Brand Singapore Capturing The Spirit of A Nation

SMU060
BRAND SINGAPORE: CAPTURING THE SPIRIT OF A

NATION
Destination brands must capture mindshare and develop an emotional affinity with fans
and customers. And we have to do this in a crowded and complex media landscape that is
fuelling fatigue and scepticism. To cut through the clutter in today’s media environment,
we need a brand that is authentic and able to capture the spirit and attitude of Singapore.
- Lionel Yeo, former Singapore Tourism Board (STB) Chief Executive
In January 2020, the brand management team of STB met with their counterparts from other
government agencies to review the progress of its latest brand campaign. STB hoped that the
national brand exercise would result in brand longevity and provide a framework for future
marketing campaigns across all government agencies. The STB representatives reflected on
the brand development journey, feedback received from local and international stakeholders
thus far, and the challenges that lay ahead.
Singapore’s visitor attractions, business-friendly regulations, reputation as a clean and green

city, and strong connectivity to other countries made it an ideal business and leisure destination.
However, the competition for tourism and investment dollars was intensifying. Tourists sought
more transformative experiences while investors pursued more innovative offerings.
The STB team had been working with its counterparts from the Economic Development Board
(EDB) on a country-branding project to attract more tourists and investors to the country. They
believed that creating a common message and cohesive branding could increase the impact on
the international audience while rallying citizens as brand advocates. While many consumers
were aware of the country’s rise to prosperity, few were familiar with the associated emotional
stories of resilience.
Commencing in 2015, STB and EDB conducted extensive research with residents, industry
stakeholders and international audiences, and decided to tell the stories of how the spirit and
attitude of Singaporeans allowed possibilities to become reality. The core of the Singapore
story stemmed from its people who transformed Singapore by following their passions. In 2017,
the brand team developed a visual emblem of the Singapore brand, and the tagline ‘Passion
Made Possible’.
Soon after, STB launched its global brand campaign with the aim of building stronger
emotional connections with its target audiences. Telling stories of locals pursuing their various
passions was designed to connect to both local and overseas audiences and highlight
Singapore’s charm. The inside-out pull marketing approach also engaged individual
Singaporeans, allowing them to become ambassadors through the sharing of their personal
This case was written by Professor Srinivas K. Reddy and CW Chan at the Singapore Management University. The
case was prepared solely to provide material for class discussion. The authors do not intend to illustrate either effective
or ineffective handling of a managerial situation. The authors may have disguised certain names and other identifying
information to protect confidentiality.
Copyright © 2022, Singapore Management University Version: 2022-05-10
This document is authorized for use only in Prabir Chatterjee's BST711_Global Marketing_Aut2324 at Cardiff University from Oct 2023 to Apr 2024.
SMU-22-0009 Brand Singapore: Capturing the Spirit of a Nation
stories and experiences with people overseas. STB hoped the brand development effort would
result in widespread adoption and be continually adapted to reflect the essence of the country’s
success in the future.
Singapore
Situated along important global shipping routes, Singapore was a former British colony in
South East Asia. At independence in 1965, Singapore faced an uncertain future as economic
planners had to deal with problems such as poverty, unemployment and a tiny domestic market.
Without natural resources, the government focused on nurturing its human capital by investing
in a meritocratic English-based education system that would help transform Singapore’s
multicultural population into a highly skilled workforce and create a knowledge-based
economy.
Over time, astute investments in infrastructure resulted in the development of the country into
a commercial hub and global financial centre, with a world-class container port and the best
airport in the world. 1 Due to its business-friendly corporate ecosystem, Singapore was
consistently placed among the top countries in the World Bank’s ease of doing business
rankings.2
By 2019, Singapore had increased its land area to 720-square kilometres3, smaller than New
York City, and its population to 5.7 million residents4. It had also developed into Asia’s top
convention city5 with the construction of at least five first-class convention centres, more than
150 hotels, and roughly 55,000 hotel rooms.6
Ministry of Trade and Industry
The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) aimed to help Singapore become a leading global
city through its economic development and growth policies. STB and EDB were two statutory
boards under the purview of MTI. STB was tasked with the development of Singapore as a
visitor destination, and the crafting of marketing and promotional activities in order to attract
leisure and business visitors to Singapore. Tourism was a key contributor to Singapore’s
economy; residents benefitted from increased tourist arrivals through the provision of more
diverse leisure options, the creation of quality jobs in tourism and supporting industries, and
incremental consumption of products and services. STB supported the sector by forging
partnerships with local companies and driving innovation and service excellence.
1
Economic History of Singapore, http://factsanddetails.com/southeast-asia/Singapore/sub5_7c/entry-3782.html, accessed
January 2021.
2
Startupr Hong Kong Limited, Top 10 Easiest Place to Do Business — World Bank Doing Business Report 2019, December 3,
2020, https://medium.com/swlh/top-10-easiest-place-to-do-business-world-bank-doing-business-report-2019-820a345ebfe1,
accessed January 2021.
3
Singapore Government Data, Total Land Area of Singapore, https://data.gov.sg/dataset/total-land-area-of-singapore, accessed
January 2021.
4
Department of Statistics Singapore, Population Trends 2019, https://www.singstat.gov.sg/-
/media/files/publications/population/population2019.pdf, accessed February 2021.
5
Singapore Tourism Board Website, Singapore remains Asia’s top meeting and convention city for 2014, September 9, 2015,
https://www.stb.gov.sg/content/stb/en/media-centre/media-releases/singapore-remains-asia-top-meeting-convention-city.html,
accessed October 2021.
6
Len Rutledge, City Reviews: Singapore, April 15, 2019, https://businesstraveldestinations.com/singapore-review/, accessed
January 2021.
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EDB was set up in 1961 to oversee the development of economic and industrial strategies. Its
mission was to generate a conducive business environment and ensure that good job
opportunities were made available to residents. EDB facilitated incoming investments, helped
