Uniquely Singapore evolves into YourSingapore

SINGAPORE: The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) today launched an evolution of Singapore’s destination brand – from “Uniquely Singapore” to “YourSingapore” – which underpins Singapore’s s

SINGAPORE: The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) today launched an evolution of Singapore’s destination brand – from “Uniquely Singapore” to “YourSingapore” – which underpins Singapore’s strengths as a destination, that is, an experience which can be easily personalized thanks to the concentration of sights, sounds, tastes, culture, and attractions coupled with unparalleled user-centricity.

As a brand, YourSingapore articulates Singapore’s uniqueness and captures what travelers seek – a personal travel experience. Such a personalized travel experience offers an emotional reward of empowerment and liberation that allows visitors to travel on their own terms, according to their individual
needs, preference, and interests. YourSingapore differentiates Singapore’s value proposition from that of competitors, ensuring Singapore remains relevant and compelling to today’s travelers.

At the heart of the campaign is a holistic digital approach that includes a new website, significant investment into search engine marketing, blogger engagement, mobile capability, social media, and travel ecommerce. These platforms will engage visitors’ pre, during, and post arrival and will be aggressively promoted. The website, www.yoursingapore.com , is an innovative and interactive platform that allows travelers to conceptualize and plan their individual Singapore travel itinerary in a user-friendly manner. The campaign website facilitates sharing of experiences among travelers and local residents alike, and will be powered by up-to-date multimedia content about all things Singapore.

A new virtual experience will be delivered at www.yoursingapore.com that no other destination website currently offers. In the past few years, the way that people plan and book travel has fundamentally shifted from passive content consumption to the active engagement of empowered individuals, primarily due to the dominance of digital and social media. YourSingapore is a response to the pervasive influence of digital media and the rise of virtual communities, as well as consumer demands for personalized travel plans.

Recognizing the successful branding efforts of the Uniquely Singapore campaign over the last five years, it was clear that the next chapter in the brand story would necessarily be an evolution, a natural transition, and not an overhaul. Ken Low, assistant chief executive of the STB’s Marketing Group said: “We firmly believe that to differentiate Singapore in what is becoming a
crowded market for destination marketing, STB has to embrace global trends and the shift in media consumption, to the extent that we have put digital at the heart of our marketing communications, in order to transform the way we reach out to our potential visitors. We will continue to use traditional media in our communications, but it will play a more specific role to emotionally engage our audience and drive potential visitors to our digital platforms where they can experience and have a glimpse into what Singapore has to offer.”

In the span of 6 years since Uniquely Singapore was launched, Singapore has seen an increase in visitor arrivals from 8.3 million in 2004 to 9.7 million in 2009, representing growth of 16.8 percent. Singapore has also witnessed strong growth in tourism receipts during this period from S$9.8 billion in 2004 to S$15.2 billion in 2008, up by 55.1 percent.

The Singapore Tourism Board has also just released its forecasts for the tourism industry in 2010: 11.5–12.5 million in visitor arrivals and S$17.5-S$18.5 billion in tourism receipts.

About the author

Avatar of Juergen T Steinmetz

Juergen T Steinmetz

Juergen Thomas Steinmetz has continuously worked in the travel and tourism industry since he was a teenager in Germany (1977).
He founded eTurboNews in 1999 as the first online newsletter for the global travel tourism industry.

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