Singapore tourism rolls out second phase of Passion Made Possible campaign

Singapore Tourism is rolling out the second phase of its ‘Passion Made Possible’ campaign as part of a bid to market the city state to tourists and businesses under the same marketing umbrella.

STB unveiled the campaign last August with the initial aim of targeting four customer types – or ‘tribes’ as it described them. They were foodies, collectors, explorer and action seekers.

The next wave of the campaign, which is intended to portray the aspirational rather than transactional side of Singapore, will see the addition of three more ‘tribes’ – culture shapers, socialisers and action seekers.

According to the STB cultural shapers enjoy “immersing themselves in arts and culture to gain new perspectives” while action seekers are “always chasing the next adrenaline rush”. Socialisers, meanwhile, “enjoy the energy of the nightlife and entertainment scene and how music enables them to blend these experiences together”.

STB will work with 80 local talents including singer songwriter Nathan Hartono, artist Jahan Loh and indoor skydiver Kyra Poh, who will appear in marketing videos and at overseas events to promote Singapore to these new ‘tribes’.

STB brand director Lim Shoo Ling said the concept of ‘Passion Made Possible’ has been well received over the past 12 months.

“It has been gratifying to find the Passion Made Possible brand resonating well with domestic, international and trade audiences,” she said. “Our storytelling approach to destination branding has been lauded for being refreshing and inspiring and many have shared feedback that they enjoy the personal stories of Singaporeans and discovering a deeper side to Singapore as a destination.”

The rebrand to Passion Made Possible took more than a year to complete from concept to execution and involved the creative agencies for both the Singapore Economic Development Board –  The Secret Little Agency – and the Singapore Tourism Board – TBWA.

However, in the new wave of the campaign, the STB appears to have moved away from TBWA as its creative partner with the tourism body partnering with online video platform Viddsee for what it called “short premium content”.

That partnership will include the creation by Viddsee directors of two films for the culture shaper and socialiser target markets.

“Earlier films created as part of the brand launch were led by STB and creative agency TBWA,” the STB said in a statement.

The tourism agency said it has chosen, for the first time, to “work with creative talents who themselves belong to the respective tribes that they are working on”.

“This is a deliberate move to bring out authentic tribe stories from Singapore and build affinity within the tribes,” it said.

Viddsee co-founder Derek Tan said he was proud to produce the next wave of films for the marketing crusade, and for giving “home grown talents” the opportunity to showcase Singapore’s “cultural diversity and vibrant social scene through their unique vision, style and voice”.

However, Mumbrella understands that TBWA, which spearheaded the creative behind the Passion Made Possible branding, has again worked on the latest iteration, in addition to Edelman and Zenith.

The campaign will roll out progressively to 16 markets over the next five months, starting this month in Australia and Malaysia.

Shoo Ling said: “As we move into the second year of the Passion Made Possible global campaign, it is important that STB remains focused on telling a great Singapore story by profiling our personalities and talents in ways that best bring across our authenticity.

“In the process, we hope to get both locals and overseas consumers to share more about how Singapore is indeed Passion Made Possible.”

Alongside the ‘tribe’ films, STB has rolled out a ‘Brand Personality’ video series, featuring Singaporeans and residents who have “achieved their dreams, constantly striving for progress amid challenges”.

The STB has been through a number of marketing makeovers since what was then-known as the Singapore Tourist Promotion Board unveiled its first branding exercise ‘Surprising Singapore’ back in 1984. Some 14 years later, this slogan was replaced with ‘New Asia Singapore’.

It later became ‘Uniquely Singapore’ in 2004. Since 2010, the official tagline has been ‘Your Singapore’.

Meanwhile, the EDB has marketed itself under the slogan ‘Future Ready’ since 2010.