equip existing companies with skills to capitalise on future trends, and partnered firms to
capitalise on growth opportunities. It also worked closely with other government agencies to
maintain the competitiveness of local organisations.
The Tourism Industry
Tourism was a lucrative global industry and the landscape was becoming more complex as
countries competed for visitors. Competition among destinations was rising and countries were
promoting themselves more aggressively. As consumers were given more choices, they
became more demanding. With all the promotional activities and messaging in the market, it
was also difficult to hold the attention of consumers and gain mindshare. Lynette Pang,
Assistant Chief Executive, Marketing Group, STB, shared,
With the keen competition, destination marketing becomes a high-stakes game with
significant and increasing investments by tourism organisations. At the same time,
destination marketing is also looking and sounding the same across the board with very
little differentiation in how they brand, position and market themselves.
Marketers had to craft more authentic messages as consumers were growing wary of marketing
ploys. Lionel Yeo, former STB Chief Executive, commented on travellers becoming more
sophisticated,
Globally, consumers are seeking a more transformative type of travel experience. For
example, when the Chinese started to travel overseas in large numbers, it was mostly the
‘been there, done that’ type of travel. Tourists would just buy T-shirts and take a few
photographs. After a period of time, they quickly grew into a wealthier and more affluent
society and started to seek deeper experiences. They wanted to go deeper into a destination,
explore the culture, understand the local people, and discover the nuances of a
neighbourhood.
Tourism receipts were worth S$27 billion (US$20.45 billion)7 to Singapore by 2019 (refer to
Exhibit 1 and 2 for tourism receipt numbers and the places of interest most visited by tourists).
As a small city-state, Singapore continued to battle misperceptions that it was expensive and
had few places of interest. Its positive reputation as a clean and safe country was also
unfortunately associated with one that was sterile and boring.
Country Branding
Country branding was important as a strong national brand would increase awareness while
helping consumers form unique and positive associations with the nation. Branding would also
build basic emotional connections with consumers who might otherwise overlook short-term
marketing efforts. Pang and her team conducted an organisation-wide strategic review to
7
US$1 = S$1.32 as at January 1, 2021.
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rethink STB’s marketing strategy. There was a desire and willingness not to be chained to the
past nor to be hampered by traditional marketing methods.
In 2015, STB saw the opportunity for the brand to transcend the tourism sector and represent
other sectors as well. The timing coincided with Singapore’s Golden Jubilee, which was
marked by a wave of introspection and exploration of the national identity and how Singapore
wanted to be perceived beyond its shores. Simultaneously, EDB was planning a campaign that
would move beyond the investment promotion framework. The fortuitous timing allowed STB
and EDB to hold thoughtful discussions about aligning their brands, as creating a unified
country brand would provide greater marketing impact on the international audience and allow
other government agencies to follow a common narrative. Lim Shoo Ling, Director, Brand, at
STB, provided some insight into those conversations,
Consumers do not see the difference between STB and EDB and will not know the
difference between what the different government departments do. They just see it as
Singapore. It might be puzzling for someone to receive incompatible advertisements or
content about Singapore. This was an opportunity to build on each other's efforts and
deliver a clear and consistent message that goes beyond tourism and business.
Dr Beh Swan Gin, Chairman of EDB, added another advantage to collaborating,
In order to cut through a very noisy media landscape, you need to put a lot more marketing
dollars behind any initiative. And if different agencies are putting resources on different
initiatives, you basically do not have enough scale. We are a small country, and that means
the amount of resources we can afford is also limited.
An Unconventional Approach to Brand Development
Once the decision was made to pool resources, The Secret Little Agency (TSLA), EDB's global
creative agency, was selected to create the country brand. This included designing the logo,
compiling the brand book and identifying brand personalities. Nicholas Ye, Founder of TSLA,
shared the firm’s reaction to getting the assignment,
The overseas advertising placed by STB and EDB had reached a point where there might
have been a lack of unity. This was an opportunity for us to simplify and create efficiencies.
We love getting to the heart of what a brand represents and were excited when we heard
the brief; as Singaporeans ourselves, this was akin to an architect building his own house.
STB and EDB also informed other government agencies of the work they were doing in case
there were any objections to the country branding initiative. They conducted many interviews
and held focus group discussions with a wide range of stakeholders 8 to identify what
Singapore stood for. The strong emotional ties that the stakeholders had with Singapore led to
many lively debates on how Singapore should be portrayed. Lim described the complex
research process as a ‘journey of self-discovery as a Singaporean’. She understood the
difficulty of the endeavour,
8
The stakeholders engaged included tourism industry players, key opinion leaders, fellow government agencies, experts in
various fields, as well as members of the public.
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STB is not an FMCG9 company that has a clear, tangible product. Country branding is
quite different from product branding – the whole of Singapore is our product. As an
organisation, we need to be able to distil and clarify our competitive destination attributes.
Then we need to understand what Singapore stands for in the minds of our target audiences
and what they are looking for.
Beh spoke about the task of correcting misperceptions,
Singapore has a positive reputation for liveability, trustworthiness and stability. But it
also connotes ‘boring’. We did not want to divorce ourselves from what we already stand
for in people's minds, but rather wanted to break into new ground that would represent
where we are heading as a nation – lovability, innovation and vibrancy. That was the
creative challenge.
The team confronted that problem by drawing from Singapore’s history of pushing the limits
of what was possible and not allowing constraints to hold it back. TSLA decided that the
emphasis of the brand should shift from ‘place’ to ‘people’. Ye talked about his initial
presentation to STB and EDB,
What’s most special about Singapore? Singaporeans! We were unwavering and

