• by Amy Corr  @MediaPostOTL, July 23, 2015

Etihad Airways Partner (EAP) airlines Etihad Airways, Alitalia, Air Berlin and Jet Airways named Starcom, as its global media agency, following a review. Consolidated work will be managed from Starcom's offices in the United Arab Emirates, Germany, Italy, India and London. "Starcom demonstrated that they fully understand the emerging media scene which has digital media at its core," said Shane O"Hare, senior vice president of marketing for Etihad Airways. "Their highly experienced team, resources, planning tools and buying clout in all the key EAP markets gave them a clear edge in the tender." Added Matt Blackborn, president, investment and diversification at Starcom Mediavest Group: "This is a unique client brief and relationship as it brings together multiple brands from the same industry and is ground-breaking in the agency world. We look forward to servicing Etihad Airways Partners through a unified approach that integrates connections, content, data and technology." EAP spent $5.3 million on measured media in 2013 and $7.3 million in 2014, according to Kantar Media.