Singapore

Airlines (SIA)

SEPTEMBER 26,2019

NTU Management with Humor Written

Assignment .
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Authored by: Arutselvan Pranav Ganesh

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Matriculation Number: U1923312G

Email: PRANAVGA001@e.ntu.edu.sg
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Tab e f C e

Table of Content ......................................................................................................... 2

Singapore Airlines The Company ........................................................................... 3
External Communications Used by Singapore Airlines ................................................ 3
Sustainability Report ............................................................................................... 4
Video Advertisements………………………………………………………………………………………………7
Result Announcement………………………………………………………………………………………………8
Internal Communication in Singapore Airlines………………………………………………………..11
Possible Improvements in External Communication……………………………………….………11
Key Insights of the Company’s Way of Communication…………………………………………..12
Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………………………………………13

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S ga eA e T eC a
Founded on 1st May 1947, Singapore Airlines Limited (SIA) is an airline company based in

Singapore with Changi Airport as its main hub. It has been recognized as one of the most

successful airlines in the industry after winning multiple awards recently. It is considered as

huge Public Limited Company and is known for using the Singapore Girl as their main

branding strategy.

E e a C ca U ed b S ga e

A e

There are several external communication tools used by Singapore Airlines to communicate

key messages to the shareholders, customers and potential customers. Some of the key tools

used by the company are: Website, Sustainability Report, Investor Relations, Mission

Statements and Values, Awards, News Releases, Video Advertisements, Results

Announcements and etc. Due to limitations of the length of the report, the analysis will only be

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focusing on Singapore Airlines Sustainability Report, Video Advertisements and Results

Announcement.

S a ab Re

Figure 1: Cover page of the Sustainability report

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Figure 2 : Interactive Navigations Contents Page

The Sustainability Report of Singapore Airlines for the Financial Year 2018/19 includes a very

vast content and after analyzing the contents page it can be deduced that the company is trying

to communicate a summary of the year 2018/19, sustainability policies, safety performances,

stakeholder information, community engagement initiatives, environmental impacts and etc.

Other possible insights the sustainability report might be conveying is that it is targeted at a

wide audience. For example, the Safety Performance report can be targeted at potential

customers to inform them about the safety standards, protocols followed by Singapore Airlines

in order to gain customers r . Similarly, the community engagement initiatives might be used

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to communicate the corporate social responsibility (CSR) values of Singapore Airlines to the

pressure groups, government and etc. Therefore, it can be understood that the report is not

targeted at any specific audience but rather is intended for different groups of people.

In this method of external communication, Singapore Airlines have made it easier for the

audience to navigate through the report which is 68 pages long. As shown above in Figure 2,

the contents page is made to be interactive which allows the readers to look for the information

much quicker. Also, having the navigation makes us psychologically feel that the report is less

boring and shorter. Furthermore, the report is made to be colorful as the company has used

different colors of fonts and a lot of images which ensures the report does not become too

formal and is accessible to their wide range of audience. Hence, Singapore Airlines have

communicated well to reach their intended audience by presenting their report in an appropriate

style.

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Video Advertisements

Figure 3: The Latest Video Ad of Singapore Airlines Making Every Journey Personal

In this video advertisement, Singapore Airlines is trying to emphasize on their Unique Selling

Point (USP), the Singapore Girl . The video shows multiple settings where the Singapore Girl

offers exceptional service. Towards the end, the company makes the link to their brand by

showing a huge working space for a man or a couple to enjoy in-flight entertainment and etc.

The key message being communicated in this video ad is that the company is trying to show

their hospitality and quality of service provided by the Singapore Girl . Through this channel of

external communication, they can showcase their facilities and services to attract potential

customers.

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The company communicated the message very well as they have selected a highly suitable

channel for communicating the message. By creating a video ad, they can ho and ell their

in-flight ambience and hence, allows them to achieve their intended purpose of the

advertisement. Similarly, the airline has also created an In-Flight safety video which is very

crucial but is usually ignored by most of the customers on board. To counter that problem,

Singapore Airlines have come up with a very creative idea of conveying the message by

demonstrating all the safety procedures in practical situations. This ensures that despite the

5minute 50seconds video, the audience pay greater attention to the video than before.

