XM Asia appointed to promote the Singapore service culture for the Singapore Tourism Board
The Singapore Tourism Board has appointed XM Asia to conceptualise and implement an integrated marketing communications plan to promote the importance of service in Singapore.
XM Asia, best known for its digital work, won the business against six other competing agencies, which illustrates XM’s growing capabilities across the full range of communication channels. The scope of the project covers all media, including print, radio, digital, mobile and activation.
“We’re thrilled that STB selected XM for such an important initiative. This really demonstrates that our capability extends well beyond our core digital specialty into real life application, and the kind of strategic thinking we provide resonates across all channels to achieve our client’s business objectives,” said Paul Soon, CEO of XM Asia Pacific.”
The initiative is part of the Go The Extra Mile for Service (GEMS) movement, a multi-government agency initiative led by the Singapore Tourism Board, SPRING Singapore, the Singapore Workforce Development Agency, the Institute of Service Excellence at the Singapore Management University, and the National Trades Union Congress.
GEMS was set up to foster a service-oriented culture in Singapore, in order to improve the competitiveness and capabilities of local enterprises. The STB’s remit is to promote, publicise and recognise service excellence in Singapore, while the other agencies focus on a range of issues, from training to recruitment.
XM Asia will work with the STB to develop creative avenues, and messages, to promote the importance of service to its core target market, which includes business decision makers, service staff and consumers.
“XM Asia’s proposal is refreshing and addresses our need to drive a strong service culture in Singapore. Their proposed concept also complements other aspects of our overall strategy to bring service excellence up to the next level. We look forward to a fruitful partnership with XM Asia on this project,” said John Conceicao, Executive Director, Capability & Innovation and Visitor Information & Feedback, Singapore Tourism Board.
“We have a strong and cohesive team who collectively believe in the principle that great service provides great value in return. We are excited about the tremendous opportunity that we’ve been given to work with STB and create meaningful work that is not only memorable but also able to effect positive change in behaviour and outcomes,” said Pei Pei Ng, Creative Director, XM Asia Pacific.
2 Comments
I wonder who wrote that quote that the creative director said. If you have seen her you just know she does not talk like that. It would probably be more like…”this is cool, we wanna do some cool kick ass stuff now.”
Anyway, we await the new work….my understanding was they had no creatives left there but I am willing to be proved wrong.
Raising Singapore service standards is not a job for advertising, digital or social media wizardry (unless it’s a brilliant never done before idea). And when has XM ever done those?
You will rarely find Singaporeans in such service jobs nowadays. It’s all filipinos, mainland chinese, vietnamese, myanmar folks…..the kind of people employers love to employ as they pay them very low wages and get no complaints whatsoever. These people are desperately supporting large families back home and will put up with anything. More often than not, they are poorly educated, not very good at english and (Im sorry to say) just plain clueless. They receive some training but don’t really retain much of it in their heads
This poorly paid/educated/trained workforce forms a perfect storm which ensures that there are really no service standards to speak of. Go to any mall/midscale restaurant these days and the one serving you will be some foreign worker with no idea of what they are doing.
In about 5 years time, the same will happen to advertising standards in Singapore too.
When profit comes first, everything else comes last.