unapologetic about it. I said, “I know you are proud of the zoo. I know you are proud of
the airport, and how we are top of various global rankings. But our people matter more.
We are a small country, but there are lots of interesting people in it. If we can share their
stories, it will give people a clear idea of what Singapore is about.” We made the case that
if you focus on people, you are going to attract tourists and investments to Singapore.
Lim supported the unconventional tactics,
We did not want to brand the country based on physical attributes; our landscape
constantly changes and develops, built by the spirit and attitude of Singaporeans.
Singapore’s transformation journey was made possible by the people. We want to tell
stories about Singaporeans that reflect their dreams, their aspirations and what they are
good at.
STB hence decided on an unconventional destination branding strategy. Traditionally,

destination branding would focus on the destination’s physical attributes and the tangible
experiences it could offer travellers. This was oftentimes encapsulated by an adjective – for
example, Amazing Thailand, It’s More Fun in the Philippines, 100% Pure New Zealand,
Surprising Singapore, New Asia Singapore, Uniquely Singapore, etc. This new brand strategy
would go against convention by focusing on the intangible spirit of a destination, and articulate
the essence of ‘who’ Singapore was and what attitudes and beliefs it stood for. With
Singaporeans at the centre of the brand, this novel approach would prioritise the curation of
quintessentially local and authentic stories instead of focusing on what would appeal to visitors
and investors (refer to Exhibit 3 for a diagram of the unconventional approach).
Yeo was confident that the new approach would help reach STB’s target audience,
If we focus only on activities available in a destination, the value proposition is

transactional. But we also want to invite people to understand and explore Singapore in
a deeper way. Explore our cultures and our quirks, understand our idiosyncrasies, and
9
Fast-moving consumer goods
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yet recognise and celebrate the passions we share in common. This appeals to the more
sophisticated quality tourists that we are targeting, who are seeking deeper, more
aspirational, even transformational, experiences.
However, this approach was not without risks. Ye admitted that there was a possibility of
failure,
I worried about whether we have enough people that the world cared about. Globally, it
was a huge risk because we are assuming that someone in Europe wants to know about
our char kway teow guy10. But we just needed to put ourselves out there and be confident
about our mettle and substance as a people. This campaign is about telling people who
we are. If you can relate to us, we would love to welcome you as tourists. We would love
to welcome you as investors.
Brand Development Journey

