She may be almost 50 but the Singapore Girl remains current and continues to set Singapore Airlines (SIA) apart from its rivals, the airline said following a brand review.

"As we carried out our review, it was clear that our underlying branding approach, which consists of the iconic Singapore Girl and an emphasis on customer service as a crucial differentiator, remains current and continues to set us apart in our industry," said Mr Campbell Wilson, SIA's senior vice-president for sales and marketing.

SIA announced yesterday that after a six-month hunt, it has picked two agencies under American media firm Omnicom Group - TBWA and PHD - for creative and media services. The appointment will take effect on April 1 and the contract will be for five years, SIA said.

A total of 11 agency groups had put in a bid for the business, including the incumbent agencies for creative and media services, TBWA and Zenith, respectively.

TBWA and PHD will jointly provide overall strategy, creative and media planning as well as content narrative solutions under one holding group, aimed at enhanced strategic marketing communications.

Mr Wilson said: "We are confident that TBWA and PHD will now be able to creatively execute that promise with a more modern touch, bringing about an evolution in our branding and marketing communications."

The appointed agencies will primarily support the Singapore head office, but also service all other key markets. The six regional hubs are South-east Asia, North Asia, South-west Pacific, Europe, West Asia and Africa, and the United States.

In launching the pitch last year, SIA had said it was looking for a partner or partners to "help us cut through the changing marketing and communications landscape with impact, so as to elevate our iconic brand as we continue to spread our wings globally".

The brand review comes amid a three-year transformation programme SIA embarked on in 2017, recognising the need to reposition itself in the face of challenges as the global competition intensified.

A big part of the transformation is a push for innovation and smart solutions to improve business operations and customer service.

On Tuesday, the airline officially opened its new innovation hub, KrisLab, at SIA Group Sports Club near Changi Airport. The idea is to give staff a workspace to develop innovative ideas and co-innovate with external partners, start-ups, established incubators and accelerators.

It is part of SIA's Digital Innovation Blueprint launched a year ago.