Branded Content Still A Backbone Of Singapore Tourism Board’s Destination Marketing

The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is set to unveil another branded content series as part of its SingapoRediscovers campaign. 

With holidays abroad at a standstill due to the COVID-19 pandemic, STB has been encouraging locals to explore the city-state instead.

The SingapoRediscovers campaign launched in July has a sizeable budget of over US$33m for its marketing efforts, as STB hopes to boost the nation’s pandemic-affected industry by tapping into the US$34b Singaporeans usually spend on overseas travel (2018) figures. 

As part of this campaign, a ten-part video series called “S.P.I.E.S. (Secret Places in Exciting Singapore)” will be launched. Each episode will be hosted by a local celebrity and showcases a different precinct and unearths quirky facts and discoveries of the area. The content will be available on STB’s YouTube, Facebook and Instagram platforms.

The first episode will feature rapper-actor Tosh Zhang visiting Little India to discover little-known gems such as as a vintage garment shop and a hotel filled with artworks and sculptures.

The likes of Siti Khalijah Zainal, Fakkah Fuzz, Rishi Budhrani and Judee Tan are set to star in future episodes. More content will be released in the coming months to encourage locals to visit the various precincts. It also includes a video series titled “How To Not Waste Your Annual Leave”, hosted by Chua Enlai and Michelle Chia.

And STB loves its branded content: here are a few other examples that we ASN has reported on:

• in Q4-2018, it began with an investment into a local Branded Content Fund
• which yielded fresh, ‘passionate’ efforts such as this, in Q1-2019
• then in Q4-2019, we saw a co-production with SIA, to promote ‘Unexpected Journeys’

And there can be no doubt that the island nation is trying to make up for marketing ground lost to COVID-19 in general (as other ASEAN tourism bodies must be too), as well as lost tentpole tourist events such as the cancelled Singapore F1 Grand Prix this September.

STB chief executive Keith Tan said, “We would like to thank locals for supporting our local businesses and rediscovering our city over the past few months. As the holiday season draws near, we hope they can take a Singapoliday too.”

“There is so much to explore and do in our vibrant precincts. Each has a unique story to tell, and homegrown businesses that need our support. We are also heartened by the response from our industry partners, who have come up with innovative products and partnerships to appeal to locals.”