What: American Airlines has appointed MDC Partners’ Crispin Porter + Bogusky and GroupM’s Mediacom as its new creative and media agencies, respectively.
Why it matters: The assignments are global.The accounts were held by McCann Worldgroup agencies McCann Erickson and TM.
American Airlines has appointed MDC Partners’ Crispin Porter + Bogusky and GroupM’s Mediacom as its new creative and media agencies, respectively. The appointments were made following formal review in which CP+B and GroupM’s MediaCom defeated rival pitches from IPG, Publicis Groupe and Omnicom Group. The assignments are global.
The incumbent agency was TM, part of Interpublic’s McCann Worldgroup. TM had serviced the account since the early 1980s and did not defend the account. Instead, Martin Agency, also part of IPG, pitched the business.
American Airlines spent about US$30 million on ads last year, according to Kantar Media, and that number is likely to increase as the airline has just absorbed U.S. Airways. It seems that I order to complete its merger with domestic rival US Airways, AA is investing more than US$2bn in integrating IT systems and renewing its product and customer experience. In addition, the company is carrying out a fleet renewal, which the airline claims will give American the youngest fleet of its network competitors.
“We want to capture the enthusiasm and passion our employees have for the future of the airline and deliver that message to our customers with a genuine and unique campaign. We think our employees and our customers will be proud of how CP+B and MediaCom work with us to present American’s brand in the coming years,” said Fernand Fernandez, the A.A’s vice president global marketing.
“From the very start, CP+B and MediaCom showed a clear understanding of American’s assets and opportunities, and it all starts with our 100,000 employees,” added Fernandez.