The Singapore story had to be authentic in order to resonate with consumers. During the design
phase, TSLA took inspiration from other successful brands that emphasised attitudes as
opposed to physical features. Ye elaborated,
We started looking at pull brands – not necessarily country brands, but brands that have
enigmatic qualities, brands that people gravitate towards, brands like Apple that make
people emotionally attached to them. Hermes has such a great pull strategy, where people
keep wanting to go to their fashion stores. How do we create that kind of effect whereby
Singapore becomes a place that people want to come to? The ‘I love New York’ campaign,
where New York was shortened to NY, works because New Yorkers love their city. Tourists
go there to buy souvenirs with that logo.
TSLA started by formulating the brand purpose to articulate the essence of what made
Singapore ‘Singapore’. Based on the results from numerous surveys, interviews and
discussions, TSLA decided to highlight how Singapore provided a supportive environment for
passionate Singaporeans to realise their dreams. STB had surveyed 4,000 stakeholders from
around ten countries to validate the results, and 83% of respondents liked the portrayal of
Singapore as an innovative place that offered a variety of activities. Terms such as ‘emotional
warmth’ and ‘human touch’ were perceived to describe most accurately Singapore’s diversity
and culture, portraying Singapore to be a place where passions and possibilities were realised.
Subsequently, TSLA distilled the two ideas of Passion and Possibilities for the brand purpose.
STB deliberated the necessity of a tagline, and ultimately felt that it was needed in the early
phase to help anchor the brand. As such, TBWA, STB’s global agency, created the tagline
‘Passion Made Possible’, making use of the keywords ‘Passion’ and ‘Possibilities’.
TSLA then developed the Singapore Mark, the master logo meant to represent the trusted
promise of Passion Made Possible. It built on the SG50 logo that was widely accepted by
Singaporeans during the celebratory Golden Jubilee in 2015 (refer to Exhibit 4 for an
illustration of the logos). The country name was written in unicase, a special typeface
containing a mix of upper and lowercase letters. The letters in the Singapore logotype could be
written in its extended form or compacted to just the letters SG. The unicase was used as a nod
to the country’s diversity and the myriad possibilities it represented.
10
Char kway teow was a wok-fried noodle dish that had been a popular Singaporean hawker staple for decades.
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TSLA produced a brand book, which was a style guide that provided guidelines on how to
maintain the brand identity in different forms of communications. Government agencies could
refer to the brand book on how to be consistent in presenting the country to the world. The
document also specified the type of relatable characteristics that should be associated with the
brand. Ye shared the process of creating the brand personality,
We needed to identify several personality traits. The brand is created on the personalities
that you expect from Singaporeans and the stories that we tell are amplifications of those
personalities. The guiding rule is that each story should bring out a personality trait of the
country. If you want to be known for ambition, tell an ambitious story. If it is
resourcefulness, find the epitome of a resourceful person and tell that story. We created a
guide on the sorts of people you can tell stories around.
After the brand development stage, STB and every other government agency was free to run
its own marketing campaigns based on the core brand, as each agency would have campaigns
targeted at different audiences and outcomes. STB classified consumers into five distinct
segments: early careers, families with young kids, established career, active silvers and
business event visitors. The goal of the campaign was to add a psychographic layer to these
segments that allowed STB to communicate the brand message across these consumer
segments according to their passions and interests.
Natalie Gruis, Head of Strategy at TBWA, detailed their approach to developing the Passion
Made Possible marketing campaign,
Our work is based on disrupting the status quo. Globally, marketing destination
campaigns usually talk about what they have; Australia's got beaches and Dubai's got
shopping. Then you have to talk it up and provide a checklist of things to do in those places.
With the new brand, we had to find a way to connect Singaporeans to the people in the
rest of the world. We studied how companies like Spotify and Netflix segment their
consumers; a 14-year-old in India can like the same music or television show as a 40-
year-old in the US. That is how we made the shift from demographic segmentation to
interest- or passion-based segmentation.
Passion Tribes
The marketing campaign aimed to depict local passions in an authentic way. STB intended to
match potential visitors with locals according to their passions. It developed seven ‘passion
tribes’, namely Foodies, Explorers, Collectors, Progressors, Socialisers, Culture Shapers and
Action Seekers, based on the lifestyle and interests of various groups (refer to Exhibit 5 for
more information on the passion tribes). Gruis reviewed how they chose the passion tribes.
We used a combination of data sources, like search data and interests based on social
media likes. We looked at the topics and keywords that people engaged with across all the
markets. In the digital space, we can track back to demographics and start to create
clusters around those audiences. So those tribes are actually data-informed clusters. And
then we prioritise those interests by organising against our products. The interests
obviously had to be centred on what the brand has, like food and dining. Once we have
that pool of data, we then cut by countries. There are more prominent tribes in certain
countries. For example, in the Philippines, there are more working millennials who visit,
and they tend to be foodies.
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Marketing material would draw attention to how citizens had brought their passions to life, and
invite visitors to experience those possibilities first-hand (refer to Exhibit 6 for a sample
advertisement). Individuals who exemplified the spirit of turning possibilities into reality were
selected as Passion Ambassadors to inspire visitors and everyday Singaporeans alike.
Examples of ambassadors included Michelin star chef Malcolm Lee, a foodie who kept
Peranakan 11 cultural traditions alive with an innovative twist; sneaker artist Mark Ong, a
collector whose streetwear designs attracted a cult following; and indoor skydiver Kyra Poh,
an action seeker who had won various indoor skydiving championships from the age of 12.
Such individuals could then function as brand advocates for potential visitors with similar
interests. Gruis elaborated,
Marketing this way enabled us to move upstream. When action-seeking consumers

