EXCLUSIVE: IPG agencies corner Air India's media and creative business; marking a huge win for the group

IPG-owned media investments company IPG Mediabrands bagged Air India's mandate after a many months-long pitch last year. The account is handled by IPG Mediabrands' firm Initiative, industry sources told Storyboard18. The win for the media planning and buying group added another feather to the ad holding company IPG's hat given that Initiative's creative stablemate McCann Worldgroup India won Air India's global creative mandate in 2023. The media win followed. The Air India account is one of the most prestigious and largest in the country, running into several hundred crores, as the airline brand undergoes a massive transformation.

McCann Worldgroup India is tasked with revamping the advertising and communication of the heritage airline brand. Storyboard18 was the first to report when the Prasoon Joshi-led ad agency won the creative account in June 2023. The agency has developed a new brand platform and comprehensive range of multi-channel marketing communication.

Read more: Nationally loved Air India brand now has the vision and Tatas’ support to be internationally loved, says Prasoon Joshi

Read more: Air India set to fly with a new brand look

At the time Nipun Aggarwal, chief commercial and transformation officer, Air India, had said, "We are building Air India as a 'Global Airline with an Indian Heart'. This is a brand that is close to the heart of flyers around the world, and the new Air India will be a manifestation of the aspirations of the global Indian."

Tata Group has been in the process of consolidating its entire airline business under Air India. The salt-to-software conglomerate bought Air India for Rs 18,000 crore as part of government disinvestment in 2021. In early March 2024, Singapore's competition watchdog granted approval for the merger between Air India and Vistara, a joint venture between Tata Group and Singapore Airlines, subject to certain conditions.

Read more: Air India's new inflight safety video celebrate India's culture, dance, music

In 2022, the airline company also hired former MakeMyTrip executive Sunil Suresh as its chief marketing officer. Seasoned marketer Colin Neubronner, who has worked with brands like Singapore Airlines and Jet Airways also joined the company's brand team.

Air India's transformation plan is titled 'Vihaan.AI', which in Sanskrit signifies the dawn of a new era, with identified objectives for Air India over the next five years.

Air India’s chief executive officer Campbell Wilson on April 5 wrote an annual letter to employees and thanked them for their efforts in the airline’s progress in the past one year. He said that the airline is moving towards becoming “a world class, global airline with an Indian heart” and its Take-Off phase of Vihaan.AI to Climb is accelerating in the correct direction.