The impossible brief: Singapore Tourism Board
Coming up with an idea that defines and sells Singapore is not easy. Robin Hicks suggests that while Singapore Tourism Board has selected a strong shortlist for its advertising tender, whoever wins faces a near impossible task.
It’s not often that I feel sorry for people paid three times as much as me who swan into work at 11am on their skateboards. But for the poor souls pitching for Singapore Tourism Board I make an exception.
The four agencies in contention face one of the most difficult briefs to crack in Asia.
How to define a tiny, complicated country that is a lot younger than my dad? How to sell a city that in some parts of the world, such as where I’m from, people still associate with expensive sterility, the death penalty and a ban on chewing gum? The haze, which has robbed Singapore’s tourism industry of millions over the last few months, is a mist over an underlying image problem that no ad agency has nailed to date.
The tender, which was called in July, was telling in that media was not part of it. MEC’s contract was extended for another two years. It was for creative, with digital and production rolled in.
It is also worth nothing that the agencies that have worked for STB in the recent past, BBH and before them Y&R, did not respond to the open tender. Incumbent agencies J. Walter Thompson and Mirum also politely declined. STB, and all the trappings of a government agency that come with it, is not known to be Singapore’s easiest client.
Though it was not the work of lead agency J. Walter Thompson, STB’s most memorable piece of creative of the last two years was probably a video that, although targeted at the Philippines, bemused viewers around the world with a three-minute film that was, according to Singapore blog Mothership.sg, ‘so bad it will go viral’. And it did.
STB’s strategy has been to aim at key markets with local, tactical activity, such as the current “Your Best Weekend Yet” campaign aimed at Malaysia, featuring actor Aaron Aziz and his family spending a long weekend in Singapore.
The approach has varied widely in STB’s key markets. In Malaysia and Indonesia, the positioning is “Only in Singapore”. In China, it is about “New discoveries”. In India, it’s “The Holiday You Take Home with You”. In Australia, “Get Lost and Find the Real Singapore”. In Vietnam, “The New Fun is Singapore Made”.
What has been missing is a strong thread to hold it all together, a credible brand story about what Singapore is, why it’s a great place to go, told in a way that emotionally connects with an audience (in a good way).
“Uniquely Singapore” was vague, confusing and grammatically questionable. But arguably it was a better option than a global brand presence that does not extend far beyond the digital platform YourSingapore.com. Singapore could use some of what BBDO Guerrero created for the Philippines (It’s more fun in the Philippines), Ogilvy made for India (Incredible India) and M&C Saatchi produced for New Zealand 15 years ago (100% Pure New Zealand). A bit of magic that captures the spirit of a country.
The main thrust of STB’s $20 million marketing push into local markets, launched around Singapore’s SG50 celebrations in May, has been to offer deals on hotels, attractions and tours to get people on planes and spending at events such as the Great Singapore Sale and Pedestrian Night. With tourism visits to Singapore now in decline, particularly in key markets China, Australia, Malaysia and Indonesia, so the pressure to recover visitor numbers has intensified.
The marketing plan seems to have been less about building a brand than rattling a stick about Singapore’s big shiny attractions like Sentosa, Marina Bay Sands, Singapore Flyer, Universal Studios and the zoo.
Ogilvy & Mather, DDB, TBWA and Comwerks make an interesting line-up on the shortlist of agencies who must answer a brief to capture the Singapore of today and of the next 50 years.
Now that the hysteria of the SG50 celebrations has finally started to fade, what is there new to say about Singapore? And what vision of travel will Singapore present to the world in the era of personalised getaways and Airbnb?
The Urban Development Authority’s talks with Airbnb to set down clearer guidelines on short-term leasing, revealed earlier this week, look at odds with the extensive deals STB has made with Singapore’s hotel groups. It is illegal for Housing and Development Board flat owners to sublet their properties to tourists for short-term stays. If that changes, Singapore could become a completely different experience for tourists. How will that be communicated to the outside world? Another big challenge for STB and its new agency.
Going into the next round of the tender are contenders with different strengths. And none look weak.
David Tang’s DDB go in with strong local credentials and a legacy of effective work for the likes of StarHub, Health Promotion Board and McDonald’s. The agency handled a lot of the work behind the SG50 celebrations.
TBWA have Singapore Airlines, Singapore’s most prestigious client with strong ties to STB. TBWA has produced some much talked-about global work for Airbnb, a brand STB needs to know more about.
