Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia － After 18 years juggling multiple leadership roles within airasia, Rudy Khaw has announced his exit from the company, where he was most recently the CEO of airasia brand co. (ABC), airasia’s branding arm. During his time at airasia, Rudy took helm of multiple branding-related roles, including being airasia’s chief brand officer prior to the establishment of ABC.
In an interview with MARKETECH APAC, Rudy had highlighted that looking back at his nearly two decades work with the company, the one thing that has been consistent throughout his time with the brand is the belief in doing things differently but most importantly, making sure it’s heard.
“I wouldn’t say it’s so much the brand’s guiding marketing philosophy that has influenced me but rather the ‘eras’ I’ve experienced in brand and creativity – it’s given me a good balance and blend of physical + digital, allowing me to work and apply through cycles,” he said.
Moreover, he also explained how the challenge with being different (especially now) in the marketing space is that everyone wants to be different but sometimes not because they truly are, more so because they need to be – which then creates mediocrity that clutters our feed, the billboards, digital ads, among others.
“Marketing has changed a lot and I’m glad my earlier years with the brand (or start of my career in fact) allowed me to experience a bit of ‘old school’,” he remarked.
Significant transformations over 18 years
When asked about what he considers the most significant marketing transformation he helped drive would be one of the more synonymous developments with his approach which is the concept of ‘People, Places and Passion’.
He explained that the idea of the 3Ps helps to simplify what the brand believes especially more so now that AirAsia’s more than just an airline, and that if anyone thinks of what AirAsia stands for, regardless of the product the name is attached to, it is indeed ‘People, Places and Passion’.
“It’s impactful in my opinion because it’s so simple yet meaningful and clear in terms of a direction for any marketer, creative, communications or brand person to apply to their projects,” he said.
He also remarked how brand transformation had changed drastically with the brand over the years, especially when it was first launched as purely an airline, and that they needed to communicate perceptions and imageries of a low-cost airline.
“Whatever the perceptions were that we were building – we would make sure to find ways to implement it via the work we put out. If it wasn’t tracking in an incrementally positive way that we wanted, then we’d revisit the messaging or future campaigns to see how we can improve that because we would focus on what we want to drive as a brand and product,” he explained.
However, from a personal note, he said, “Personally though, as a creative mind – I wanted to see where we could push the brand beyond the reports, beyond the brand health tracks etc. What was important to me was to find ways to make AirAsia a brand that’s very much part of pop culture and I would like to think we managed to do some of that when we integrated the brand into.”
During his time, Rudy saw airasia be integrated into various pop culture integrations relevant to the region, like Taylor Swift’s Red Tour in 2014 across Asean, some content with 88rising, recent work with ComplexCon as well as SEGA and most definitely the sports marketing initiatives that cut across various audiences. Moreover, he also experimented with emerging mediums like virtual YouTubers (VTubers) through Project Kavvaii.
Advice and moving forward
For his advice on his would-be successor to take helm of airasia’s branding initiatives, Rudy offers up a simple advice: it is a long burn but it’s really fulfilling and meaningful.
“Don’t chase the immediate because everyone plays a part in building the brand and the immediate can come from the support and activities of the more tactically driven teams. Be be very aware of what the potential is and where the brand can go,” he explained.
Rudy also added that the most important thing for anyone that does branding is to remember that the brand is built together and never alone.
“Being in a “brand team” doesn’t necessarily mean it’s all on you but it does mean that it is your role to guide, govern, steer, partner, develop, and build with others,” he noted.
Meanwhile, Rudy remarked that truth to be told, not much has excited him from what he has seen in recent times. Rather, he is more excited about the future of creativity and the importance it plays in how marketing is done.
“I like how creativity has been democratized through all sorts of apps, sites with free tools, but at the same time I do worry about how these are used because it immediately makes everyone think they’re a creative,” he said.
Rudy added, “I strongly believe the strength of human intuition and taste are irreplaceable and creatives should be valued even more now than ever.”
While he has no definite plans on what’s next for him in the industry, Rudy says he’s keen to explore more creative things during his break.
“I will be taking a short break to get back into my passions, try to create and build freely but whatever my next move may be, it will definitely be aligned to who I am as a person and what I truly believe in. I’ll be exploring and discovering the creative side of things even more,” he concluded.
