Air Asia picks Start Creative for brand review

Asia’s low-fare airline Air Asia is to review its identity and brand strategy following the appointment of Start Creative.

The airline is to develop its global brand awareness through high-profile sponsorship deals involving Manchester United, the Williams F1 team and the English Premier League. It will begin a new phase of expansion when Air Asia X, its lowcost, long-haul airline brand, starts operating later this year.

Start, which was appointed without a pitch, has been tasked with reviewing the identities of Air Asia and Air Asia X, as well as their applications across different media, from aircraft livery to placement on sponsorship outlets such as F1 driver helmets and touchline boards at Old Trafford.

The current visual identity features the airline name on an upward slant, using the colours red and white, along with the strapline Now Everybody Can Fly.

‘The initial work is to look at the identity and the strapline, and then the exact scope will be revealed,’ says Start marketing director Jonathan Cummings. ‘We will be looking at better applications for the existing marque. If you take advertising boards like those at Old Trafford, they have a long, thin space, while the logo is a different shape, so we will be looking at how it can work consistently.’

Air Asia was established in 1993. In 2001, it was bought by Tony Fernandes. Based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the airline serves 48 destinations throughout the Asean region.