Ogilvy & Mather, though not enjoying the best period in its history, can never be written off and has creative firepower in depth. Who knows what to expect from Comwerks, something of a wild card that will bring in resources from around the WPP network.
Of the four, Comwerks comes to the table with the most competitively priced offer by far, a package of just over $5 million for two years’ of services. TBWA is the priciest of the four, at $8.6 million.
Whoever wins must work with a client who isn’t just a marketer or even a minister. It is every Singaporean, a stakeholder who is probably a bit bored by now of the humdrum advertising that represents their country overseas. They want stuff that makes them proud, not embarrassed.
The next round of presentations are this week. It will be interesting to see who gets picked to chart choppy waters for a brand and a sector at a crossroads.
Robin Hicks is editor of Mumbrella Asia.
It would be an impossible brief if there was a brief to begin with…but there almost never is. It’s usually issued as a number of generic and totally obvious bullet points.
Then the agency planning chief goes online and steals some study that reveals consumer behaviour in asia…. and after a couple of email exchanges with the ecd they both come up with the campaign idea to brief the agency team. By the time this “idea” is shared it is too late to question anything because there is only a week to do the work….so most people just do what they are told in the most halfhearted way possible.
Also there is more and more, a shortage of advertising people in agencies…its all technology people or data people using the kind of technical jargon that was posted last week in this blog….these chaps know sweet f’all about persuasion. And the clients are scared shitless of what the minister will say.
My predictions: tbwa will be out as they are irrelevant to STBs business… Ive never seen anything remotely strong from them, just fancy animation techniques. DDB will of course play the local card that they so predictably do every time….and it might just work again. The dark horse here is the comwerks group (boy that is a name as dull as the members of the consortium)…face it, have you ever heard of Possible? What the hell is that…..well, that is the company whose new CEO is Paul Soon, the fellow who ran XM the outfit that handled STBs digital work for at least 4-5 years. Hmmmm.
This is one hell of a time to be wasting money on pitching as you could end up spending anything from100-250k….still, damned if you do and damned if you don’t.
ReplyBefore the brief, one must first question the actual role of STB in today’s tourism market where authenticity is the currency of credibility.
ReplyJust look at their structure, a fat middle population of silos with narrow objectives and non deliverable KPIs.
Their respective silo heads are divided into career officers and a rotating parade of scholars who show little passion or profess expertise in the portfolios they hold.
By the time they actually understand what is good and bad for business, they get posted out to another ministry.
Overlay this with the constant HQ vs in-market office debate over whose decision takes priority and you have a multi-level train wreck of an account where lots of work is generated and floating in decision limbo while the arrival numbers fall and the contract ticks to the next re-pitch.
Little wonder why incumbents rarely throw their hat in to retain the business.Only dogs follow the scent of their vomit.
STB should seriously address their role and performance in the last 15 years and be held accountable for their missteps.
Maybe they should take a lesson from the HKTA model. All the respective silos are headed by industry leaders pro bono and the association provides inter-ministery support to execute the initiatives decided.
As business leaders in their respective categories, they don’t need expensive brand consultants to embark on jaundiced analysis and prescriptions or ad network who are skilled at marketing the latest ad buzz words and jargon but offer no real solutions that move the needle.
Until then, the STP staffers will just shrug their shoulders, enjoy their bonuses and wait out until the next rearrangement of deck chairs while the SS Tourism Court drifts rudderless.
To all the contesting agencies, you are better off saving the pitch budget on a grand Xmas party instead of paying freelancers, flying in experts, making videos and begging suppliers for freebies.
Because whoever wins, will still lose.
Great piece. Real insight, research. Loved it.
And great comment too, General Cluster. Ogilvy is the wild card. I just don’t think anyone on the outside can guess how they go. I’d love to see what the come up with. DDB plays the local card for good reason, it’s their positioning and they are local. I agree TBWA will probably be out. I think their strategy has been to come in ‘quite high’ to give the feel of ‘premium’. Which can work, we do think ‘the more expensive, the better quality’ but too bad their work just doesn’t match this. The AirBnB stuff was really nice to look at, but not a campaign. The Alliance will be interesting too.
ps I have heard of Possible.
Reply“Come to Singapore, Bring Your Mask”
ReplyYou have to go back a few years to find the greatest STB campaign…Batey’s “The Most Surprising Tropical Island on Earth” work from the late 1970s.
