: South East Asia, North Asia, Southwest Pacific, Europe, West Asia and Africa and the United States.
Several agencies including a team from WPP were knocked out in the first round. The last round came down to a battle between DDB and the Omnicom Media Group, TBWA with PHD and the Dentsu Aegis Network. TBWA and PHD eventually won the account thanks to strong partnership working.
Singapore Airlines senior vice-president of sales and marketing Campbell Wilson said: “As we carried out our review it was clear that our underlying branding approach, which consists of the iconic Singapore Girl and an emphasis on customer service as a crucial differentiator, remains current and continues to set us apart in our industry.
‘Singapore Girl’ remains current, says Wilson
“We are confident that TBWA and PHD will now be able to creatively execute that promise with a more modern touch, bringing about an evolution in our branding and marketing communications.”
The iconic ‘Singapore Girl’
A Singapore Airlines spokesperson added: “Through a new integrated agency approach, TBWA and PHD will jointly provide overall strategy, creative, media planning and content narrative solutions under one holding group, which will result in enhanced strategic marketing communications.”
TBWA\Singapore managing director Ara Hampartsoumian said it was an honour to be reappointed as the global agency of record for what he called “the greatest airline in the world”.
“I’m extremely proud of the synergy of both teams; for us, success was an only option and our persistent passion, energy and ambition for the SIA brand won in the end,” he added.
Backing him, PHD Asia-Pacific chief executive officer James Hawkins said: “This appointment is a testament to the strength of PHD and TBWA’s integrated approach, which allowed us to unlock the best of media and creative, and deliver the type of fresh thinking that can ultimately take an iconic brand like Singapore Airlines to even greater heights.
“As one team, which we have called SQ1, we look forward to leveraging the best of both our capabilities in driving innovative and impactful communications for the airline.”
The Singapore Girl isn’t ‘current’.
ReplyIt’s iconic and has recognizable currency.
In the age of #metoo, it can never be current.
zzzz
ReplyIf she’s staying, do I get royalty fees for creating her in the first place?
Replyif only you’d negotiated that
ReplyAside from the fact it is 2019 and this feels a little dodgy, I am not sure how current or iconic the Singapore Girl actually is. No doubt it had cache in the 70s and 80s, but now? Especially when so many airlines (especially in SEA) have very similar livery. I wonder just how identifiable the “girl” is as a brand differentiator with those markets out of Singapore or with customers who don’t work in marketing?
ReplyIm sure that over the last 6 months the scores of agencies chasing this business will have spent decent amounts of money on researching that exact point.
Im certain that SIA have done the same.
And all of the research, in all of those places by all of those people led to a conviction that “the girl” is integral to the brand.
So I’m going to have to respectfully point out that your opinion is exactly that, a personal bias that seems to fly in the face of actual evidence.
Replymaybe.
Replybut I’d prefer to be faced with the actual evidence rather than your assumption of evidence.
and it wasn’t an opinion. It was a question.
Laced with neutral quotation phrases like
“this feels a little dodgy
Reply“Aside from the fact that this feels a little dodgy…” is what I actually wrote. Please consider the meaning of “aside from”.
ReplyThanks.
In what way does it feel “dodgy”???
ReplyOf course you keep the Girl. But don’t assume every group on the pitch recommended that. Common sense isn’t as common as it should be.
Reply“Several agencies including a team from WPP were knocked out in the first round.”
Im surprised that WPP and even Publicis (to some extent, given their scoot history) had the balls to show up for this….LOL.
It was always a given that TBWA would retain…SIA is a VERY risk averse client. They will not move away from an agency unless the situation is dire…in the case of Batey (post WPP), it was. Neither will they ditch the girl because no one wants to carry the can in case it backfires….the backlash will come from the highest levels imaginable.
My guess is they will continue with the same old [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines], the agency will carry on with their “passion and energy” and things will stay the same. They will further attempt to unite groups like STB, EDB and the airline…..passion made possible seems tailor made for all three at this point. What a pity….and a yawn.
ReplyAhem
I’d love to meet and talk about this ‘face to face’
Would you be up for that?
ReplyUpon review, I think u can replace passion and energy with boredom and drudgery. Thats the reality of every damn brief being about finding a novel way to insert the Spore Girl into everything, and making sure it’s riveting.
SIA has become like that old cashmere sweater that still provides a familiar sense of comfort, even tho its clearly fraying.
Still 100 mill goes a long way towards providing job security and paying bonuses. Pip pip!
ReplyI’d love to see what they come up with to counter this latest piece of cinematic lushness from Turkish Airlines.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5CbPzfzhnw
Probably SIA girl walking around chinatown handing out waving cat toys to smiling tourists.
They’re so out of touch.
ReplyHave your say