JWT flies away with SpiceJet

The agency's Delhi branch will handle the account.

JWT has bagged the entire creative duties of low-cost airline SpiceJet. The agency's Delhi branch will work on the business. The win comes on the back of a multi-agency pitch.

Highly placed sources close to the development have confirmed the news to afaqs!

Interestingly, while most recently, the creative duties of SpiceJet have been with Grey (the agency won the account in April 2012), Contract Advertising, part of the JWT group, has worked on this account before that. So, for the brand, the current development is like a homecoming of sorts.

As reported by afaqs! earlier, SpiceJet's agreement with Contract Advertising ended in March, 2012. The agency had won the business in January, 2009 following a multi-agency pitch. Before Contract, the account was managed by Gopika Chowfla Design for three years.

Madison Media has been handling the media planning and buying duties of the airline. The brand appointed OAP (Outdoor Advertising Professionals) for its outdoor duties in April, 2011. Before this, MOMS, the OOH arm of Madison, handled the account.

Bengaluru-based full service interactive agency i-Vista has worked on the online creative and media duties for the brand. The agency was appointed in 2009.

SpiceJet currently caters to price sensitive consumers. In 2010, brand SpiceJet made a conscious attempt to move away from the 'cheap ticket airline' image to one that offers a value proposition to its fliers.. Till January 2010, the brand -- that until then relied primarily on magazines, press and outdoor avenues to communicate -- advertised aggressively on TV for the first time. The campaign comprised four TVCs (25 seconds each) in Hindi and English that used 'reverse testimony' (a what-happens-when-you-don't-fly-SpiceJet approach) as a communication strategy. 'Get more when you fly' was the tagline used. The theme was carried forward in the brand's next spate of communication released later (around November) that year.

Besides TV, the brand has exploited other media vehicles such as digital and outdoor in the past. A few years ago, SpiceJet's 40-feet-long replica of Boeing 737-900ER made of iron and fibre glass at Delhi Airport created quite a buzz. Other outdoor creatives including hoardings, neon signages, bus shelters and kiosks were also used at the time.

In 2011, the digital medium was leveraged to promote the launch of the Q400 aircraft. For its launch campaign, the brand leveraged social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and the SpiceJet website to target air travellers and air enthusiasts. The interactive campaign invited consumers to suggest names of spices for the then soon-to-be launched aircraft. Quizzes and online contests followed suit.

For the record, SpiceJet's in-flight magazine is called Spiceroute.

In the budget airline segment, the eight-year-old airline competes with brands such as IndiGo, JetKonnect, Air India and GoAir (part of the Wadia Group), among several others. Of these, as far as brand perceptions are concerned, IndiGo has, with a little assistance from creative agency Weiden+Kennedy, managed to own the punctuality space for quite some time now.

As far as airline pitches go, recall that afaqs! carried a report in October 2012 announcing the initiation of GoAir's creative pitch in Mumbai. The process is yet to yield a result.

Among JWT's recent business wins over the past few months are Tea Board of India (on the roster along with two other agencies), Sun Group's IPL, Shaadi.com, Starbucks, GRT jewellery and MTDC (empanelled along with two other agencies).

A few days ago, Contract Advertising bagged the creative duties of Star Plus.