Granted it wouldn’t work for markets like Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines but there is an “encapsulation” about Singapore that can be extended every which way.
It was the juxtapositioning of images and headlines that made the Batey campaign “sizzle”…and for me that’s what makes Singapore so intriguing and marketable…the juxtapositioning of images…from the height of luxury to the coolest, laid back, inexpensive ways to spend your time and money.
Any encapsulating slogan has to sizzle as well…singe word slogans have mushroomed over recent years from India’s INCREDIBLE to Thailand’s AMAZING to Indonesia’s new WONDERFUL….they are passe.
Whoever wins the pitch will need Ian’s mastery of making the stars align to create…perfection.
Good luck.
ReplyCould understand why some of the agencies were shortlisted.
TBWA has their record with SQ, and they definitely have the capacity to do all the churn and burn work that STB will no doubt have.
DDB is local, understands the SG market well, and their team of mainly Singaporeans will be in their favour.
Ogilvy is the stalwart, and always will be. And their big consortium will help them score points. Comwerks (super uncreative name) will be interesting to watch at the very least. They are the Davids in a sea of Goliaths, so it could be the time where they show how hungry, young, and agile they are. They should be giving creative work that is a bit out-there, bold, and non-conforming. Though I personally think Possible would stand a better chance if they didn’t tie-up with Grey…
No surprise that Saatchi didn’t get shortlisted from the previous round. What clients do they still have anyway?? It’s no secret that Subway is one foot out of the door, and their work on Scoot was interesting but certainly too short a time to see if they can handle a big STB brand, and what other accounts do they have? I’m surprised they are not pitching more on the big pitches like HPB and EDB, to be honest. They need to be more relevant if they want to be taken seriously again.
Publicis is interesting to watch, though they didn’t get shortlisted. Though it’s never known to be a particularly creative agency, and the work is always a hit and miss, they are doing pretty well this year. And with their recent two new hires, they could be big in 2016.
Reply@Michael (not your real name)
Re: Ogilvy being a wild card, you’re right…maybe this year they will actually get their proposal in the door before the deadline ends…which might give them a fighting chance.
There have been some seismic changes at the place recently….theres a new wind blowing in there and hopefully it will clear out all the useless scammers who clog up that agency right to the highest levels.
But that will be a slow process …. the deadline for the pitch is this week ….. eeeeeeek!
ReplyHow about “Rojak kalaidescope”?
ReplyThe days of Linda Locke, Droga, Andy Greenaway are long gone. Such a shame.
Reply@navalgazr: Eh, Greenaway is doing fine. On the APAC Effies jury. Sure, he seems to be doing real work now, so not got his name in the trades as much as he did when he was scamming at Saatchis, but definitely still with us
ReplyYou’ve mistaken me, I meant to say that Saatchi had their glory days during the Greenaway, Linda Locke and Droga days. Now it’s just pretty much an agency with a good name but nothing much to show for it. It’s a shame in that sense. Andy is doing great stuff now and sapient is definitely going places. I’ve the greatest respect for him.
– Naval Gazer
ReplyYeah Saatchi desperately needs a refresh to keep it going, Publicis surprisingly is doing okay, DDB will always win the local biz, Ogilvy is not in the best place now but will always be a giant in the industry, TBWA basically only has SQ that keeps it relevant, and Grey does iodine bindis. What an exciting time to be alive in Singapore advertising. Pardon me while I stifle a yawn.
ReplyToo much talk about the agencies, and not enough about the client or the (huge) task at hand!
ReplyAgree it’s not easy to sell SG but isn’t it the job of a marketeer to jazz up an old product, inject buzz into something perceived as stale, make a supposedly manufactured product appear soulful, write and rewrite the same story in a different way without losing the original essence. Beyond that, I thought they relished a challenge to deliver the impossible, to dream the unthinkable and deliver amazement.
ReplyGuess after reading it, my reaction was “OK, so..?”
The problem with stat boards like stb is that they are terrified to take a position and think creatively. That is why “Your Singapore” was such a hit with them….says absolutely nothing about Singapore and you can shoehorn any tourism imagery into it…voila….
But great tourism needs to have a unique platform…..100% New Zealand is a good example that managed to capture the most powerful truth about NZ in a memorable way.
STB today is a client with dumb people across every level….they think user generated content and earned media is the answer…nothing good ever comes free….good content can actually cost more than advertising sometimes.