consider going for a ski holiday, it is already at a late stage of the journey. At that point,
they have a shortlist of winter countries. Marketing passions and interests allows us to
really move upstream because they connect to their passions daily. Action Seekers may
consider going to Singapore if there is passive awareness of the destination.
The assumption was that if STB was able to develop stronger emotional connections
consistently and appeal to audiences based on their passions and interests, consumers could be
influenced to consider Singapore even if they were not thinking of travelling at that point in
time.
Getting Domestic Approval
In order for the campaign to succeed, STB believed that it was important to get the support and
advocacy of the domestic audience. Pang discussed the unusual step of launching the campaign
to locals first,
We wanted to authentically reflect what Singaporeans love. The campaign was driven
from the bottom-up and inside-out, featuring real people and their struggles, dreams and
passions. The normal route for a tourism campaign would be to launch it globally and
usually on a relatively smaller scale in one’s own country, if at all. True to the inside-out
philosophy, we launched in Singapore first and were proud to showcase close to 100 local
ambassadors at the launch event.
In a way, the brand campaign was a celebration of all things Singapore and it was very
important for us to start from home ground. Most of all, we did not want Singaporeans to
think of it as a tourism campaign that was not reflective of who they are – after all we had
set out to be as authentic as possible . Having said that, we have always been practical in
recognising that it will take years for Singaporeans to know, understand, and love the
brand.
Mandy Wong, Managing Director at TBWA, agreed that it was important to have the locals
involved and take on board differing views,
Singaporeans are very protective of the nation, and can be very discerning. When you
develop a brand that is a representation of the country, it’s crucial to get the support of
the locals, as they are the ones who will ultimately be championing the brand. During
11
Peranakans were natives born in Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia who had mixed local and foreign ancestry.
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the launch phase, we set up a crisis management room for the first week, to make sure that
we were ready to respond quickly to feedback and sentiments from the citizens.
However, the concerns were largely unfounded, as the local campaign received a high level of
positive feedback. Most locals felt that the new brand sent a clear message of what Singapore
had to offer, and lauded the effort to rebrand Singapore as a destination beyond tourism to
encompass Singapore’s business strengths and local culture. However, others felt that the
‘Passion Made Possible’ tagline was too vague, could apply to other destinations, and were
sceptical that the brand could influence international visitor arrivals. Overall, though, over 90%
of conversations related to the campaign were positive, much higher than the typical
acceptance rate of 60%.12
Global Campaign Rollout
With the support of locals, STB was ready to launch the new brand globally (refer to Exhibit
7 for a regional breakdown of tourism receipts). While the central campaign idea remained
constant, individual market teams had leeway to make adjustments to adapt to the local
audience. Gruis spoke about creating a framework to ensure brand consistency,
In the previous ‘Your Singapore’ campaign, individual markets were allowed to

