Etihad has appointed M&C Saatchi Worldwide to its global advertising account, while it remains unclear what the implications will be for M&C Saatchi locally.
Following a global review, Etihad has handed advertising duties to M&C Saatchi Worldwide, from TBWA Worldwide.
M&C Saatchi worldwide chairman Tom Dery told AdNews, “Nothing is official yet, there has been no official announcement. Most of the creative work would be done offshore.”
However, a source has suggested some local work might be handled by M&C Saatchi, once the global win is finalised.
Globally, Etihad spends around $160 million on advertising a year, but the account is only worth $3.5 million in Australia, according to Nielsen.
It was recently reported that MediaCom had won the global media account for the airline, with MediaCom taking the account locally from PHD.
MediaCom's win forced the agency to remove itself from the Qantas media pitch, which is currently underway.
M&C Saatchi's Sydney operation already works on the Qantas Loyalty program. It is unclear what impact the Etihad win would have on this arrangement.
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