Results Announcement

Figure 4: Cover Page of Results Presentation

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Figure 5: Key highlights of the Presentation

Figure 6: Transcript to be read in conjunction with the Presentation

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The results announcement is used to inform the internal stakeholders of Singapore Airlines

about the financial performance and key development strategies for the future based on past

performance. The transcripts contain dialogue scripts of the presenters and thus allowing the

readers to keep in track with the presentation even by just reading through the transcript without

being physically present at the meeting. The presentation slides show a lot of statistical data

and analysis which have been presented in multiple ways such as: tables, graphs and etc.

These visuals help the audience understand the transcripts easily as currently it is overloaded

with words and may become too boring after a certain extent.

The idea of using a transcript can be considered good if Jeff Bezos philo oph i considered

effective. The founder of Amazon had said six-pages narratives are much more effective than

PowerPoint Presentations as he believes that human brains are hardwired for narrative. Is it

also worthy to note that using transcripts might be able to avoid communication barrier such as

poor listening which in turn might result in a much more effective way of conveying of the

compan message. The slides could then serve as a visual aid in order to help the audience

in understanding the transcript.

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Internal Communications in Singapore Airlines
The company conducts a lot of training programs and has a lot of internal meetings within the

company. However, the analysis will be limited to external communication due to lack of

information available on their internal communication.

Possible Improvements in External Communications

Based on the external communication channel discussed, there are few possible improvements

which might help the company communicate better. For the Result Announcement, the

company seems to have a long and wordy transcript which could sometimes be overwhelming

and may also be not suitable for employees if they are from different nationalities. As they might

find it difficult to understand the entire transcript in English. Hence, the company might consider

including visuals and shortening the transcript as an aid for effective reading and

understanding. This might also help them overcome communication barrier due to information

overload and different language/culture.

After analyzing the video advertisement, one possible improvement might be to reinforce the

key message Making every journey personal through other means such as the Singapore

Girl could be used to contact the customers regarding their flight details, timings and other key

messages on a one-to-one basis. This could also serve as a below-the-line promotion

technique and might improve Singapore Airlines relation with their customers.

The Sustainability Report of Singapore Airlines does very well to communicate the key

messages to the intended audience. However, after deducing that the report has a wide range
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of audience, the company could make it more accessible by publishing it on their social media

platform and possibly through email communications to the internal stakeholders rather than

just publishing it on their website. By doing so, they can reach a wider audience and can

develop their reputation for their corporate social responsibility and ethical values.

Key Insights of the Company s Way of

Communication
It is interesting to note that the company mostly uses digital ways of communication and has

very similar methods to other companies in the industry. However, the most notable aspect of

Singapore Airlines comm nica ion i the use of Singapore Girl hich also showcases the

culture of Singapore. This strategy in their way of communication is unique to the company

which differentiates them from their competitors.

Word Count: 1191

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 Bb ga
n.d. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore_Airlines>.
"Analyst Briefing." 31 March 2019. Singapore Airlines.
<https://www.singaporeair.com/saar5/pdf/Investor-Relations/Financial-
Results/presentation/slide-analystbriefingq4fy1819.pdf>.
"In-Flight Safety Video." 7 August 2017.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25brQSPMORg>.
"Investor Relations." n.d. Singapore Airlines.
<https://www.singaporeair.com/saar5/pdf/Investor-Relations/Annual-
Report/sustainabilityreport1819.pdf>.
Liu, Alice. AviationKnowledge. n.d.
<http://aviationknowledge.wikidot.com/aviation:human-resource-development-
in-singapore-internation>.
"Making Every Journey Personal." 6 March 2018.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZOWrb39xLo>.
Matthew. WHY I LOVE THE NEW SINGAPORE AIRLINES AD CAMPAIGN. 7 March 2018.
<https://liveandletsfly.boardingarea.com/2018/03/07/singapore-airlines-2018-
ad-campaign/>.
Singapore AIrlines FInancial Results Briefing Transcript. 2019 May 17.
<https://www.singaporeair.com/saar5/pdf/Investor-Relations/Financial-
Results/Transcript/190520ResultsBriefingTranscript4QFY1819.pdf>.

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