AirAsia has appointed global media network giant Mindshare to handle its media account in Malaysia starting July 1 in a bid to extend the reach and multiply the impact of its global marketing and branding strategies.

AirAsia, the leading and largest low-cost airline in Asia, appointed the agency for its synergy and the strength of its global network.  Mindshare is a UK-based agency under GroupM, a leading global media investment management operation.

Kathleen Tan, Regional Head of Commercial of AirAsia, said, “As AirAsia increasingly turns to media for support in our aggressive growth, it’s important that we tie up with an agency that is able to provide top level commitment and lend us its regional and global media clout.  Mindshare is definitely the right fit for us as we venture deeper in digital media.  Their people and work culture are similar to ours, enabling them to better engage with us and propel this partnership to greater heights.”

Mindshare was picked in a selection process that involved three other leading media providers.

“We are delighted to get the opportunity to partner Air Asia in growing its business. Air Asia is already an iconic brand in Asia and is aggressively building itself up as a global brand. We look forward to combining the best of our talent, creativity and technology to help them create breakthrough communications solutions”, said Ashutosh Srivastava, Regional Head of Mindshare for Asia-Pacific.

Mindshare was also appointed to manage media for Tune Group and Lotus Racing.

AirAsia which started operations in 2001 has grown its fleet from 2 to 92 aircraft to date and carried over 85 million passengers within a span of 8 years. The airline currently services more than 132 routes covering over 70 destinations across Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau, China, India, Philippines, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar. This is further complemented by AirAsia X, its low cost long-haul affiliate carrier that currently flies to destinations in China (Hangzhou, Chengdu and Tianjin), Taiwan (Taipei), Australia (Gold Coast, Melbourne and Perth), UK (Stansted) and soon India (Mumbai and Delhi).