Air Canada is close to completing a search for its first-ever ethnic advertising agency and a final decision is imminent.
Three agencies have been shortlisted from an initial field of eight.
Marc Trudeau, Air Canada’s director of marketing, says for the first time the airline has established a separate budget for ethnic advertising.
He says Air Canada has done little ethnic advertising in the past and what had been done was handled by its mainstream agency, Marketel of Montreal.
Air Canada is now looking to become more involved in Canada’s ethnic markets by getting closer to the communities with promotional activities, direct marketing and event marketing in addition to traditional advertising.
Trudeau’s intent for the review is to find an agency with expertise in more than one ethnic market.
Because of the opening of the airline’s Hong Kong route this past December, competence in advertising to Canada’s Chinese market is essential, but Air Canada also wants to speak to specific ethnic groups about its flights to other destinations: Brussels, Germany, Seoul, and Tel Aviv.
Trudeau says if one agency hasn’t the capability to handle all ethnic markets, others will be hired later.
