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Renowned Elite Brand - Case Study Of Singapore Airlines by
Sant Qiu
5 CRITICAL REASONS THE SINGAPORE GIRL MUST STAY
About 2 weeks ago Singapore Airlines (SIA) announced that they were opening their account for ad agencies to tender. This is after they had been with Batey Ads for 35 years. And the inevitable question predictably came up: Will the Singapore Girl, the icon of SIA, stay or will she go?
I found even the slightest idea of dumping the Singapore Girl is… erm… Dumb! Below is my raw, politically incorrect opinion on the issue. If you are easily offended, skip this. Read at your own risk..
1. The Singapore Girl has become synonymous with SIA. It is one of the airline industry’s most prominent figures. In fact, it is also one of the most recognizable icon for Singapore. It has even earned a place in the Madame Tussaud’s wax museum in London. When was the last time you heard about an icon for a service industry immortalized there?
Several months back, in an article about branding Singapore, several foreigners from various countries (including USA, China, India, etc) were asked what came to mind when they think of Singapore. SIA came up on top, due to the Singapore Girl I believe. The Singapore girl is more than just SIA’s brand, it is Singapore’s brand too.
Now, would you then scrap away such a powerful brand? Would you take away the swoosh icon from Nike? Would you scrap the stallion marque from Ferrari? Would you dump the apple logo from Apple? Of course not! “Retire it gracefully” That’s just plain reckless.
2. The Singapore Girl was born 35 years ago. When other airlines were focusing on displaying the aircraft and safety features, Ian Batey (the genius behind this), went the opposite direction and focused on service. That was just brilliant!
Give the customers what they aspire to have (their emotional wants). We make any decisions, including buying decisions, based on emotions. We use our logic to justify our decisions. Aircraft and safety features appeals to logic. Exceptional service appeals to the emotions.
The result? Other airlines has been playing catch up and try to portray that their service is as good. Not many has succeeded. When it comes to the perception of top notch, luxurious service, SIA is still at the top. In fact it is seen as the benchmark of exceptional service, even in other industries.
In a similar scenario, Creative Tech focused on features and logic when marketing their MP3 players. In contrast, Apple focused on the emotional wants (being hip) of their prospects. And we know what happened.
One comment in the papers said that SIA should change to more ‘thought-provoking’ ads, instead of the emotion-based Singapore Girl ads. Question: Would Steve Jobs change their cool & hip advertisement to ‘thought provoking’ ads?
Nahhh….
3. There were several comments that said the Singapore Girl is stereotyping the ’subservient asian woman’. Many of the most famous brands and icons are built from stereotypes. Stereotyping are powerful because people connect with them.
Donald Trump: The stereotypical business mogul who wheels and deals to get to get what he wants. Is there something more to his character? Of course.
James Bond: The stereotypical hero who kills the bad guy, saves the day, get the girl(s) and still enjoys his martini. Is there something more to him? Of course.
The Samurai: The stereotypical Japanese warrior, always full of honour and wears layers of clothings… Is there something more to him? Of course.
The point is: Used correctly stereotyping is an excellent tool to create a powerful brand. Too many brands died an early death because they were not stereotyped soon enough. A strong brand stands for certain specific values. Trying to represent everything (like many start up brands) only confuses the market. The market will eventually ignore what they can’t figure out.
But is representing the ’subservient asian woman’ a good stereotype / position to have?
4. As Ian Batey wrote in his book,the Singapore Girl is suppose to be the embodiment of “natural femininity, natural grace and warmth, and a natural, gentle way with people”. Many will agree that that is the appeal of the asian women, in constrast to the strong, hard, independent western women. I know this is not politically correct. But let’s put aside political-correctness ideology for a while…
Would you rather be served by a friendly, polite and always smiling young lady, or a strong, hard, independent woman? The answer is obvious!
Notice that I didn’t pit the asian with the western. It is because it is NOT the race, but rather the attitude that is critical. The right attitude projects the right impression (exceptional service) to the prospects. The rest; the Pierre Balmain kebaya, the make up, the bun-up hair, the stringent requirements etc are there to support and ensure the brand image is congruent. Just take a look at those asian spa ads that feature the spa hostess. They will most probably be in the ’subservient asian woman’ role. Why? Because it gives the impression of “natural femininity, natural grace and warmth, and a natural, gentle way with people”.
An interesting note:
One of the biggest best selling drama serial in recent years that has been distributed all around the world including USA (it is a huge hit there) is the Korean drama “Jewel In The Palace”. What is it about? It is story about a traditional, gentle, graceful lady that is full of warmth.
Princes Diana is such an icon because she was perceived as a gentle, graceful lady that was full of warmth.
Mother Theresa left such a legacy a huge part is because she was perceived as a gentle, graceful woman that was full of warmth.
The Singapore Girl is such a huge icon because she is perceived as a gentle, graceful lady that is full of warmth, providing wonderful service. I’d say she is in great company.
5. Another comment suggested for the Singapore Girl to change their attire and wear business suits, like other airlines. This suggestion is even more dangerous than scrapping the Singapore Girl itself! The kebaya is so tightly linked to the Singapore Girl. If you remove it, it is effectively removing the Singapore Girl. With the help of the Singapore Girl, SIA became a leader in the airline industry with many others trying to follow and emulate it. It is ridiculous for SIA to then turn around and follow their followers.
Since BreadTalk became the talk of the town, all the rest of the bakeries are trying to follow (read: copy) their success. Many even renovated their shops so that they are similar to a BreadTalk shop. Would it be wise for BreadTalk to turn around and try to follow them?
In an extremely competitive market, with the terrorist threats, the fluctuating oil prices, the emergence of budget airlines, SIA has managed to carved out strong niche in the high-end luxury market. It is also one of the few which has constantly remained profitable. There is no doubt that their icon, the Singapore Girl, plays a huge part in that success.
It would be just plain ridiculous to discard of such a powerful icon. Article Source: http://www.articlemap.com Article by Sant Qiu - The Profit Strategist. Sant Qiu is a marketing and branding expert that has helped many companies boost their profits by 30% and more within as little as 90 days. Visit his site for free powerful marketing tips.www.santqiu.com Sant Qiu's Branding, Profit and Marketing Secrets for Small Businesses.
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