Airlines
I've worked on airline brands for over 20 years, including British Airways, Qantas, Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Northwest, Jet Airways, AirAsia, and Jetstar.
Below is a selection of my work for these brands.
I led the team that pitched and won the launch of Jetstar Asia, 49% owned by Qantas.
Entering as the fourth player in the fiercely competitive Asian low-cost carrier market—behind Tigerair, AirAsia, and Valuair—Jetstar needed to make an impact.
Our strategy focused on high-visibility brand stunts, television, and OOH, combined with price and destination-driven direct response marketing.
Buses led the charge in the OOH space. Originally booked for three months, the campaign’s impact was so strong that the media owner kept it running — free of charge — for an entire year.
“I can highly recommend Richard. He is a creative with a strong business sense, result oriented and customer focus. He is not in the game of making nice advertising campaigns but to deliver consumer centric ideas which grow the business."
Dorit Grueber, Regional Marketing Director, JetStar Asia
For social, a series of stunts was executed to show that travelers could now fly for less. This included parking taxis with “Gone to Hong Kong” signs in their windows, along with the two stunts shown here. Greeters were stationed at rival airline arrivals, holding signs that told passengers they could have flown for less.
Well-known buskers were also sent on flights to our destinations, with the condition that “Gone to...” signs could be left at their busking spots.
The TV campaign was designed to look like it cost less to make than a Jetstar Asia flight.
The airline informed us at the last minute, that Con Korfiatis (now CEO of Oman Air) couldn’t appear in the ad. On set and with no time to spare, we quickly rewrote the script, improvising with a poster that happened to be in the Jetstar office.
The Post-it notes for this ad were drawn over the period of a weekend and then shot live in the studio.
The hand shadows you see are the team’s and mine. The cat was the studio cat who just happened to be wondering around.
Direct response marketing with bold, retail-style ads to attract travelers.
I was headhunted to lead the Northwest Airlines account across Asia, including all materials for their WorldPerks frequent flyer program.
Northwest had exceptional coverage of the US from Asia. Flying to every state. well almost.
Good old-fashioned direct mail still has a role to play. This engaging piece visually showcases the benefits while drawing in the reader.
"I worked with Richard whilst on the Northwest Airlines account. In my entire career in marketing, Richard and his team were the first and only agency I gave a 100% satisfaction rating to at review."
Kristin Colvile, CEO, SkyTeam
Seasonal greeting card for WorldPerks members. Also OgilvyOne’s first ever D&AD Pencil winner.
When M&C Saatchi won the worldwide Jet Airways account, India’s largest airline, I joined the team as Global ECD. We launched major campaigns in India, the US, and the UK.
For the TV campaign I lead a team which included screenwriter Javed Akhtar, actress Shabana Azmi and the Oscar-nominated director Shekhar Kapur.
The campaign was shot in Bollywood with a USD 1 million dollar budget and the world’s biggest movie star, Shah Rukh Khan.
Headhunted once again, I joined M&C Saatchi as ECD, with the responsibility of leading the British Airways/Qantas account across the region. This role involved extensive retail work, along with occasional brand campaigns specifically created for the Asia region.
I was brought in to lead the team responsible for launching Asia Miles, Cathay Pacific’s loyalty program. This also included the relaunch of The Marco Polo Club, Cathay’s paid membership program. The Asia Miles launch campaign wins the Judge’s Award for Performance Excellence at the Direct Marketing Awards.
Tony Fernandes, the founder of AirAsia, asked us to produce some ads for his airline. Here’s one of the ads we created. T he copy ain’t mine, but I’m really pleased with the art direction.