AirAsia X Brand Launch and Promotion in Uzbekistan

Regulatory and linguistic issues

Localizing a global airline launch in Uzbekistan brought serious legal and language challenges. Every single creative asset had to be translated into Uzbek, which is a highly complex language. Standard online tools, automatic AI platforms, and digital translators completely fail here because they cannot capture critical cultural nuances.
To solve these deep communication and legal issues, the RMAA team created a reliable, step-by-step approval and localization process:

• Smart translation and testing: Initially, the team hired a native Uzbek language expert whose job was simply to check our ad texts for grammar, flow, and clarity. However, due to the complex nuances of the language, we had to upgrade our process. We briefed four independent professional translators at the same time to translate the texts. Since our team did not speak Uzbek, we compared all four versions side-by-side to evaluate the quality and find the most natural direction.
• The two-step approval pipeline: Before any ad could go live, it had to pass a verification process. First, the media operators and platform contractors manually checked the materials. They compared our original English briefs with the new Uzbek translations, suggesting specific word changes to make it sound better. Second, the entire creative package was sent to official Uzbekistan state bodies for final legal compliance reviews.
• Overcoming the outdoor advertising roadblock: While the television and radio scripts passed all checks smoothly, the outdoor campaign hit a serious legal barrier. The Antimonopoly Committee of Uzbekistan strictly rejected the airline's global slogan, "The World's Best Low-Cost Airline," on city billboards due to rigid regional advertising laws. Thanks to strong local partnerships, our regional contractors successfully negotiated directly with the state officials and resolved the issue.

Strategy

RMAA developed a high-reach cross-media strategy designed to surround the consumer at every touchpoint of their daily routine. We built a synchronized marketing matrix divided into four core areas to capture different travel habits:

• Visual dominance (DOOH & TV): Used high-impact digital billboards in premium city areas and major TV channels to build massive, immediate brand trust.
• Audio reinforcement (Radio): Targeted drivers and commuters during peak traffic hours to keep the brand top-of-mind.
• Digital education (Influencers & Telegram): Used trusted local voices and news platforms to explain the technical details of the Fly-Thru transit system.

Campaign execution

RMAA launched the campaign across different channels, using exact local data to reach the right audience.

Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH)

RMAA deployed ads across 8 flagship digital screens in Tashkent from October 15 to December 31, 2025. Placements targeted the city's highest-traffic areas:

• Maxim Gorky 2 (Buyuk Ipak Yuli metro): A premium flagship screen (6x15 m).
• Samarkand Darvoza Mall: A massive facade placement (10x11.5 m).
• Magic City Park (Furkat Street): A high-impact display (16x6 m).
• Transit points: Digital screens at the Northern Railway Station (Nukus Street) and on the bridge near Novza metro station.

To maximize audience attention, we adapted our strategy in the middle of the campaign. We started with 10-second clips for the first month, then doubled the video length to 20 seconds from November 19 onwards. To build even more reach, our team added 16 digital Street Buntings on Karasaray Street (near the Hazrati Imam Mosque) during October and November.

TV

RMAA launched a high-intensity television flight from October 21 to November 10, 2025, utilizing 15-second spots with a high-quality native Uzbek voiceover mixed between Prime Time and Off-Prime schedules. The video messaging directly introduced the airline to local consumers, emphasizing its 16-year history as the world’s best low-cost carrier.

We focused on top-rated local channels:

• ZO'R TV: The reach leader (26.1% audience share), broadcasting 102 spots in just the first 10 days,
• Milliy TV: delivered 53 spots in the first flight and 37 spots in early November,
• MY5 (Mening Yurtim): broadcasted 53 spots in October and 42 spots in November

Radio

To capture the active commuting audience, RMAA executed 1,022 total ad spots running from October 15 to December 31, 2025. To target active drivers, ads focused strictly on Drive Time slots (07:00-09:00 and 17:00-19:00) across three key stations:

• Avtoradio (102.0): Aired 348 spots across three months, totaling 87 minutes on air (and by the way, it tops the market with a 22–30% audience share).
• Grand FM (101.5): Delivered over 90 minutes of total airtime, including 33.5 minutes of prime-time concentration in December.
• Oriat FM (100.5): Delivered 76.7 minutes of total airtime.

Influencers

RMAA split the influencer program into three distinct flights:

• The Press Tour (December 3–8, 2025): RMAA organized the "AirAsia Traveller Squad" tour. Top bloggers like madinett (Instagram, 155K followers) and lenarapselyamova (Instagram, 234K followers) shared their personal flight experiences, highlighting the comfort of the cabin, Santan onboard meals, and Kuala Lumpur's top tourist spots.
• Image Support (December 2025): Local creators like regina_kim (Instagram, 50,6K followers) and ziroat_i (Instagram, 120K followers) announced the direct flights and promoted attractive entry-level ticket prices starting from 2,150,754 UZS.
• Education & Promo (February 2026): Influencers like shahzoda_abdusalom (Instagram, 210K followers) and gaziyants_karina (Instagram, 297K followers) focused on explaining the mechanics of the Fly-Thru system (connecting flights to Bali and Singapore) and supporting the brand's February ticket sales.

Telegram seeding

RMAA executed a highly targeted Telegram seeding campaign across two distinct flights to lock in mass digital coverage running through November and December 2025. This channel served as a primary informational tool to explain the ticket mechanics and flight schedules directly to Uzbek consumers.

Launch Awareness (November 2025)

The first flight focused on reaching an active, high-income audience, including the business community, IT professionals, and culture enthusiasts. We used two types of texts: General News for media outlets and Leisure Copy for lifestyle channels, emphasizing AirAsia’s status as the world’s top low-cost airline. The flight generated over 271,700 total views across key platforms:

• Xushnudbek: The biggest post of the flight (in Uzbek), capturing 195,000 views.
• Gazeta.uz: The official announcement in one of the country’s main news outlets gathered 20,600 views.
• Kapital.uz: Two posts in the leading business media provided over 32,000 views (18,100 in Uzbek and 14,000 in Russian).
• Lifestyle segment: Posts on Afisha.uz and ANONS brought in over 10,000 views, targeting active city travelers.
• Personal blogs: Tech influencer Jakhongir Rakhmonov (Software Engineer at NVIDIA) and journalist Jahongir Olimov combined for 11,000 views.

Media Scaling & Promotion (December 2025)

The second flight shifted to a massive public seeding campaign to support winter ticket sales across Uzbekistan. The content became highly practical, featuring direct call-to-actions to book via airasia.com or the AirAsia MOVE app. The posts displayed specific price offers: one-way tickets starting from 2,150,754 UZS, and popular Fly-Thru connections (Bali, Langkawi, Phuket, Singapore, Jakarta) starting from 2,945,691 UZS. This wide-scale flight focused on top-tier news networks:

• Kun.uz: The country’s primary news channel, generating a massive 310,000 views.
• Qalampir.uz: Delivered 59,100 views.
• Repost.uz: Captured 46,100 views.

Image