Clinton XXX: Adopting 'Your Singapore' would be courting disaster.

[makapaaa]

Mar 15, 2010

BRANDING SINGAPORE
Don't bark up the wrong tree

<!-- by line --><!-- end by line -->
<!-- end left side bar --><!-- story content : start -->
LAST Saturday's report ('What's unique about Singapore? It's now yours') on the Singapore Tourism Board's (STB) adoption of its new catchphrase 'Your Singapore' and its reasons for doing so has left me flummoxed.
'Uniquely Singapore' was not appropriate, but adopting 'Your Singapore' would be courting disaster.
The reasons for the change imply a lack of understanding of what is good branding. To adopt a new tagline, based on consumers going online to plan their trips, is barking up the wrong tree.
The Singapore brand is world- renowned for efficiency, integrity, safety and lately, leisure, entertainment, and as First World. Good branding dictates that we stick to our core values, refreshing the value proposition and images as appropriate, to stay relevant.
It appears the STB is preoccupied with distilling what Singapore stands for into just one word - 'surprising', 'uniquely', 'your'. This is unnecessary.
What is critical is the promise of a customer benefit, a feel-good experience that Singapore delivers consistently - and stands for something that can, over time, be etched in tourists' minds, despite competitive challenges.
In doing so, the STB needs to win the support of its internal customers and stakeholders - in this instance, all Singaporeans and permanent residents - as well, because they play a vital role in ensuring that visitors enjoy their stay and will come again.
Every call in the mass media to visit 'Your Singapore', creates confusion, misses the opportunity to reinforce our core values and dilutes the Singapore brand.
Clinton Lim

 

[makapaaa]

Mar 15, 2010

'Intense Asian experience'

<!-- by line --><!-- end by line -->
<!-- end left side bar --><!-- story content : start -->
'Surely this is a phrase that's far superior to 'Your Singapore', which is vague and inane.'
MR EUGENE TAN: 'Discovery Travel & Living channel's show host Samantha Brown describes Singapore as 'an intense Asian experience' ('I'm willing to go anywhere'; last Monday). Surely this is a phrase that's far superior to 'Your Singapore', which is vague and inane. To my mind, the most successful tagline the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has ever come up with was in the 1960s or 1970s. The phrase then was Instant Asia. Two words and they say so much with punch. If the STB has any sense, it will either pay Ms Brown a fee for the right to use her phrase or go back to 'Instant Asia'.'

 

[makapaaa]

Msia has 'Msia, Truly Asia'. Peesai should use 'Peesai, Truly FTrashised!'

 

[Rogue Trader]

i can understand 'your singapore' label for national day celebration. but why use 'your singapore' to attract foreigners? this is really cock. another attempt to sell the country to outsiders!

 

[Conan the Barbarian]

i can understand 'your singapore' label for national day celebration. but why use 'your singapore' to attract foreigners? this is really cock. another attempt to sell the country to outsiders!

Its a freudian slip. Apparently, it is anybody's Singapore,
regardless of their nationalities.

 

[Queen Seok Duk]

Mar 15, 2010

BRANDING SINGAPORE
Don't bark up the wrong tree

<!-- by line --><!-- end by line -->
<!-- end left side bar --><!-- story content : start -->
LAST Saturday's report ('What's unique about Singapore? It's now yours') on the Singapore Tourism Board's (STB) adoption of its new catchphrase 'Your Singapore' and its reasons for doing so has left me flummoxed.
'Uniquely Singapore' was not appropriate, but adopting 'Your Singapore' would be courting disaster.
The reasons for the change imply a lack of understanding of what is good branding. To adopt a new tagline, based on consumers going online to plan their trips, is barking up the wrong tree.
The Singapore brand is world- renowned for efficiency, integrity, safety and lately, leisure, entertainment, and as First World. Good branding dictates that we stick to our core values, refreshing the value proposition and images as appropriate, to stay relevant.
It appears the STB is preoccupied with distilling what Singapore stands for into just one word - 'surprising', 'uniquely', 'your'. This is unnecessary.
What is critical is the promise of a customer benefit, a feel-good experience that Singapore delivers consistently - and stands for something that can, over time, be etched in tourists' minds, despite competitive challenges.
In doing so, the STB needs to win the support of its internal customers and stakeholders - in this instance, all Singaporeans and permanent residents - as well, because they play a vital role in ensuring that visitors enjoy their stay and will come again.
Every call in the mass media to visit 'Your Singapore', creates confusion, misses the opportunity to reinforce our core values and dilutes the Singapore brand.
Clinton Lim

STB will ask Clinton Lim: "Why not be part of the solution ?"

STB is the Frog that does not listen to criticisms.

 

[shOUTloud]

Your Singapore is part of a bigger campaign to leverage on the increasing use of internet. I am still ambivalent about the whole tagline. I am undecided as to whether it is good or bad.

I dun think Uniquely Singapore is better and I think Instant Asia is one of the crappiest tagline one can think of.

 

[Rogue Trader]

I think Instant Asia is one of the crappiest tagline one can think of.

actually Instant asia might work because 1) we are a small country, 2) we are a air transit point to other asian country around.

 

[shOUTloud]

We already had New Asia Singapore and Surprising Singapore in the past. Instant Asia is just a regurgitation of the old taglines.

 

[jimmyfallon]

India has incredible india. Singapore can try Sin Singapore