Whoever wins this pitch one things for sure…the the agency and the client will truly belong in each others arms.
ReplyInteresting that Paul Soon of the possible team is pitching for STB, after working on it at XM. Goes to show that at least one person who has done STB before is willing to go through the fiery hell all over again.
ReplyCEOs dont do shit mate….they just show up, shake hands, make some silly speech and bugger off. It’s his team (does he even have one?) that will be suffering in silence.
I can almost see their pitch now….make the most outrageous demand and they will say….”YES, IT’S POSSIBLE”.
ReplyI won’t rule out Grey. Their ‘State of fun’ strategy for Sentosa demonstrates an understanding of the category. I can see a similar positioning gain traction for STB.
ReplyI predict Ogilvy will bring this home. Big agency with good creds and a strong network… sounds like a good fit for STB.
ReplyOgilvy? No way, nobody doing the pitch will be working there in January. Everybody from Fiona the CEO, to the Advertising MD Shirely Tay to the executive creative director’s, copyboys and planners are leaving so please. And the rest of the team is freelancers. I think the freelance kids they have should pitch it and win it on their own. Ogilvy would have a chance if anybody at the agency didn’t resign already.
ReplyCurious to hear which agency you guys think will win this? Any bets placed? 🙂
Reply@Robinson H. Ogilvy
ReplyMaybe it’s time for Khai to ‘red eye’ over and show the whipper-snappers how it’s done.
How inspiring that would be.
Or would it?
YES! it would.
Yes it WOULD.
OR would IT?
lol, what does Khai actually do again?
ReplySir Marty flew in to have lunch with STB in September. Who needs Khai? (what does he do again?)
ReplyThe smart money is on TBWA coz they have SIA and well, their recent run with AirBnB will count as relevant experience with the digital-led Your Singapore.
Second choice is a toss up between DDB and Ogilvy. STB has long wanted Ogilvy as its agency, once even famously allowing them an extra few hours to submit a tender past submission time (Ogilvy famously mucked that up too). DDB will, as a commentator here pointed out, play the local card. I’m already dreading the unrealistic crap parading as a local insight if they win.
Grey bunch – can’t see them making much of a dent.
In any case, STB is such a bloated and overrated government agency that it cannot do anything without a committee of industry clowns and these clowns are only interested in ‘sales’ (luring more money than taste PRCs, Indians and Indons) and never quite ‘the brand’.
Nett, nett whoever wins, they WILL lose.
ReplySir Marty had lunch with SIA CEO too in 2005.
ReplyDidn’t help any WPP agency did it?
DDB isn’t a local agency…putting David aside, its totally run by indians from india. TBWA is very expat heavy and their fees will reflect it…is stb ready to pay…after al history shows their creative standards range from low to poor… so why they need big budget expat agency. Ogilvy….currently experiencing unrest a la the ogilvy spring…that leaves the cheapest and worst player around….the Comwerks group….Im calling them as winners. It’s a logical choice for stb.
ReplyDoes the racial/national composition of the agency really matter?
ReplyThe quality of the solution should be all that matters.
In a perfect world.
But we live in the real world.
The reality probably boils down to the agency who is best able to read STB’s mind and right fit a passable solution that’s easy for them to digest and buy.
Don’t overthink this.
Every agency has an equal chance at the STB pot of pain and mediocrity.
My bet is on the Ddb horse. Can just imagine them putting out all of their “we are local! Local!! Sg insights!” cards on the table. Which is pretty much stb’s wet dream.
ReplyHoly shit. We knew things were bad at Ogilvy now, but I didn’t guess that it was thaaaaat bad. Even the ECDs have quit?? But for an advertising person in sg now, there are really so few good agencies that one would be interested to work in. Apart from BBH, digital agencies, and some of the smaller boutique agencies that give the impression of exciting (!), new (!) and fresh (!) company culture, I’m thinking people would still consider working at Ogilvy even though the current climate is bad. At the very least, Ogilvy sounds good on one’s CV.
ReplyInteresting! Seems like advertising pitches are more fun in SG. Lol
ReplyWhy would you need a local agency to sell to foreigners?
ReplyAny updates to this pitch? Any one knows when is the second round etc?
ReplySING A TUNE OF YOURS…..
or
BE FUN SURE… WHEN IT’S SINGAPORE
ReplyHave your say