reinterpret the brand for themselves. It worked well, but the brand was inconsistent when
you looked at it across the board. When you allow markets to create on their own, you end
up with a lot of duplication. So we had to create a framework that enabled everyone to get
what they needed, and for the STB marketing team to have as much control and visibility
as possible.
Pang elaborated,
We wanted a global roll-out that exhibited a strong brand identity and consistency, and
yet was sensitive to the nuances of the markets we operated in. We worked closely with
TBWA on the campaign strategy and developed a ‘freedom within a framework’ approach
that highlighted the guardrails that had to be in place, and at the same time, provided
inspiration for colleagues around the world to apply creativity to adapt and create
according to individual market needs and wants.
STB arranged overseas events featuring Passion Ambassadors or other local personalities and
enterprises to meet potential visitors. The idea was that consumers would relate to the stories
of Singapore personalities based on their interests, and be inspired to visit Singapore. For
example, in Myanmar, ten iconic Singapore hawkers were paired alongside ten Burmese food
vendors in a street food fair that attracted 120,000 attendees. There was also an augmented
reality-enabled contemporary visual arts exhibition and a screening of 7 Letters, a local film
comprising seven short stories celebrating Singapore’s 50th anniversary of national
independence.
However, some in-country activations did not strike a chord, due to either unfamiliarity or
because they lacked distinctive angles that would appeal to domestic audiences. Keith Tan,
current STB Chief Executive, stated,
12
Interview with Nicholas Ye (24 Sept 2020)
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In some of the earlier waves of our campaign, the personalities and passions we
showcased were not always well received. The personalities themselves have their own
idiosyncrasies; and what they are known for in Singapore, whether it's contemporary art
or music, may not always travel so well. So you may have a really gifted rapper in
Singapore, but his music and style may not translate to an Indian, Indonesian or
Vietnamese audience. We had to experiment to find out what worked for different markets.
STB thus needed to customise its roadshows for different markets. Additionally, some
recalibrating was needed in several developing markets where the brand message was too
complex.
Overall, STB’s Brand Health results, which measured the overall performance of the
destination against competing cities, improved across both Leisure and Business travellers.
Overseas travel stakeholders shared that it was a novel marketing campaign, and a refreshing
way of gaining share of voice and mind in the market (refer to Exhibit 8 for sample media
responses). The Passion Made Possible campaign received over S$165 million (US$125
million) in earned international media value with a neutral to positive sentiment of 98%. Over
the two years since its launch in August 2017, it reached STB’s global target audience 1.45
billion times and received over 763 million video views.13
Inspiring Local Tourism Enterprises
Beyond the brand campaigns, STB put in place an entire ecosystem of initiatives, grants and
support schemes to enable the tourism industry to live out the Passion Made Possible brand, in
areas such as product innovation, capability development, and digital technologies. Local
tourism enterprises inspired by the campaign to develop new services or augment existing ones
could look to STB for support on their innovation journey. Tan explained,
We must ensure there is no mismatch behind the branding campaign and substance. We
established a new tour experience innovation lab with an entire technology and
enablement team to support businesses to dream bigger and to apply good technologies
to their businesses. We need to enable possibilities in our businesses as well.
Tourism companies sought to capitalise on the interest in areas such as mixology,

contemporary art, and indoor skydiving highlighted in the brand campaign. They augmented
their product offerings to incorporate more facets of local culture and flavour highlighted by
the brand campaign. Tan elaborated,
Some of our local tourism enterprises developed new products around these personalities
and their trades. For instance, the founder of one of our tour operators was proud of our
local success stories and was inspired to devise creative tour ideas. Our tour operators
now run cocktail tours that showcase several home-grown bars.
The Next Steps
During the meeting with the other government agencies, Tan reflected on the challenges that
remained ahead for the brand. For one, while STB, EDB and MCI had already established the
13
Passion Made Possible Brand Campaign Wave 1 (Aug 2017 – Jul 2018) and Wave 2 (Aug 2018 – Aug 2019 interim results),
provided by STB.
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Singapore Brand Office in 2019 to familiarise government agencies and local businesses with
Passion Made Possible and ensure consistent adoption, more agencies still needed to come on-
board. Tan explained,
The catchphrase ‘Passion Made Possible’ did not sound like a typical marketing slogan.
Every agency has a particular view of how Singapore should be marketed to the world.
There was a huge range of views on what attributes Singapore should showcase. The term
‘passion’ connotes emotion and some government agencies are still uncomfortable
dealing with emotion-laden language. We have had to moderate our approach, depending
on the agencies we talk to. We may sell the word ‘possible’, because the idea of
possibilities and potential is very important, and that resonates with government agencies.
Tan’s enduring goal was to make Singapore stand out from other competitor cities and for
locals to be proud of what the country had achieved. He explained,
I am hoping that Singaporeans can come to appreciate that this is a much more interesting
city than we give Singapore credit for. And as a result, they then become good advocates
for our destination. Also, does the brand inspire our tourism enterprises to dream bigger?
If our campaign can spur more creativity in our tourism enterprises, that will be a great
measure of success.
Tan believed that supporting the branding effort was important to ensure Singapore’s sustained
success,
Singapore is a city of possibilities; it is the best place in the world for people with ideas
to come create, innovate and testbed to turn their ideas into reality. Passion Made
Possible is a big enough umbrella brand to allow us to tell the same story to potential
visitors, or potential investors. As a country that is dependent on internationalisation, the
way we represent ourselves to the world is absolutely crucial.
Looking ahead, while the marketing focus and tagline might evolve over time in response to
different conditions, the spirit of Singapore underpinned by passion and possibilities would
remain at the heart of the Singapore brand.
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EXHIBIT 1: TOURISM RECEIPTS STATISTICS (S$ MILLION)
Sightseeing,
Other TR
Year Shopping Accommodation Food & Beverage Entertainment & Total
Components
Gaming
2019 5,640 5,529 2,497 5,997 8,026 27,689
2018 5,385 5,666 2,593 5,859 7,440 26,942
2017 6,172 6,016 2,649 5,618 6,352 26,807
2016 5,958 5,916 2,787 5,348 5,739 25,748
2015 3,913 4,680 2,319 5,093 5,772 21,777
2014 4,116 5,309 2,263 5,823 6,049 23,560
2013 4,553 5,332 2,294 5,471 5,819 23,469
2012 4,588 5,038 2,246 5,240 5,970 23,081
2011 4,489 4,390 2,239 5,391 5,768 22,277
2010 3,971 3,623 1,903 3,423 5,421 18,341
Source: Singapore Tourism Analytics Network, Tourism Statistics,

