(Extracted from How Asia Advertises by Jim Aitchison)
Selling The Real SingTel
The Problem:
SingTel , formerly Singapore Telecoms, could trace its origins back 120 years. Given Singapore 's newly liberalized telecommunications market and the arrival of new brands, celebrating 120 th anniversary was an opportunity to reinforce SingTel's long-term commitment to Singaporeans.
The downside was that the anniversary might well rekindle memories of the “old” SingTel , the government-owned monopoly. Its former bureaucratic image would impact negatively when SingTel faced aggressive competition and was no longer the default option.
The Strategy:
It was clear to the agency that consumers had taken SingTel's services for granted over time. SingTel had become so much part of daily life it was just “there”.
If 120th anniversary was going to be a celebration all Singaporeans could share, it was time to project the “unseen” SingTel . The campaign had to dig into the local culture and demonstrate how SingTel is interwoven into the essence of Singapore .
But to communicate the special relationship, the campaign had to defy the conventional rules of corporate celebrations. The theme line set the tone: It's still about you . Instead of high tech imagery and messages about growth, the ten commercials focused on ordinary people in familiar local surroundings. Each execution had almost the flavor of a home video – nothing slick, nothing extravagant or wasteful.
‘Slices of Life' was the first campaign by a major Singapore corporation to run in all four of Singapore 's official languages – English, Mandarin, Malay and Tamil.
The Result:
A benchmark study established the parameters in the two months prior to the campaign. The actual tracking continued for five months.
Over the period of the campaign, significant improvements in the perceptions of SingTel brand imageries and core positioning strengths were achieved, cementing consumer preferences for the brand. Key shifts included increases of up to 10 points on SingTel positioning attributes such as “Allows me to keep in touch with family/ friends”, “Communicates a stylish image”, and “Responsive to customers' needs”. The critical attribute, “Listens to my needs”, witnessed the biggest single increase – 12 points. |
 An old man tells us how his first phone number inspired him to try his luck with the 4D lottery.
Old Man:
231680 was my first phone number. Back then there were only four numbers. The last four numbers were 1680. Every week, I bought $2 big and $2 small. One day, I finally won. Not the first prize, but a starter.
Music and Graphics:
Your phone. Your pager. Your mobile. Today, one number is all you need.
SINGTEL AND 120 YEARS LOGOS.
Tagline: It's still about you.
 A young girl in a library is learning forward, confiding in the camera.
Girl:
This number keeps appearing on my pager. I know it's not a phone number, so what can it be?
She holds the pager to camera so we can see the number.
Girl:
17-31707-1. When I ask my friends, they tell me it's a code.
She turns the pager upside down. Now the number can be read like a text message.
Girl:
It says, “I Love U”. So horrible, right?
When I told my mother, she said, “Young lady, you're too young to have a secret admirer.”
Music and Graphics:
We'll always find new ways for you to express yourself.
SINGTEL and 120 YEARS LOGO
Tagline: It's still about you.
The campaign also attracted an unprecedented level of editorial coverage. Follows are two examples. “ Slices of Life tells, in a uniquely Singaporean way, stories to which our customers can relate. It is also about trust and relationships we have built with our customers over the years, and our way of demonstrating to them our continued commitment and dedication to serving them better in the next 120 years and beyond.”
SingTel Spokesman
“ This is not the usual corporate anniversary campaign which parades company milestones in a self-important way. Our advertising is a series of very personal glimpses. The commercials talk to real Singaporeans, and look at how the telephone has touched their lives and how telephony is changing.”
PATRICK LOW, Executive Creative Director,
Dentsu Young & Rubicam Singapore |
