Brand Strategy

Simply ‘unique’

Despite being one the 20 smallest countries in the world, Singapore's dynamism and vibrancy is reflected in its unique blend of culture, cuisine, art and architecture. The 'Uniquely Singapore' campaign embodies this confluence. Bhavika Jhaveri attempts to unravel its uniqueness

The 'Uniquely Singapore' campaign celebrates the total Singapore experience and its distinct blend of the best of the modern world and rich culture. Launched worldwide in March 2004, the campaign highlights the experiences that the destination has to offer. From a colourful ethnic enclave to an efficient business centre, from serene gardens to sleek skyscrapers, the possibilities are endless.

Having established this 'unique blend' in phase one, the brand campaign has now evolved to focus on delivering enriching and memorable experiences to every tourist. "'Unique, Personal Experiences' will focus on what every visitor experiences during his/her visit to Singapore," says Rebecca Lim, area director, Western India, Singapore Tourism Board.

Beyond words

The second phase of the campaign, which was recently launched in India, has been christened 'Beyond Words', where a variety of visitors express their Singapore experience. "The campaign will show how these visitors are 'motivated', 'exhilarated', 'inspired', 'entertained' and 'captivated' by Singapore. The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) will particularly target high-growth markets such as India, China and some ASEAN countries for this campaign," explains Lim. In essence, phase two is not different from the overall Uniquely Singapore campaign. As these unique, personal experiences are essentially indescribable - hence the tag line 'Beyond Words' - that attempts to showcase Singapore as a destination where no two experiences or days are the same, a place that no two people can experience in the same way. The brand positioning on Singapore's cornucopia of cultures, colours and cuisine, of traditional mystique and modern efficiency, remains unchanged.

"This campaign hopes to make consumers re-live their experience again, as well as share the moments with friends and family, which would make them want to visit Singapore." This is what is captured in the phase two of the brand campaign and is the natural next phase in the brand's life cycle.

The story so far

In 2005, Singapore welcomed a total of 8.94 million visitors, out of which India accounted for a considerable 5,83,000 visitors and in turn emerged as one of the top five markets in that year. While total visitor arrivals to Singapore in 2005 have grown by about 8 per cent over 2004, for India it represents a growth of 24 per cent over 2004, which in itself was a record year with a total of 4,71,181 arrivals.

"This just reinforces the fact that Asia (with 6.5 million visitors) continues to be an important source market for Singapore, contributing to over 73 per cent of the total visitor arrivals, an increase of 7 per cent over 2004," informed Lim. The robust performance in 2005 was also driven by strong double-digit growths from markets such as Vietnam (42 per cent), the Philippines (30 per cent) and India (24 per cent). This is also the first time that India ranks as one of Singapore's top five markets.

Catalyst

The campaign, which is scheduled to run over the next 12 months, will be supported by a series of promotional activities, including advertising in key media, to build awareness of this phase of the campaign. "We are expecting the campaign to act as a catalyst in achieving our final year-end target of 20 per cent growth over last year," says Lim. STB essentially intends to reinforce the Uniquely Singapore brand through strong media engagement and partnerships. To get further brand recognition, STB plans to dedicate significant resources towards tapping the growing Indian middle-class segment and first time travellers. It will also emphasise on encouraging repeat travel through innovative tactical packaging, and aggressively promoting signature events such as the Great Singapore Sale and Christmas in the Tropics.