https://stan.stb.gov.sg/content/stan/en/tourism-statistics.html, accessed March 2021.
EXHIBIT 2: PERCENTAGE OF ALL VISITORS WHO VISITED PARTICULAR

ATTRACTIONS14
Integrated Singapore River/ Singapore

Gardens by Singapore Orchard Merlion Little
Year Resort Sentosa Chinatown Clarke Quay/ Botanic
the Bay Flyer Road Park India
(MBS/RWS) Boat Quay Gardens
2019 48 50 26 12 40 43 38 31 22 15
2018 38 36 26 8 39 26 27 20 9 11
2017 41 33 24 14 42 27 24 19 11 10
2016 47 35 23 16 48 29 26 19 16 10
2015 38 26 17 9 42 41 22 27 16 8
2014 38 21 18 9 41 36 20 24 14 7
2013 33 12 17 8 41 30 19 23 17 10
2012 31 5 20 9 43 29 19 22 15 9
2011 24 - 31 10 45 30 18 23 19 6
2010 12 - 29 10 46 31 18 25 19 7

14
For instance, in 2019, 50% of visitors went to Gardens by the Bay while only 12% of visitors went to the Singapore Flyer.
12/16
EXHIBIT 3: THE UNCONVENTIONAL BRAND BUILDING APPROACH
• Starting point was for the brand not to be

Break from based on activities or places of interest
Convention
• Singapore’s growth was enabled by the

People Focus spirit and attitude of its people
• More compelling method of sharing local

Storytelling experiences with consumers
Passion • Capture the essence of the SG brand

Made
Possible
• Share the interests and experiences of

Passion locals with like minded visitors
Tribes
Source: Compiled by authors
13/16
EXHIBIT 4: THE SG50 AND SINGAPORE BRAND LOGOS
Source: Provided by STB
14/16
EXHIBIT 5: THE PASSION TRIBES
EXHIBIT 6: STB ADVERTISEMENT FOR FOODIES (WITH DESCRIPTION)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EClVy6sMBhY
This advertisement targets travellers whose activities revolve around food. It showcases Singapore as a
food paradise with diverse food options. It starts with a close-up of a sizzling wok before zooming out
to show people eating and socialising. There are shots of symbolic food-related venues such as hawker
centres, wet markets and rooftop bars. Images of iconic local dishes such as kaya toast, nasi goreng and
chicken rice are spliced in throughout. The video also displays innovative plating techniques, food
preparation methods and the cooking process to entice the viewer. The voiceover states that passion is
sprinkled over every dish and garnished with possibilities of a million flavours, adding, “This is where
your passion for discovering more tastes than you have taste buds is made possible.”
Source: VisitSingapore, August 24, 2017, YouTube, ‘Singapore for Foodies – Passion Made Possible’,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EClVy6sMBhY, accessed July 2021.
15/16
EXHIBIT 7: TOURISM RECEIPTS BY REGION IN 2019
Tourism Receipts Per Accommodation Food & Beverage Total tourism Receipts
Region Place of Residence Shopping (S$m) Other (S$m)
Capita Expenditure (S$) (S$m) (S$m) (S$m)
AMERICAS Ca na da 906 25 40 18 43 126

