Y&R Brands lands Emirates – but some creative will come out of Strawberry Frog, Amsterdam

Emirates has appointed Y&R Brands to handle its creative account in Australia – effective February – following a competitive six-way pitch, ending an eight year stint at incumbent Saatchi & Saatchi, Sydney.

However, CB understands most creative will be produced by lead global creative partner Strawberry Frog, Amsterdam – one reason the incumbent and one other agency DDB Sydney pulled out of the pitch in December.

However, this has since been disputed an Emirates spokesperson: “Emirates is a global brand and in line with this Strawberry Frog is one of several agencies supporting the airline on a global level, however, Emirates’ local agencies still exercise an integral degree of creative license and many communications campaigns are and continue to be locally generated.”

The other reason was the level of remuneration, which was uneconomic, according to sources at one agency which declined to pitch when approached by Emirates back in July.

Again, disputed by the Emirates spokesperson: “All agencies involved in the pitch were invited to submit their own individual fee structures against a detailed scope of work provided, and remuneration discussions were only entered in November with two agencies – one of which was appointed agency Y&R Brands.”

The win will see Y&R Brands’ integrated offering put into action, as the agency takes on a range of creative aspects including advertising, digital marketing, event branding and trade communications.

“Emirates‚ continued growth since launching services to Australia in 1996, coupled with changes in consumer behaviour and media fragmentation, meant it was timely to review the way we position our offering in the Australian market,” said Boutros Boutros, Emirates‚ Divisional Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications.

“Saatchi’s has provided invaluable support to Emirates over the past eight years in helping build the brand and business to where it is today in this key market, and it is an exciting time as we enter this new chapter for the brand.

“During the review process we were impressed with the strategic insights, and strong integrated model put forward by Y&R brands, and feel confident we have found a great partner in them to respond and adapt to these evolving market dynamics.”

Y&R Brands CEO Russel Howcroft (far left) said it was a significant win for the Group and a great start to the New Year: “Emirates is a marquee brand and has built a reputation as one of the world’s best airlines. We’re delighted to be part of their new communications team.”

Saatchi & Saatchi Australia’s new CEO Mike Rebelo (above right), who transferred from Saatchi’s London in November, told CB: “We wish Emirates all of the best in the next phase of their journey in Australia. After eight years on the business it was a difficult decision to withdraw from the tender process last year, but I wanted to put a positive full stop on 2011 and start 2012 with new purpose and momentum. Moving forward we’re going to be stricter on pitching for business that shares a similar creative and commercial ambition.”