AirAsia named Media's Brand of the Year 2009

01 December 2009

SINGAPORE - AirAsia will be named Brand of the Year at Media’s Agency of the Year Awards, to be held in Singapore on 9 December.

The Malaysian low-cost carrier is to be given the award for its achievement in building the AirAsia brand and expanding its international profile in a year when the economic downturn crippled demand for air travel.

AirAsia launched its first ever brand campaign in Asia in October to position itself as the world’s best low-cost airline and to place greater emphasis on its brand. The campaign aimed to shift consumers’ mindset of low-cost carriers by showcasing the carrier’s innovation, high-quality service and unique experience.

The airline this year also proved it had a solid grasp of the online space. Its latest push in November set a new international sales record, with almost 900,000 seats being booked in 48 hours after the launch of its ‘One million free seats’ campaign. The campaign website saw 300 million hits in the first 11 hours.

AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes told Media that not only had his company managed to overcome the dual challenge of economic uncertainty and the swine flu threat, it had also turned in another profitable year.

“While others are cutting back, this is the perfect time for us to project ourselves more aggressively and to come up with creative marketing campaigns,” said Fernandes. “A recession is a good time to grow the brand.”

Fernandes will collect the Brand of the Year Award at the Agency of the Year Awards dinner held in Singapore on 9 December.

Media