AMERICAS USA 1,214 96 353 121 316 885
SOUTHEAST ASIA Indones i a 988 925 452 248 1,449 3,074
SOUTHEAST ASIA Ma l a ys i a 601 177 144 87 325 733
SOUTHEAST ASIA Phi l i ppi nes 869 170 199 124 228 721
SOUTHEAST ASIA Tha i l a nd 1,141 172 168 83 180 603
SOUTHEAST ASIA Vi etna m 1,128 248 131 68 221 668
GREATER CHINA Chi na 1,137 2,010 710 266 1,137 4,124
GREATER CHINA Hong Kong SAR 1,038 71 159 71 205 507
GREATER CHINA Ta i wa n 864 105 85 42 136 368
NORTH ASIA Ja pa n 1,314 152 397 110 503 1,162
NORTH ASIA South Korea 1,046 96 244 85 251 675
SOUTH ASIA Indi a 1,145 242 573 225 584 1,624
EUROPE Fra nce 792 18 59 27 65 169
EUROPE Germa ny 833 32 106 36 143 317
EUROPE Ital y 917 8 35 12 39 94
EUROPE Netherl a nds 947 8 36 13 37 94
EUROPE Swi tzerl a nd 1,303 9 36 34 49 128
EUROPE UK 1,080 59 238 88 272 656
OCEANIA Aus tra l i a 1,175 161 419 164 599 1,343
OCEANIA New Zea l a nd 1,235 33 49 18 89 189
AFRICA South Afri ca 1,343 8 15 6 29 57

EXHIBIT 8: SAMPLE MEDIA RESPONSES
“A passion for reinvention, a spirit of determination and the restless pursuit of new initiatives – that’s
what’s driving the contemporary city-state”
- Wallpaper15
“Singapore is often seen as a place to pass through rather than a destination in itself, that’s something
this campaign wants to challenge… it’s a departure from the style of previous campaigns”
- CNBC16
“A fresh branding emerges from deep dive into Singapore spirit. Passion Made Possible motto goes
beyond tourists and businesses to showcase nation's attitude and mindset”
- The Business Times17
15
Wallpaper, “Singapore’s creative economy is in full bloom”, September 28, 2017, https://www.wallpaper.com/w-
bespoke/singapore-passion-made-possible, accessed May 2021.
16
CNBC TV, ‘Singapore's new look is more than just a tourism campaign’ video, October 12, 2017,
https://www.cnbc.com/video/2017/10/12/singapores-new-look-is-more-than-just-a-tourism-campaign.html, accessed July 2021.
17
Judith Tan, “A fresh branding emerges from deep dive into Singapore spirit”, The Business Times, August 25, 2017,
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/a-fresh-branding-emerges-from-deep-dive-into-singapore-spirit,
accessed May 2021.
16/16

Brand Singapore Capturing The Spirit of A Nation

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Brand Singapore Capturing The Spirit of A Nation

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SMU060

BRAND SINGAPORE: CAPTURING THE SPIRIT OF A

- Lionel Yeo, former Singapore Tourism Board (STB) Chief Executive

Singapore’s visitor attractions, business-friendly regulations, reputation as a clean and green

Copyright © 2022, Singapore Management University Version: 2022-05-10

Ministry of Trade and Industry

The Tourism Industry

Dr Beh Swan Gin, Chairman of EDB, added another advantage to collaborating,

An Unconventional Approach to Brand Development

Beh spoke about the task of correcting misperceptions,

What’s most special about Singapore? Singaporeans! We were unwavering and

Lim supported the unconventional tactics,

STB hence decided on an unconventional destination branding strategy. Traditionally,

If we focus only on activities available in a destination, the value proposition is

Brand Development Journey

Marketing this way enabled us to move upstream. When action-seeking consumers

Getting Domestic Approval

Global Campaign Rollout

In the previous ‘Your Singapore’ campaign, individual markets were allowed to

Inspiring Local Tourism Enterprises

Tourism companies sought to capitalise on the interest in areas such as mixology,

The Next Steps

EXHIBIT 1: TOURISM RECEIPTS STATISTICS (S$ MILLION)

Source: Singapore Tourism Analytics Network, Tourism Statistics,

EXHIBIT 2: PERCENTAGE OF ALL VISITORS WHO VISITED PARTICULAR

Integrated Singapore River/ Singapore

Source: Singapore Tourism Analytics Network, Tourism Statistics,

EXHIBIT 3: THE UNCONVENTIONAL BRAND BUILDING APPROACH

• Starting point was for the brand not to be

• Singapore’s growth was enabled by the

• More compelling method of sharing local

Passion • Capture the essence of the SG brand

• Share the interests and experiences of

Source: Compiled by authors

EXHIBIT 4: THE SG50 AND SINGAPORE BRAND LOGOS

Source: Provided by STB

EXHIBIT 5: THE PASSION TRIBES

Source: Provided by STB

EXHIBIT 6: STB ADVERTISEMENT FOR FOODIES (WITH DESCRIPTION)

EXHIBIT 7: TOURISM RECEIPTS BY REGION IN 2019

AMERICAS Ca na da 906 25 40 18 43 126

Source: Singapore Tourism Analytics Network, Tourism Statistics,

EXHIBIT 8: SAMPLE MEDIA RESPONSES

Source: Provided by STB

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