Client’s brief:
Etihad Airways is the national carrier of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) based in its capital, Abu Dhabi.. Since its inception five years ago, Etihad has become the fastest growing airline in aviation history, winning itself numerous awards and accolades. The airline currently offers flights to more than 50 destinations in the Middle East, Europe, North America, Africa and Asia. The airline has been operational in Kuala Lumpur for more than two years now and currently operates daily flights to Abu Dhabi.

Etihad Airways offers its guests an exquisite product and service, featuring amongst the airline industry’s finest. This includes seats in Diamond First Class and Pearl Economy Class that convert into a fully-flat 180 degree flat-bed. Guests in Coral Economy class can enjoy over 500 channels of in-flight entertainment while on board. These are just amongst the few luxuries that guests will be able to enjoy on board.

Challenge:
Although having a top-notch product and service, the airline is still relatively new in the airline industry at five years. The Etihad – Essence partnership, however, proved to be a strong partnership as the brand’s presence in Malaysia had grown tremendously. Through various activities such as one-on-one interviews, CSR activities, media FAM trips, tactical implementations and developments, Etihad Airways steadily built it’s brand presence in Malaysia. In a recent media survey in June 2009, Etihad Airways held the top spot locally amongst middle-eastern airlines in terms of media coverage, ranking only third after Malaysia Airlines and Air Asia.

Nevertheless, although steadily growing in Malaysia over the last two years, awareness of Etihad’s presence, especially in Malaysia, since its inception only two years ago locally, could be improved upon. More awareness and understanding of Etihad’s product and service was required in the Malaysian market to establish itself as one of the leading airlines in the competitive airline industry.

Essence PR Strategy:
In June 2009, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Kuala Lumpur. This conference saw key figures and the who’s who of the international airline industry, gather in Kuala Lumpur, amidst a challenging time for the global aviation industry in an economic downturn which had greatly affected the industry and many airlines around the world.

The global CEO of Etihad Airways, James Hogan, was in Malaysia for the conference and Essence immediately saw an opportunity to leverage on his visit, not only as a CEO of Etihad Airways, but a key opinion leader of the aviation industry as a whole.

Essence Communications organized three one-on-one interviews with specificly chosen media. The first was Bernama TV’s Biztalk programme, which held a 60 minute interview with Mr. Hogan. The length of the interview and programme allowed for a holistic view of the airline to be presented in terms of history, product, service, commitment, and future direction of Etihad Airways. Amongst other key issues discussed at the interview were the state of the global aviation industry and where Etihad stands amidst the downturn in its efforts to become one of the world’s leading airline.

In this light, two more interviews were conducted with Business FM (BFM) and Wong Sai Wan of The Star.

However, other than media management and interviews, other opportunities were also seen and leveraged upon. In conjunction with Mr. Hogan’s visit, Etihad Airways organized a cocktail reception for key personnel from embassies, consulates, other airlines, travel agents and its corporate guests. Essence leveraged on this by placing an F1 Simulator in the hotel foyer throughout the day leading to the dinner to further highlight Etihad’s brand presence. This effort also featured the airline’s involvement with motorsport, namely its sponsorship of the Scuderia Ferrari F1 Team and the Etihad Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix. This was indeed well received by Etihad’s guests and members of the public alike.

It can be said that capitalizing on opportunities was the key to making Etihad’s CEO visit to Malaysia a success. Essence saw the opportunity to gain leverage from Mr. Hogan’s visit and pursued that opportunity.

Results:

• Bernama TV’s Biztalk interview and highlight of Etihad Airways aired on primetime on Saturday, 13 June 2009 with a repetition of the interview the following day.
• BFM’s interview was aired during the morning drive time on “The Breakfast Grille” segment on 24 June 2009. 
• Etihad’s brand presence was increased amongst the industry and indirectly to the Malaysian public as a whole.