Singtel recognised for marketing transformation

Singtel's festive film for Chinese New Year in 2018 featured actor Lim Kay Tong as Mr Lim looking forward to have his children home for the traditional reunion dinner on Chinese New Year eve, only both of them had other plans, and thought the other would be able to be with their father. Watch the video.

Singtel took the top spot for Excellence in Marketing Transformation at the Marketing Excellence Awards 2019. 

Singtel was awarded gold for transforming the group’s approach to brand marketing, which has resulted in stronger overall brand strategy and positioning and a positive impact on campaign results. The transformation is driven by the group brand team serving the group’s expanding businesses and consolidated under Group Strategic Communications and Brand.

Lian Pek, VP of Group Strategic Communications and Brand at Singtel said, “As Singtel continues to grow beyond our core consumer and enterprise businesses into digital fields and new offerings such as digital marketing and cybersecurity, it is more important than ever that brand outreach and messaging are consistent and reinforced across the board.

"By consolidating brand and communications, we’ve also been better able to shape understanding of Singtel in a way that is more reflective of who we are, what we represent and how we are evolving.”

Singtel’s marketing transformation strategy has brought a renewed focus on marketing the brand instead of just products and services. This is served through a storytelling approach that allows the group to articulate its brand values of family, community, diversity and inclusivity through a series of films that consumers and stakeholders have come to anticipate during major festive periods.

Lian Pek adds, “How do we overcome the ‘skip ad’ mentality, the general immunity to advertising given the deluge of ads that hit us all daily? We turned to good old storytelling to cut through the clutter. Our films aren’t solicitations to transact with us but to appreciate our values and hopefully spark some desire to interact with our brand for the long haul.

"Today’s customers don’t just want to buy from companies that meet their requirements profitably. They want to engage with companies that have heart.”

Released around National Day, Christmas and Chinese New Year, Singtel’s films have been well-received by consumers from Singapore, often going viral in the region. They have generated close to 70 million views combined on Singtel’s Facebook and YouTube pages to date.

Besides producing branded content that reinforce its beliefs, Singtel has also been able to better serve as a vested member of community, by donating to and sponsoring causes that are dear to its stakeholders. Last December for example, Singtel made a S$10 million donation to help fund the building of Esplanade’s new medium-sized theatre. This comes on the back of a S$20 million donation made to the National Gallery.